Cheaper Using Your Car Than Metered Taxi Save, Save Save!!!

GTAm · November 8, 2012

Its much cheaper for you to use your car for your daily commute than using a taxi even after you consider the wear and tear of the vehicle + depreciation cost of a vehicle is very low in Sri Lanka (Bus commute not considered). Only benifit is "CONVINIANCE"

Note: Initial cost of vehicle and bus transport not considered in this analysis

These two are what I cannot accept in your analysis MoneyMaker. First you simply HAVE to consider the initial cost of the vehicle. It is not going to fall from the sky on to one's lap.

For example let's say a person who does not own a car right now. He has to decide between buying a car or using taxis instead. Let's say a reliable decent everyday used hack will cost Rs. 1.5m. His financial outlay per month if he has to finance the car will be around Rs. 40,000/- X 48 months. Let's say he has the cash. Then you obviously have to consider the opportunity cost of Rs. 1.5m. In the bank means around 20k income a month. Or he can buy a Tata Nano and start a cab service earning 502% profit as you have pointed out.

Secondly wear and tear is not very low in SL given our roads and stop start driving. I believe it is very high. Tyres are very expensive. If the car is leased then a full insurance is a must. This will be an additional 30k per year or 2500/- a month. Servicing, suspension, brakes, A/C all need attention regularly. Only depreciation will not affect a car of that age and price.

Of course there are the benefits of having a car instead like the luxury of personal transport where you do not have to share your space with a cab driver with body odor and sweat soaked seats. And that's more the reason why many will consider car ownership.

Rumesh88 · November 8, 2012

Good post Rumesh88. The other big difference between a developed economy and us is that their per capita income. This is why an efficient and clean public transport might become expensive for us to use. Add to this our madly rising cost of living, inflation etc and generally poor economic management means this is still a dream.

Thank u GTAm. You are right about per capita income but what our leaders should keep in mind is that you cannot wait until per capita to up to begin improving transportation. Instead you improve public transport and make travelling more efficient then the economic benefits you get reflect positively in per capita income. Instead they narrow it down to a chicken and egg situation. The mind set of majority of our people is that you must achieve a certain target before you begin the next one. That theory works but only for mutually exclusive events. For the rest you need things to happen concurrently.

GTAm · November 8, 2012

Thank u GTAm. You are right about per capita income but what our leaders should keep in mind is that you cannot wait until per capita to up to begin improving transportation. Instead you improve public transport and make travelling more efficient then the economic benefits you get reflect positively in per capita income. Instead they narrow it down to a chicken and egg situation. The mind set of majority of our people is that you must achieve a certain target before you begin the next one. That theory works but only for mutually exclusive events. For the rest you need things to happen concurrently.

Spot on Rumesh88. That's why I said "generally poor economic management". They just go on taking short term and personally profitable decisions only simply so that they earn commissions. That's why they do not think like us or of us. It's a lot easier to import 1000 new Ashok Leyland buses a make a fast buck than plan, design, engineer and fund a intra-city fast rail network. They also have no need to arrange things in order of priority based on actual requirement. Again corruption is the cause.

vishkid · November 8, 2012

This thread is based on the assumption that you hv a freakin' car (bought for real money and sitting in your garage) YET you hire a taxi for your travel?? Because otherwise all the bull by OP and many others don't hit the mark!

When we hv a vote for the thread of the year, remind me to vote for this ....... NOT!

Damn.