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vs.

For the next several weeks I will be commuting to Foster City three days a week to work onsite with a client. Since it's a significant distance I decided to compare and contrast public transportation versus driving.

On the day that I used public transportation it went like this:

1. Drive from Brentwood to Concord
2. BART from Concord to Balboa Park
3. BART from Balboa Park to SFO
4. BART from SFO to Millbrae
5. Get picked up by a co-worker and drive from Millbrae to Foster City

The process took almost exactly three hours door-to-door.

On the day that I drove I went in pretty early in the morning and it went like this:

1. Drive from Brentwood to Foster City

The process took almost exactly one and a half hours door-to-door.

So, from a time perspective, driving is the obvious choice.

From a financial perspective, driving is also the obvious choice. Here is the math:

BART
Costs: $11.40 BART + $5.37 Gas = $22.25 - $11.40 BART (expense) - $5.48 Mileage (expense) = -$16.88

Driving
Costs: $3 Bridge + $15.68 Gas = $18.68 - $3 Bridge (expense) - $64.97 Mileage (expense) = -$49.29

So driving earns me $49.29 after figuring in expenses.

I understand that my car is experiencing wear and that driving isn't as good for the environment. However, if I get to spend an extra three hours with my family and take home extra money I'd say it's a pretty obvious conclusion that driving is the way to go.

Fortunately my car gets great gas mileage so I actually earn money after expenses (most people at my work lose money with their 14 mpg SUVs). Also, my car will probably easily last 150,000+ miles without major mechanical work so I'm not so worried about the wear.