How many miles a day on an average do you drive in your car?

[trumad]

I was reading the "Death of the Electric car" thread and was struck by the fact that an electric car would suit my needs perfectly. I drive less than 30 miles a day.

Although it may not work for some... it sure looks like it would work for a majority of drivers in this country.

[H2O Man]

1. The average day?

Zero to six. I'm hoping we could agree on three.

[trumad]

16. That's cause you love everything in the middle...

aint that right 2?

[H2O Man]

21. What are the choices?

2B or Not 2B?

[warrior1]

2. 3

round trip to work and back.

[nosferaustin]

3. Zero

I'm a bike commuter, ~9 miles a day. Well, I guess I drive some on the weekends, so averaged over seven days, probably about 2 miles a day, maybe.

[madokie]

4. a thirty mile per day would take care of 95% or better of our driving

got a perfectly good f150 for the rest, haul stuff etc.
My neighbor has a geo metro he converted to electric that he can charge for around 80 cents and drive 50 miles, what a deal that is. He has about 4000 bucks in it total and much of that was spent during the figuring it out phase

[RubyDuby in GA]

5. During the work week, 80 a day

[iamjoy]

6. You Need To Distinguish Californians

Didn't they test the electric car there?

And aren't commutes in California, where the housing costs of the larger metropolitan areas far exceeds the wages? This pushes people beyond the suburbs in search of affordability. So, commutes of scores of miles may be more common in California.

BUT
look at smaller metropolitan areas, ones where the housing is still affordable for many workers, and the commute may be less. They may benefit from an electric car.

or, even large areas with good public transportation. California has lousy public transportation - it's all sprawled. Look at DC or Chicago. Sure, you may live 20 miles from the city, but if you can drive to a train station 5 miles away, park your car and catch a ride where you need to go...

[hlthe2b]

7. 36 miles/day

But, the plug-ins might allow for recharging at work...:shrug:

[rox63]

8. It's 9 miles to work each way

So I probably average less than 30, if you also count errands, social visits, etc. When my employer moves to a new building next year, my commute will drop to less than 4 miles each way. :)

[CrispyQ]

9. Less than 25 Mon-Fri. Zero on weekends.

There's an electric car in our neighborhood & I've seen an electric Toyota SUV in Boulder. I've never seen or heard of one of those before so I wonder if it's a prototype or perhaps the owner has converted it himself.

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. 30

[sniffa]

11. most days, 1 miLe or Less

as we aLL take pubLic transportation to our jobs/schooL/etc.

on speciaL days such as xmas - 300 miLes+

[roody]

12. 6 - round trip to work and back

Many stores in between.

[Swamp Rat]

13. Less than 30 miles a week

Sometimes 0.

[MuseRider]

14. Around 60

sometimes only 40. That will end in about 6 months when we get moved then it is likely I won't drive at all many days of the week.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

15. Most days, not at all

When I do drive, almost all my trips are ten miles round trip or less.

Ah, the joys of

1) Self-employment from a home office

2) Living in a neighborhood with most essential services within walking distance

3) Having a bus that runs from a major shopping mall to downtown go right past my door.

None of the above was by accident, by the way. :-)

[IndyBob]

17. 30 on an average day,

300 or more when I need to travel to a job site. This happens once a week or so.

[AlCzervik]

18. right around 40 give or take 5.

[Clark2008]

19. 30, but unless they make electric cars a little bigger, I'd be

scared to drive one where I live.

To get to work, I must take two of the most major interstates - I-40 and I-75 - and driving a smallish car around all those semi's would make for some harrowing experiences. I was hit by one back in 1997 and if I was in anything smaller than my Mustang, I would have been a smush-patty.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

20. About 30, But I Still Don't Want To Plug Anything In.

Too lazy...

[shanine]

22. 6 round trip

[soothsayer]

27. me, too

[sarge43]

23. Much less than 30 miles per day, closer to 5 maybe.

An electric car would be perfect (sigh)

[ben_thayer]

24. Unfortunately 104...

Its 52 miles one way to my job. Average daily commute time of 2.5 hrs. The only positive thing is, I am on a 4-day 10 hr shift!
:eyes:

[drm604]

25. I probably drive less than 2 miles on a typical weekday,

to the train station and back. Add to that shopping trips, going out on weekends or evenings, etc. and I would guess that I average less than then 5 or 6 miles a day.

[Rude Horner]

26. Almost 100 miles per day.

I drive 90 miles round trip for work, 5 days a week. Luckily for me, it's all highway miles. Only takes about 35 minutes, each way.

[undeterred]

28. 106 miles per day

And before any of you jump down my throat, it took me 5 years to find this permanent job with benefits and there isn't anyone at my company who lives near enough to commute with me.

[B Calm]

29. I drive my work truck 560 miles a day. To get to back and forth to work

I drive around 16 miles a day.

[Speck Tater]

30. 12 but I'm planning on getting moped to cut gas costs. (nt)

[Avalux]

31. Less than 10.

I'm fortunate enough to live about 3 miles from work and I do very little driving out of my area. An electric car would be perfect for me.

[maveric]

32. 70 +

Its 34 miles to work. But when I get home, everything is walking/biking distance. I occaisionally drive when I get home. Mostly I walk.

[etherealtruth]

33. 60

Unfortunately, the closest job I could find is located ~30 miles away.

[Lex]

34. Average of 5 miles per day or less

most days.

[SmokingJacket]

35. Under ten on an average day.

And often we don't drive at all. Though once or maybe twice a month we take an out-of-town trip that might make an electric car unworkable.

If it weren't for groceries and hauling recycling and lumber for projects, I'd get rid of the car -- use a scooter around town and rent a car for trips.

[shanti]

36. during the week

about 2 miles per day, on the average. i drive to the train station less than a mile from my home, park, and drive home, sometimes stopping to shop. that's it! my mileage is less than 10,000 a year, and this is LOW here in cali.

[ThomWV]

37. Many Days I Don't Go Anywhere, But When I Do, about 100 as a minimum

[TahitiNut]

38. The 'average' doesn't matter. How many days do you drive further than an electric would go??

This is, imho, another example of how propagandistic use of the 'average' has clouded our thinking. The efficacy of an electric vehicle as a sole means of individual transportation nas almost nothing to do with 'average' miles traveled in a day. It has mostly to do with whether the daily needs of the individual could be met. If convenient access to some alternative mode of transportation isn't available for those times where daily mileage needs aren't met by the electric car, then it's not a feasible choice. This is why it's most often a second car, if purchased at all. After all, how many people can even afford an electric? How many used electrics are there costing under $5,000??

[Blue_In_AK]

39. No more than 10

and a lot of days not at all.

[Sapere aude]

40. 100 miles approx on work days sometimes 200.

I live 100 miles from where I work and ride half the way with a co worker.

[leftofthedial]

41. average 5

typical 0

[The Traveler]

42. Around 80 miles/day

Atlanta sprawl ... when I bought this house, I was about 8 miles away from my place of work ... and the company almost immediately thereafter announced it was moving to Alpharetta. If only I had known ... :(