62
votes
Invested too much in my car! How can it be worth cycling to work?
It is a known psychological fallacy (sunk costs fallacy) that already having spent too much resources (time, money…) on something that turned out to be a mistake somehow justifies persisting in doing ...
- 14.4k
23
votes
Invested too much in my car! How can it be worth cycling to work?
I would simply steer away of the bike vs car perspective, as people will instantly start obsessing over two metrics: cost and speed. Neither of these capture some of the true benefits of cycling. I ...
- 30.4k
17
votes
Invested too much in my car! How can it be worth cycling to work?
My case is a particularly striking example: I would have to pay £8 per day to park. Plus another couple of pounds on fuel. I have a collection of bikes, but one that's perfectly adequate for this ...
- 57.2k
9
votes
Invested too much in my car! How can it be worth cycling to work?
Be the change that you want to see in the world
I can't justify riding my bike into work if I'm investing so much money on my car in the first place
That is a totally bogus argument both for them ...
- 755
8
votes
Accepted
Invested too much in my car! How can it be worth cycling to work?
If people actually find coming by car slightly more comfortable/enjoyable, then the money they spent actually is an investment. Therefore the sunk cost argument is not neccesarily a fallacy. ...
- 96
5
votes
Invested too much in my car! How can it be worth cycling to work?
One halfway compromise is to suggest they drive 95% of the way to work, park in a all-day free carpark, then ride the last 5%. They're less likely to be sweaty after a short ride, and its a good ...
- 121k
4
votes
Invested too much in my car! How can it be worth cycling to work?
If these people value their cars so much and are concerned about the money spent on it, cycling to work at least some times makes even more sense! By cycling, one prolongs the lifespan of the car with ...
- 151
2
votes
What is the usual pattern of use of a velodrome (cycling track)?
This an old thread with an accepted answer; the consensus is against the idea.
So here is a dissenting view.
In my city (Melbourne, Australia), there are seven velodromes that are open to the public....
- 17.2k
2
votes
Invested too much in my car! How can it be worth cycling to work?
Here's a story that I think wins people over:
I usually just bike in a few days a week, and those are my best days. When I drive, I get stuck in traffic and I end up coming into work feeling dull. ...
- 121
2
votes
Invested too much in my car! How can it be worth cycling to work?
Petrol is not a sunk cost. Every mile you travel in a car costs money on petrol. Even if the rest of it is money you've already spent, you're still saving money on petrol.
And it saves money on a ...
- 1,049
1
vote
Invested too much in my car! How can it be worth cycling to work?
As some of the comments pointed out, saying something like "it's not economically viable to bike" is sometimes a cover for "I'm scared to bike" or some other concern.
Lots of ppl are scared to bike ...
- 4,099
1
vote
Invested too much in my car! How can it be worth cycling to work?
It kind of makes sense for one person. But if that person is living in a household with others, you might shift this topic. How many cars do they have right now? Two? Maybe one would be enough if at ...
- 111
1
vote
Invested too much in my car! How can it be worth cycling to work?
This is the "sunk cost fallacy". What makes a future decision NOW has nothing to do with what you already spent if there is no way to get that money back.
Suppose I don't own a car, but I own a ...
- 111
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