Cycling & E-bike
Bike commute savings.
What does cycling to work save compared with driving? Enter your commute and your own costs and get yearly and monthly savings plus the tailpipe CO2 you would avoid. Every cost is yours to fill in. Runs in your browser.
Commute and costs
Yearly savings
Fill the form and press Calculate.
Worked example
A 10 km one-way commute, 5 days a week for 48 weeks, is 240 trips and 10 × 2 × 240 = 4,800 km. Driving at 8 L/100 km and $1.70/L costs $0.136 per km in fuel, plus $0.15 per km for other distance-driven car costs, $0.286 per km in all, which is $1,372.80, plus $10 a day parking ($2,400.00) for $3,772.80. Cycling at $0.05 per km costs $240.00. The difference is $3,532.80 a year, $294.40 a month. The fuel avoided is 384 L, or 902 kg of CO2. Biking only half the trips saves $1,766.40.
How it works
Car cost = km × (L/100 km ÷ 100 × fuel price + other cost per km) + parking per commute day. Bike cost = km × bike cost per km. Savings are the difference. Commute days = days per week × weeks × share of trips biked, and km = commute days × one-way distance × 2.
CO2. The US EPA uses 8,887 grams of CO2 per gallon of gasoline burned. A US gallon is 3.785 L, so that is 2.348 kg per litre. The figure counts fuel burned only, not vehicle manufacturing, and an e-bike's electricity emissions depend on your grid and are not included.
No cost figure here is a published average. Your fuel price, car costs and bike costs are inputs, so the result is yours rather than a national estimate.
Sources and basis (opened 2026-10-08): US EPA, Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator: Calculations and References (8,887 g CO2 per gallon of gasoline).
FAQ
How much money does cycling to work save?
In the example, a 10 km commute 240 days a year saves $3,532.80: $3,772.80 driving against $240.00 cycling. Your figure depends on your own fuel use, parking and other car costs.
Which car costs should I include?
Fuel, parking and the costs that grow with distance such as tires and maintenance. Fixed costs like insurance and loan payments barely change if you still own the car, so leave them out unless you would sell it.
How is the CO2 worked out?
Litres of fuel not burned times 2.348 kg per litre, from the US EPA figure of 8,887 g per gallon. 384 L is 902 kg.
Does it work for an e-bike?
Yes. Put your e-bike running cost per km in the bike field; see the e-bike cost per km calculator for a figure.
What if I only bike some days?
Lower the share of trips. At 50% the example saves $1,766.40 a year.
Disclaimer
Estimate based on the figures you enter. It is not financial advice and does not include bike purchase, safety gear or time differences.