Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Walking vs. Driving to School: Let's Do the Math

My kids attend our neighborhood public school, which is three-quarters of a mile from our house. Since I'm so involved there, I say a little prayer of thanksgiving daily that the school is so close--I usually make three or more roundtrips each day!


I'm trying to get us walking there more. It's not that far, and the exercise and fresh air benefit us all. We live in sunny, mild California after all.


Spikes in gas prices always cause me to take a closer look at how much gas we consume... why don't I do this when prices are below $4 a gallon?


Anyway, here is my attempt and figuring out how much I'm saving by hoofing it:


My last tank of gas cost $4.35 a gallon.


My car gets approximately 22 miles to the gallon.


So, each mile costs 20 cents.


The school is 3/4 of a mile away.


Each one-way trip on foot saves me 15 cents. One day of 2 rountrips, then saves me 60 cents.


There are 180 days in the school year. If we walked every day, we'd save $108. I'm sure that's not going to happen, though: there will be days when the weather is inclement, or we just can't get out the door quickly enough to walk. So, if we aim for a 75-percent walking rate, we'll still save $81.


$81? Not too shabby! My 2nd grader has become very interested in money lately; this might motivate him when he's grumpy more than my stories about how I walked all the way to school without stepping on any sidewalk cracks. 

1 comment:

  1. In addition to the gas savings, you will be saving on a gym membership.

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