[VERGE] The annual cost of owning a car has skyrocketed in the last year to over $12K

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Americans are now paying an average of $12,182 to own and operate a brand-new vehicle, or $1,015 per month, according to AAA.

When The Verge’s Thomas Ricker covered a similar AAA report in his First Click newsletter discussing car sharing as an alternative in 2015, Americans spent just $8,698 annually for new cars.

Half-ton pickup trucks are the priciest, says AAA, costing more than $1 per mile.

For instance, given a rough approximation of my driving habits, the US Department of Energy’s vehicle cost calculator estimates that my 2011 Honda Odyssey costs me about $2,372 annually, which is probably about right, even though I rarely drive it.

For people who work from home or are able to use alternative transportation like cycling, car shares, or public transit, costs dive even lower — the American Public Transit Association estimated in 2020 (based on 2017 APTA data) that Americans can save up to almost $10,000 by switching to public transit and living with one car.

Even if something like the growing electric cargo bike industry can offer real, affordable utility for people able enough to use one, it continues to be woefully unsafe to cycle in most of the US.

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