Re:Uber paid 58 Australians $1350 to have One Less Car
by moondrek on Monday November 20, 2023 @05:27PM
(#38355805)
Have you considered just budgeting yourself $600/month on guilt-free non-essential transportation, and committing to spending any remainder on nice refreshments/gifts for your friends?
Re:Uber paid 58 Australians $1350 to have One Less Car
by mslate on Tuesday November 21, 2023 @10:56AM
(#38365377)
Yes, I deal with this same issue owning a car. It’s choosing between buffet and a la carte pricing. When it comes down to socializing, you do not want to be thinking twice about choosing to mobilize to visit friends/family for cost reasons, and ridehailing pricing does that.
I have a car that I got as a gift. I put about 150 miles on it per month. But I still have to pay $425 per month to park it, about $110 per month for insurance, $350 per year to register it, and then gas, tolls, maintenance.
I knew it wasn't a good economic decision to keep the car. It would certainly save me money just to take Ubers to the few places I go. But there's a psychological element at play here. Right now, I pay about $600 per month to have the car and have unlimited access to go where I want. If I have to pay $80+ to go to a friend's place, I then have to ask myself "is that trip really worth $80"? I may then just decide no. That's what economists want, but that's not really what I want. I don't want to have that excuse to not go out and have fun.
If the equation were more like "do I want to draw down on my $1350 in Uber credits that I lose at the end of the year anyway", my whole internal calculus changes.