Austinist: Long Commutes Pushing Down Suburban Home Prices

mdahmus

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:32:28 -0600

cram, I went through the depreciation argument somewhere... let me see: http://mdahmus.monkeysystems.com/blog/archives/000440.html

AC

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:47:15 -0600

Raising insurance rates enough will also be politically impossible. Accident costs are not fully internalized today because states don't require drivers to carry enough insurance for political reasons. Pricing insurance by the mile won't fix the political problem.

cram

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:58:42 -0600

Mike, How do you figure that people don't save a bunch of money by not driving? I'm not disputing it, because my gut is that you are correct, but I am wondering if you have a sound argument.

leggyblonde

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:12:15 -0600

Wow. I ride my bike to work, and to/from my Calc 3 class at ACC, and i work full-time with benefits. Oh, and i have a car. I drive it out to my parent's house, HEB, road trips, visit friends... (Don't worry, one of these days i'll fit into a generalization, i'm sure of it!)

mdahmus

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:48:22 -0600

It would be a big step in the right direction. Notwithstanding the idiot commuting calculators which treat depreciation as a function purely of mileage (when it's really 90% age and 10% use), driving today is fundamentally a high fixed cost and a very low variable cost - which tends to mean that once you own a car, your most rational decision is to keep driving (people who say they save a bunch of money by leaving their car parked at home and riding the bus are displaying extremely poor math skills and/or an illegally low hourly wage).