https://maxmautner.com/2026/10/11/how-fast-is-a-car.html
The median American worker earns $23.80/hour, or ~$19 after taxes. A used car driven the US average of ~10,900 miles a year costs ~$8,200, counting $1,700 a year for a parking space at home. That is ~430 hours of work before the car moves. A new car takes ~700 hours. A $999 e-bike ridden 3,000 miles a year takes ~25 hours.
“Time a car saves” implies there’s another option. In my current situation I’m able to use my new ebike to get to work and can get to a grocery store (the route is long and mostly lacks bike lanes though), but unfortunately for many if not most Americans a car is mandatory.
And even for me if I want to say, visit my parents (about a 1.5 hour drive) there is no way to get there aside from a car. There are no regional busses or trains to take me there.
I hate it here
I feel like there are a lot of places where it’s more realistic than you would think, as long as you’re willing to be exposed to the weather. I live in a place where I can bike (just pedaling) to several different grocery stores in 15 minutes. My parents also live about a 1.5 hour drive from me, where there’s maybe the same grocery store density but more cross streets and traffic. I visit via Greyhound/FlixBus, which has over 1000 stops across the country, covering every major and minor area. The round trip costs me less than $70, which is comparable to gas and wear and labor. I’m pretty sure 70% of the population is either an easy bike ride or a city bus ride from a Greyhound stop, with most of the rest being the godforsaken exurbs.
Granted, it’s inconvenient to need to bend my schedule around the bus, and there are places and events that I end up needing to find a carpool to or miss out on. But it’s not so bad.