Commuting Cost

My second biggest yearly expenses

Photo by John Cobb on Unsplash

From the start to the end of 2023, I was constantly tracking my expenses. After a quick review, I was damn shocked to know that the transportation cost become my second biggest annual spending.

I spent IDR 11.992.500 this year for commuting, both using personal and public transportation

Just to let you know,

• I’m living in Cibubur and working in Cakung. Both are located in East Jakarta with a total of 60 km to commute in a day
• I can quite surely tell you that my place isn’t transportation mode friendly: 20 minutes to the KRL station, 15 minutes to the TransJakarta shelter, 10 minutes to the LRT station (this is the nearest one, but unfortunately, the route is not suitable to my office), and not reachable to the MRT station
• So, I mostly choose to commute with motorcycle. I think it’s the best option since it’s timesaving, more flexible, and logically cheaper.

However, since the report shows a bloated number, I was questioning whether it is true that riding a motorcycle is cheaper than any other transportation mode.

The records are telling the truth

At the onset, I thought the cost needed in motorcycle is only for gasoline. So, it definitely makes sense that it’s cheaper than anything else.

I fill up the gasoline twice a week, with IDR 40.000 price for one charge

The illustration of using TransJakarta (two tickets per day, round-trip) with Online Ride (to reach both the shelter and my house)

Look!

I could amazingly save 2.3x of my money and it’s significantly cheaper and I’m going to be freaking rich along the way.

Shut up, that is nonsense!

This is what I missed, when you have a motorcycle or any personal vehicle, don’t forget to include the whole cost into the calculation such as,

• the fuel cost
• the routine service cost
• the retribution cost
• and the emergency cost (for the unexpected trouble you might face)

So, here’s the thorough calculation based on my notes.

My whole cost of using motorcycle in 2023

Turns out, it’s more expensive than using TransJakarta.

Wait… WHAT?!?!?

It’s supposed to be cheaper, but why not?

The data shows 53% of those expenses are coming from the maintenance cost. Well, it seems like having an old war tank in an intense battle,

The number to pay for the repair is greater than the number of enemies destroyed

I have three things you need to know to give clues why it becomes more expensive,

• My motorcycle is manufactured in 2013
• My mother bought it secondhand in the mid of 2021
• I used that in the mid of 2022 until now and the problems routinely come and go in my era

So, I think the obsoleteness of the machine itself may cause excessive spending because it’s more susceptible to deteriorate along with continuous use rather than the new one.

And when I closely look at the total maintenance cost, it surprisingly shows that 55% of it is coming from the unexpected maintenance cost. This is a vehicle condition issue. The cost spent reconciles the healthiness of your machine.

Note: I named it as an unexpected cost because I didn’t even notice that the damage would happen or couldn’t see it as a trouble at first. Also, any troubles that I only know when it’s affected my riding experiences.

Since replacing it with the new unit is a somewhat difficult option to take (due to the insufficient budget), optimizing what I currently have first can be a wise action to jump in.

On this year, I went to the workshop 18x. For every single problem, I always curiously ask to the mechanic: where’s the problem? why can it happen? what to do to solve it? and how can I prevent it?

It’s better to get problem from something we know, than we don’t

Even I asked him to demonstrate more simply and show me where’s the good state of a part compared to bad one, so I can believe that there’s indeed a problem and not just a deception marketing he did. Though his explanation is completely technical and gave me a headache, still it’s very important to me to understand.

I won’t let my negligence and ignorance snatch more rupiahs from my bank account anymore

I realize this problem can’t be completely resolved, but it can be minimized by taking care of the routine service to prevent unexpected service and reduce my commuting costs accordingly.

My mechanic, with no doubt, told me I’d spent big money (unexpected service) on something small (routine service) that I, or my mom or earlier owner, didn’t care before.

Giving me a great punch on the face.

Should I consider changing the mode to reduce the cost?

Ummm…. maybe not yet. I still want to rely on motorcycle because of its flexibility and can save more time.

• Flexible: whenever my friends calling or any emergency situation coming, it makes me is able to come very soon. Not depending on others.
• Timesaving: just need 60 minutes to commute for single trip, while 85 minutes using KRL and 100 minutes using TransJakarta. It’s not draining as well. So, I can use my free time when I get home because there’s energy remains.

The full standing sensation on the train or bus is something I can’t bear of

Regarding the cost, I notice it’s more expensive using motorcycle. But it’s majorly from the unexpected cost which comes from small deterioration which was ignored for a long time. So, before I decide to buy a new one, I want to maintain my motorcycle’s health first and hopefully it will eliminate the big cost.

So, it’s still acceptable enough staying with it

To call it a day, here’s some consideration that I possibly take to cut the commuting cost:

• Tighten the service schedule compliance and pay attention to the appropriate way to use it
• Move to the near or more strategic place. It can reduce fuel and maintenance costs, otherwise, it can increase the housing budget
• Save the money to buy a new motorcycle and keep it well-maintain

Tadaaam! it’s the end of story, thanks for reading. Don’t forget to take care of your vehicle.

Long live, my fellow commuters!