Here’s an interesting fact about me: I’m 33 years old and I’ve never bought a car in my life. That’s sort of a strange thing for someone my age. Depending on how old you are, you’ve likely bought multiple cars over the years – the stats say that your average person buys a new car every 6 years or so (and spends something like $30,000 each time they do it). Someone my age might have gone through 2 or 3 cars by now.
For me, this lack of car ownership was just a product of my life circumstances. I grew up in a city with access to mass transit and everything within walking distance, so a car wasn’t really a necessity. When I went off to college, I still didn’t need a car because why would I? And when I moved to go to law school, once again, I didn’t see any reason why I’d need a car since I could get around using the bus or train. This trend of finding myself not needing a car has continued as I’ve gotten older. That’s not to say that I have no access to a car. In fact, my wife has a car (a 2011 Toyota Prius) and while I don’t drive it often, I can still use it if I need to. I just don’t need to use it very often.
For the most part, I’ve opted to move through the world with the general strategy of using things with wheels – think bikes and scooters (if I knew how to skateboard, I’d probably work that into my life as well). Indeed, I’ve commuted to work by bike pretty much exclusively since I started my first real job back in 2013. And when bikeshare made biking even more accessible, I started biking even more, rarely ever walking or driving anywhere if I could help it.
That gets me to the crux of today’s post. With the current pandemic and social distancing guidelines, it makes me wonder what the future of mass transit and urban mobility is going to look like. In a world with social distancing, mass transit simply will not be able to work in the same manner as it did before. I know it’ll be a while before I pack shoulder to shoulder into a crowded train or bus.
But people are still going to need to move around. If mass transit isn’t an option, what else will they do? It’s not going to be possible to replace all of those people with individual cars. If something good can come from this pandemic, it’s that there may be a movement towards micromobility in a post-pandemic world – and specifically, electric micromobility. This can be a very good thing for people.
You might wonder what micromobility has to do with personal finance or financial independence. The short of it is, this stuff saves you money. And it can greatly improve all of our lives.
Normalizing Micromobility In A Post-Pandemic World
Most of us know that cars are expensive. Not only are they expensive individually, but they also carry huge external costs that most of us don’t calculate when we’re figuring out our driving costs.
I didn’t necessarily start biking because it made financial sense for me – it was really something done out of convenience. But over the years, I’ve definitely seen the financial benefits of opting out of the car world. Before my wife and I got married, I had never paid for car insurance. I had never paid for car repairs or maintenance either. And of course, I never had any upfront costs associated with buying a car.
More importantly, not having a car made taking non-car based modes of transport normal to me. It’s a funny thing. I think for most people when you ask them how to get somewhere, they naturally think of how they get there by car. I’ve had my Google Maps set on bike directions for so long that I often only know how to get places via bike. It’s this normalization of non-car based modes of transportation that I think has helped me a lot in my own money situation. It’s forced me to challenge myself with what I can and can’t do.
As to what’s normal, I like to point out that cars weren’t always normal. They had to become normal through a century of good marketing, subsidies from governments, and literally terraforming the Earth for them. We might be in an interesting situation where a post-pandemic world could make getting around without a car a normal thing to do. This is already fairly normal in a lot of European cities – places like Amsterdam, as an example. In a post-pandemic world, we might have no choice but to make this a normal way of life in many more places as well. If we can’t move people around by bus or train, moving people around with bikes, scooters, skateboards, and other things with wheels might be our only option.
The Benefits Of Wheels – Especially Electric Wheels
Most people underestimate how much power wheels can have on your ability to move through the world. It’s pretty amazing. Your average human can only walk about 3 mph. But once you add wheels onto almost anything, you basically increase your speed by 3 or 4 times.
This jump in speed dramatically opens the world to you too. A normal person is typically only going to walk 15-20 minutes before they think that’s too far. That’s about 1 mile for most people. But throw wheels onto that same person and suddenly, you can increase their world by 3 or 4 times. If 1 mile was the farthest you can go with your feet, suddenly you can go 3 to 4 miles very comfortably in about the same amount of time.
Whenever I mention the power of wheels, specifically how biking can be a real form of transportation and not just a thing you do for fun, I always seem to get the same two excuses (I call these excuses rather than objections because they’ve always struck me as excuses, rather than real objections). These two excuses break down to the following:
- I don’t want to get sweaty; or
- It’s not safe.
For a long time, I haven’t had good counter-arguments to these two common excuses other than essentially saying “tough it out.” I think it’s a fair statement – there are benefits to being uncomfortable – but admittedly, it doesn’t really address anyone’s concerns.
This is why I love electric bikes and scooters. In a post-pandemic world, with the possibility that we’ll need people to move around using their own small modes of transport, electric micromobility options might be more important than ever. It completely destroys the first excuse about not wanting to sweat. The fact is, if you are using an electric bike or scooter, you are not going to sweat.
Electric micromobility options do something else that’s very powerful. It extends the range someone can go without breaking a sweat. Most e-bikes will allow a normal human to travel at 20mph with minimal energy usage. That means most people can go as far as 10 miles in just 30 minutes. That’s a huge range to cover in a short amount of time – all without a car. Adding wheels to a person can increase their range by 3 or 4 times. If you add electric wheels – well, now your world can extend perhaps 10 times as far.
The safety problem is something else that might very well be addressed in a post-pandemic world. Most cities simply don’t have the space to create more roads and car infrastructure. If we’re going to build more transportation infrastructure, it’s going to need to be towards improving our current infrastructure to accommodate people outside of their cars.
The interesting thing is that the pandemic has shown that this is possible and can be done for almost no cost. Here in Minneapolis, for example, the city has closed miles of roads in order to make room for bikes and pedestrians and allow appropriate social distancing. In most places, the only thing that the city had to do was place orange traffic cones on the street, essentially creating a protected bike and pedestrian lane out of existing streets with a few pieces of plastic.
Safety can be addressed beyond just telling people to tough it out. And as more people turn to non-car based modes of transport, maybe it’s possible we start terraforming our world to fit other modes of transport too?
My Current Electric Micromobility Setup And Future Plans
It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with electric micromobility options like e-bikes and scooters. If I was super rich, I’d likely have an entire garage full of e-bikes and scooters.
Alas, I’m not super-rich though, so I have to make do with what I have. Currently, I have one e-bike – a RadCity commuter bike that I bought last year from RadPower Bikes. It cost $1,500, which might seem expensive, but when you consider that an e-bike can honestly act as a car replacement in many ways, suddenly $1,500 really isn’t that much. Your cheapest, crappiest car is going to cost more than $1,500. And it’ll cost much more to operate too.
In the future, I plan to buy a RadWagon, also from RadPower Bikes. This is a cargo bike that makes it possible to hold a lot of stuff. What might be most useful is that, with the long back end, you could use it to carry an extra person on your bike. One issue with micromobility options is that they’re usually only able to carry one person. If you can get a small, lightweight vehicle that can carry two people, that can be very versatile for those shorter trips.
In addition to electric bikes, I really am dying to get an electric scooter. I’ve been obsessed with scooters since I first discovered them via Bird and Lime. I think it’s the perfect option for someone commuting in the 5 miles or less range. At the moment, I’ve got my eye on a Levy Scooter, but I’m still on the fence about whether to pull the trigger on a scooter or not.
Some final thoughts on the electric micromobility options out there if you’re looking for ideas:
- Ebikes: It’s pretty amazing how much ground you can cover with an electric bike and how it can act as a car replacement or as the perfect second vehicle for a household. I’ve been very happy with my RadCity and I’m likely going to get another RadPower electric bike at some point (note: I’ve included a referral link for RadPower – if you use it, you get $50 off your order). In terms of price and utility, these electric bikes go a long way. Remember that $1,500 for an electric bike that you can use as a car replacement really isn’t that much. A cheap car is going to cost you more than that. If you’re looking for more high-end e-bike, I know that Van Moof has high-end bikes and their newest model is in the $2,000 range.
- Scooters: I think scooters are the perfect commuting option for someone who really doesn’t want to exert any energy and has a commute of around 5 miles or less. They’re particularly good for work commuting because you can stand on them, so your clothes won’t get wrinkled or messed up (there is nothing cooler than scooting in a suit). Scooters are also advantageous because they have a lower barrier to entry. You can get a Xiaomi scooter for as little as $300 or $400. More high-end scooters like the Levy Scooter are still only in the $500 to $600 range. And if you want to go high-end, an Unagi Scooter is $1,000.
- Electric Skateboards: I’m not super knowledgable on the electric skateboard market, but it’s something that I’ve seen people use and if I knew how to skateboard, I’d probably use these for the portability and fun factor. Boosted Boards went out of business recently, so I don’t know what the future holds for that. The One Wheel is a quasi-electric skateboard that is accessible to everyone, as it doesn’t require any special skill to be able to ride it. My only issue with electric skateboards is that they seem far too expensive for what they do. If they ever make cheaper electric skateboards, I’d be more apt to consider it.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the sharing economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the sharing economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps Kevin uses to track his financial accounts.
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $50 welcome bonus if you open an account and fund it with at least $500.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $10 for opening an account.
- Dobot. This is a great microsaving app that monitors the cash flow in your bank account and saves away small amounts for you each week. It's free and you'll get $5 when you use it.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
I live in suburban NJ and work in Philadelphia. I need a car to get around in my town but I can take a train to work. A lot of people who live in the city don’t need to own a car but just occasional access like you. To say that that you “don’t own a car” when you’re wife does, is a bit misleading. You’re married, so the name listed on the registration is a technicality. If you’re not stealing a car each time you drive, then you own a car. If your wife adopts a dog and she takes care of the feeding and walking, it’s hard to say then you’re not a dog owner.
It might be more realistic to say that you’re a 1 car household.
I do agree that it’s crazy how often some people buy cars. My father showed me the math of car ownership when I was around 16, comparing the total lifetime cost difference for people who rush out and buy another car every 5 years vs. just waiting until it’s at least 10 years old. I think most people don’t look at it this way. I kept my last car until it was 13 yrs old and got rid of it mostly because my kids were old enough to drive and I was sick of driving a minivan. (It was wonderful for the days when we had 2 young kids and were carting bikes and friends around.)
Along with keeping a car a long time, I also will never buy a brand new car. My current car was only 3 years old when I bought it, like-new with low mileage, and still under manufacturer warranty. Since I don’t put a lot of miles on it and I keep up on the maintenance, it should still last me at least another 10 years.
I also am in the same area. Have lived in Philly but now moving to suburban NJ.
Unfortunately there is not good public transit in this particular town and I will have to get a car to drive to PATCO to get into work once it reopens to avoid a 1-1.5hr commute. By car it would take 20 minutes but there is nowhere to park it in center city of course. I HATE having a car TBH and would never move to a place where I had to rely on it but fortunately/unfortunately- fell in love with a non-city boy who owns a house. I’m going to try to leverage whatever I end up with (have definitely been procrastinating here) with other side hustling. I owned a beater car in Philly for 8 months- paid $485, I needed it for 1 day a week gig in suburbs for 3 months. Because I had it I was able to pick up a side gig doing farmer’s markets 1-3 days a week. The car easily paid for itself 12 times over before it died. I plan to do the same when I get another except add in some deliveries too. The farmer’s market gig wouldn’t be possible with an ebike so that leans me towards a trad car.
“fortunately/unfortunately- fell in love with a non-city boy who owns a house”
My mom would always say: It’s either love or money that makes a person move so far from home.
I’ve remembered those words in so many conversations and it’s true probably 99% of the time.
My husband grew up in University City (SW Philly) and moved to NJ when he was 13, when his father was stabbed and left for dead in the street. He is so not a city boy anymore. At all. Even when travelling to Rome, London, Paris, etc he’ll agree to a one day city tour but then wants to see something out in the countryside: Pompeii, Stonehenge, Omaha Beach. Requires a bit of give and take and we both get what we want.
@dizzy I have a lot of coworkers who live in NJ and still drive to work. They have anxiety about riding the train over the bridge with no guardrail and would rather pay $12-15/day + bridge toll to have the ‘safety’ of their car. One would think this is rare but it’s more common than you think. We lived in Deptford for a few years, loving condo life, but the commute to the train was pure hell. My work hours put me in the thickest of rush hour traffic. Once I was pregnant with our first child, realizing more time on the road = less time being Mommy, we moved closer to the train. The added perk, if your commute is < 3 miles each way, car insurance considers that "pleasure use" which is the cheapest rating you can get for their distance to work/use calculations.
I get it totally. My bf would consider moving he says (I mean, I’ve been REALLY upset about changing my life, tho i love him and will do it) but not for a few years when house is paid off (ps- HE is paying for the house- we are not married, we didn’t make decision together, it’s his equity. It feels fair and was his idea. Split utils/groceries and I put some monthly $ into an emergency fund we can use for whatever) Definitely makes sense and this is a terrible time to sell anyway, plus house isn’t what’s wanted these days (cute n small, but what’s in demand is still bigger stuff) That being said, things are crazy right now and it may be months if not years (probably) before I have to go into the city the same amount of time I normally do. So only way I can justify a car is you’d better find ways to side hustle with it. I’m now in the town next to Deptford tho- can I quote you to my boyfriend about my driving anxiety to PATCO? LOL.
lol Sure! Quote away! I feel your pain. An old college friend referred the drive up 295 to Woodcrest Station as a “death ride”. We liked living in Deptford just did not like the commute. That is some real love if you’re willing to drive that to live with him. 😉
Bigger is not always better. I know a few married couples who moved up to large homes and within 2 years were getting divorced. Big home=big stress. We opted for a smaller home that is financially easier to deal with and doesn’t leave us totally strapped and eating spaghetti for the first 10 years. We love to travel and didn’t want to give that up. It’s only around 1700-1800 sf. With 2 kids we were bursting at the seams at times but to me that’s just a signal that we need to get rid of excess crap. More house means more taxes, higher gas/elec bills, more cleaning, ugh. More work and more money. Our kids are 20 & 23 so they won’t be here much longer and we can spread out and only a few more years of mortgage. My retired neighbors say they want to trade because we’re in a rancher and they have stairs.
I work in a hospital so I’ve have several weeks home & now we’re starting to gradually return to normal non-covid health care. Probably another week or 2 home at the most. My commute is super easy. We’re at the edge of Cherry Hill near Kresson Rd so it’s a short hop to Haddonfield Station. In Covid traffic it takes 6 minutes. lol
Good luck & drive safely!
Fair enough about the 1-car household. That is what we are. I do note that the car is from before I met my wife, so I dated and married my way into it. I didn’t choose to date her and then marry her though because she had a car. Maybe I can’t prove it, but I’m 99% sure that if I was single right now, I still wouldn’t have a car just given how little I drive and how there are other ways to access a car (renting one via Turo, Car2Go when it existed, Uber and Lyft before the pandemic).
One thing is that even though we have a car, I never use it and we don’t use it very often. Even for daycares for our son, we specifically looked for a daycare that was within walking distance because I don’t have a car to use and I’m going to be the one doing dropoff and pickup most days.
I agree on the brand new car. Seems like with how often people like to switch up cars, it’s not hard to find a car only a few years old with not that many miles on it.
“Seems like with how often people like to switch up cars, it’s not hard to find a car only a few years old with not that many miles on it.”
This! People who lease just so they can never have responsibility for car repairs and admit they like it so that they always have a car that’s under warranty. =:o Yikes! Well, their loss is my gain. I let them take the hit since a car depreciates the most with the first 3 years. We used to love that new car smell but now it just seems so wasteful. The new car smell wears off long before you stop feeling it in your budget. I was able to pay off my current car in 6 months. I really was hoping to save enough to pay cash but I caved in early when I found exactly what I was looking for.
Once again Kevin has inspired me to do one more non-traditional thing. I loved the fact that he was a lawyer who did side hustles and biked to work. I can just imagine him in a suit just locking his bike while his colleagues stare blankly at him when they walk into the building. Anyways, I have always almost never relied on a car in my life. For most of my childhood and young adult life I would use public transportation. Nowadays I take an Uber to work in the mornings and come home in the bus in the evenings. I’ve been thinking of starting to save for a car just so I can just minimally use it, but it seems to own an E-bike would make my commute less expensive (Uber is not cost-friendly) and for a lot less too compared to car repair/maintenance, insurance, DMV fees, etc.
How far is your commute? My wife has a 12-mile commute to her office, and with the ebike, she can make that commute in 30-35 minutes. You can go an average speed of 20mph without breaking a sweat on an ebike, which means if your commute is 10 miles or less, you’re looking at a 30 minute or less commute on an ebike, which is very reasonable.
It’s around 7 miles but there are one or two street hills I need to tackle. Do you know how good your E-Bike is on an incline?
Goes up hills like a hot knife through butter. You can even throttle up the hill if you don’t want to pedal at all. 7 miles is a perfect distance.
Great post! And as much as I like the electric options, especially bikes, it’s worth noting that the manual options are even better. The human body is meant to move and work, and America sure needs the exercise. So I’ advocate for more bikes all around, and regular old manual bikes that you have to pedal are cheaper, require no charging, but most importantly build more muscle and burn more calories.
You’re killing it with deliveries as I see on Instagram, keep at it dude!
I’m definitely not against the manual options either, and admittedly, I’m getting soft and weak from all the ebiking. The reason I’m so big on the electric micromobility options is compared to the alternative – cars. It removes a lot of the barriers to entry that comes with biking, which is often the reason why someone opts to jump in the car instead of doing something else. Also, not sure about whether the studies are true, but apparently there are some health benefits with ebikes.
And oh yeah, the delivery game has been too strong lately. It’s lawyer money out there for the delivery game, at least in my area and the way I do it.