<story><title>You can’t judge housing affordability without knowing transportation costs</title><url>http://cityobservatory.org/transportation_housing_affordability/</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>robertnealan</author><text>Several years ago I asked my mom why she lived so far from where she worked (Vallejo, CA to San Ramon, CA), and she claimed they were saving money on cheaper rent. Five minutes of napkin paper math later I pointed her and her partner were spending roughly $700&amp;#x2F;month commuting in gas, bridge toll, and basic wear+tear on their vehicles (based on ~$0.45&amp;#x2F;mile).&lt;p&gt;It seems like most people don&amp;#x27;t account for vehicle costs when accounting for cost of living. Why I&amp;#x27;m not positive, though it seems to just be the general abstractness of the cost spread out over time, and the assumption in America that you&amp;#x27;re going to drive everywhere anyway so it doesn&amp;#x27;t matter.&lt;p&gt;Even worse we see this with numerous Uber&amp;#x2F;Lyft&amp;#x2F;delivery &amp;quot;contractors&amp;quot; who are putting endless miles on their personal vehicles without accounting for the inevitable cost of replacing them.</text></comment>
<story><title>You can’t judge housing affordability without knowing transportation costs</title><url>http://cityobservatory.org/transportation_housing_affordability/</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>dsfyu404ed</author><text>The fact that this article does not break down the various transportation costs sets off massive red flags.&lt;p&gt;The $3k&amp;#x2F;yr number mentioned for the cost of transportation via car in Houston is on the same order as an MBTA rail pass in the Boston area.  Driving everywhere in Houston results in a hell of a lot higher quality of life than riding public transit everywhere in Boston.&lt;p&gt;Yes of course transit is not free but that&amp;#x27;s true whether regardless of your mode of transit.  The premise is solid.  The analysis is lacking.</text></comment>