Inefficiency of Automotive Transportation
- Thread starter Al
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Had a 2019 Ram Cummins 2500 traded in by a firefighter that used it to commute to work 250 miles away. Sure, he could have used a Honda Civic and use 1/3 the fuel. But being a firefighter, who attends numerous vehicle crashes, maybe he made the best decision given a need for best personal safety. Maybe alot of folks do this?
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Wife’s cousins ex had one 6 speed manual which I think tows 17,000. He routinely went to the auction and picked up cars. I remember seeing 2 batteries when he lifted the hood. Since it’s inefficient probably he should have molecularly transported the vehicles from auction to his dealership
All this talk about efficiency has me laughing hard.
I feel like it’s work performance review time when you hear the word “efficiency” a lot but it means nothing. And people that use it a lot, seem to know little of its meaning.
I feel like it’s work performance review time when you hear the word “efficiency” a lot but it means nothing. And people that use it a lot, seem to know little of its meaning.
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How efficient is working from home? 5/7 on my team do it, and the 2 in the office have to take up their slack because they get a pass on things that can only be done from the office. Apple says 40% loss in productivity
The other interesting thing I learned? They are excluded from corporate communications. I would like to think during layoffs they would be considered first to go. It is on purpose they don’t get the communications that in office do. They are even excluded from the CEOs town hall which could easily be done on Zoom.
Northern Ontario or any sparsely populated area is a bit unique. Long distances and big animals to hit. On average in the US, the midsize and 1/2 tons pickups have far less driver deaths than the 3/4 ton trucks though. https://www.iihs.org/ratings/driver-death-rates-by-make-and-model Minivans and wagons are even better, but not everywhere has moose and bears, and every other vehicle is a pickup.
That is the hard part, how to discourage fossil fuel usage for high use choices, without forcing most people to live in a high rise in a city...
Remote areas need a different set of rules though, and I'm sure the firefighter only did the 250 mile commute once something like every 8 days, so its not so different total miles than a lot of people. Heck, in the summer I probably average ~4-500 miles a week between work and kids stuff.
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Some people also do it for the luxury, comfort and performance. I'm not interested in shoehorning myself into something like a Yaris or Fit.
People in other part of the world starts getting bigger vehicles as they get wealthier as well. So it is not just a tax thing.
Work from home is likely more efficient not just for the commute but also for time. You can mix in children pick up drop off and not rely on additional helper, you can have population in rural area doing work for ultra dense area and load balance the construction and infrastructure cost. You can balance out the employment opportunities, etc.
In a bigger picture, people will spend their efficiency improvement on luxury and comfort and dream / status symbol instead of consuming less. It is not necessarily a bad thing, as you may eat better instead of eat more calories when you can afford more food, directly or indirectly by eating meat raised on corns instead of eating rice and beans.
Work from home is likely more efficient not just for the commute but also for time. You can mix in children pick up drop off and not rely on additional helper, you can have population in rural area doing work for ultra dense area and load balance the construction and infrastructure cost. You can balance out the employment opportunities, etc.
In a bigger picture, people will spend their efficiency improvement on luxury and comfort and dream / status symbol instead of consuming less. It is not necessarily a bad thing, as you may eat better instead of eat more calories when you can afford more food, directly or indirectly by eating meat raised on corns instead of eating rice and beans.
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Another concept, younger folks don’t want to pay for something when not in use. A typical car sits 20-24 hours a day (unlike work vehicles). Why pay to own it, then?
For me? Driving old prestigious brands, all worth 4 figures by now, lets folks know—I have made it and have arrived!
For me? Driving old prestigious brands, all worth 4 figures by now, lets folks know—I have made it and have arrived!
Good for you but, 4 figures are not "made it" prestigious.Another concept, younger folks don’t want to pay for something when not in use. A typical car sits 20-24 hours a day (unlike work vehicles). Why pay to own it, then?
For me? Driving old prestigious brands, all worth 4 figures by now, lets folks know—I have made it and have arrived!
You just described my wife in a nutshell.
He looks in between the lines to me? Does the Camry driver not know their vehicle dimensions or how to turn the car slightly to the right when they have plenty of room? Daily commute drama for me.
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There are cities where bicycles are major transportation (Copenhagen, Denmark-been there.). There are cities where many people that don't own vehicles (New York).
There are services to solve the issues you mentioned.
There is, of course, mass transportation available in large cities like Copenhagen, Denmark, and NYC (as dangerous as it is in NY)
What to do in mid and small sized cities and the exurbs and rural areas? I make shift relief at 3am and 3pm, and live 8 miles away. No transit services are within 20 miles of me. What about hunters going into the woods or people towing their boat to the bay? People wanting to tow their RV to the lake?
What to do in mid and small sized cities and the exurbs and rural areas? I make shift relief at 3am and 3pm, and live 8 miles away. No transit services are within 20 miles of me. What about hunters going into the woods or people towing their boat to the bay? People wanting to tow their RV to the lake?
I prefer to call it "cost of ownership" and "cost per trip".
It is not all bad though. You can do way worse with all these planned obsolescence products these days and unreliable products they make. If I am going to work from home I don't need 2 cars, probably 1 + occassional Uber is enough.
If you're going to count inefficiencies in the creation and distribution of electricity, you'ld better do it for gasoline as well. They used to have a 1:20 ratio (95% efficient) for fuel expended to fuel received. It's worse now. Then you have refining, piping, trucking, and dispensing at the point-of-sale.