cyclezealot

A poll.. In the course of a week the use of your bike saves you how many trips that otherwise would be done via a car. When My wife looks askance at the cost of new tires, etc. , I remind her I probably save at least 45 miles a week that otherwise I'd put on the car.. Conservatively speaking, I estimate that equates to 180 gallons of gasoline saved at a cost of about $270 per year.. . That pretty much pays for the cost of bike maintenance per year, that does not include wear and tear on the car.. What's your story.. ?
I'd say my minimum use of my bike for purposes of errands is at least 45 miles. Usually about 3 times a week..

Mithrandir

Perhaps a better metric would be "miles saved". I now save between 48-96 miles a week by cycling to work 1-2 days a week.

I typically filled up my gas every other friday before commuting, it just worked out that I could always get 2 weeks out of one tank. The first fillup day after I started commuting, I was so confused as to why I still had 25% of my tank left on friday. It was a funny feeling.

However, seeing the gasoline bill after a month of commuting? That was an awesome feeling.

dcrowell

I save roughly 40 miles a week just for commuting. I also run many errands on the bike.

40 miles isn't a lot, but I live close to everything. Also, those short trips kill gas mileage. My truck can average about 22mpg. Short around town trips probably lower that to 12-15mpg. Even so, that's only saving 3 gallons of gas per week for commuting.

The bigger savings will occur when I sell my truck sometime in the next few months. I'm going to live car-free and no longer have a car payment, insurance, or other related expenses.

coldbike

I am down to about $500 per year in gas savings, $500 in insurance (car is insured as a recreational vehicle since I drive less than 5000km per year) and then the hard to figure savings on car maintenance which is somewhere between $500 and $1500 per year.

Rob_E

It's hard to say. I got rid of my car, and I only use my wife's car when she is with me and unwilling to bike. I picked "4 to 7" because I can easily go a week without getting in a car, but I guess I could also say "zero" because choosing not to bike never means choosing to drive. It means either bussing, walking, or not going anywhere.

wahoonc

I picked 2-4 because it depends...

I travel extensively for a living, usually via car but when I get where I am going I switch to the bicycle if at all possible. I also try to avoid driving on weekends. I use the bike to make grocery and beer runs, go out to eat and occasionally to get to work.

Aaron

qmsdc15

On a good week, over a hundred.

This huge printer which didn't fit flat in my trailer bed might not have fit in a compact car. Maybe saved a truck trip with that one.

Cyclepup

We haven't done a grocery run lately since DH is waiting for surgery on his elbow/hand, but we've been doing the in-town runs 5x a week and that adds up to 55 miles/week. Once he's had surgery and is able to ride longer, we'll get back to grocery runs which will add another 18-miles to that 55.

jdswitters

in may I had a goal of reducing my gas consumption from 2 tanks a month to one. The last three months I usually end up with half a tank left over.

probably 200 miles a month by bike, and another 200 miles a month by changing some habits, like shopping on my bike on the way home from work and consolidating trips and staying local.

fotooutdoors

Times? During the summer more than 7. I always commute by bike (5-7 trips/week), plus there are groceries, church, going to friends' houses, etc. As rob_e mentioned, choosing to go by something other than bike doesn't have to mean a car. Hmm...I don't have a car, so does that mean that biking offsets 0 car trips a week, since I would be taking public transit if I didn't ride?

Edit: average commuting and errand mileage per week since Jan 1 is 55 miles

TurbineBlade

None, because I would just ride the subway (metro).

bbunk

Since everyone seems to be counting commuting to work I chose 4 to 7 since I commute 5 days a week. That ends up to 93+ miles a week, longer if I stretch my ride home out. I try to run a couple of errands a week but when I go with my wife we drive still.
My riding has enabled me to sell my car so we are a one car family so we are saving quite a lot. No gas, insurance, etc. It adds up quickly.