Welcome to our ultimate showdown over the real cost of commuting. Three daredevils are gunning for the title of the most cost-effective. Cars, also known as automobiles. Public transport in the form of buses, trains, and metros. And last but not least, the dark horses of this contest — electric scooters.
Read on to see what is truly the cheapest way for you to get to work. Spoiler alert — and most fun.
Public transportation
Municipal transit is a necessity for many people, or so it used to be the case. These days, we have many alternative modes of transportation, which are often cheaper and more eco-friendly. But for some reason, we dig our heels in and keep using the city transport without asking whether it's “just the ticket.” So, let's break down the public commute expenses.
Ticket prices
City dwellers have three main modes of transportation at their disposal: bus, train, or the metro/ subway. There are many less obvious ones, but we'll mention them in passing.
Day Pass
Prices vary by municipality, but for this example, we’ve used NSW costs. Yes, some locations may be slightly higher or lower, but when looking at the overall totals and comparing them to other modes of transport, those small differences don’t have a significant impact—you’ll see what we mean. Here’s what it costs:
~$20 per day or $50 per week (Opal)
While the fare can be higher than $50 if you're paying per ride, we'll assume you're aiming for the lowest possible cost—so let’s go with the weekly.
Source: (Opal)
Cars
Photo by Tom Gainor on Unsplash
Cars are deeply rooted in today's life. In most places (especially in America), they are associated with freedom. So, something as prosaic as a car has become iconic and has now more to do with recreation and status than just commuting.
But in many cases, cars are indispensable. Without them, you wouldn't be able to move freely because of insufficient public transport or because the distances are greater. The hot button is that back in the day, the costs associated with owning a car didn't hit the pocket as much as they do today. To put it into perspective:
The numbers above are a weekly average cost of car ownership per household, based on capital cities data from the Australian Automobile Association's (AAA) Transport Affordability Index for the December 2024 quarter.
Source: Savings.com.au
Electric scooters
Scooters have come a long way from being children's toys to fully-fledged electric vehicles. They're not being looked down on anymore, and you shouldn't ignore their potential either because they might be just what you need.
Purchase Cost
Scooters come in a variety of price ranges. It all depends on the make, their specs, and what you really need them for. It can be anything from a couple hundred to a couple thousand dollars. To give you an idea, Apollo Go, a perfect e-scooter for daily commutes, costs $1649. It may seem like a lot, but if you consider this an investment, the other costs are negligible.
Moreover, you won't be stuck in traffic, nor will you have to worry about greenhouse gas emissions as e-scooters use lithium-ion batteries, nor will you have to worry about parking expenses since you can fold them and take them to the office.
Charging Cost
While we couldn't find any resources specifically for Electric scooters, we can use some data from EVs - we can estimate that it takes between $1 to $3 to charge an electric scooter. It all depends on the capacity of the scooter. Source: Solar Choice
From our data, we know that on average, users ride their scooters between 5 to 10 miles per day. Meaning that if you use it daily, you'll probably need to charger it between 3 to 4 times. This would be a total of $3 to $15 per week spent on charging your scooter.
Maintenance
Suppose you follow our guidelines on how to take proper care of your e-scooter. In that case, you will significantly minimize or even completely eliminate those costs. This is because we design scooters that are easy to use and maintain. It's enough to learn a couple of tips and tricks to keep it in good nick. Here you can learn how.
Insurance
Unlike cars, e-scooters do not require insurance. So, it's up to you whether you want to have it just in case. Take note that Apollo scooters come with many security measures, from gps trackers to anti-theft systems. This means that unless you're planning on doing stunt tricks, you should be fine without any insurance.
Conclusion
Compared to public transportation and owning a car, electric scooters are much more affordable in the long run. After you incur the initial cost, the real commuting cost amounts to $15 for a week at most.
If you compare to public transport, it would probably be $50 per week, which is not a crazy amount, but 3X more than for an electric scooter. And driving a car, well that definitely is a luxury.
It is, therefore, no surprise that the title of the most cost-effective mode of commuting goes to electric scooters! But let's be real, they're not always the most practical choice. It can be tough to ride one in nasty weather conditions like heavy rain or snow. But when it's not the case, they're a great way to avoid traffic, save money, and add some fun to your commute.
