Full Cost of Driving

Project Background

At the University of Waterloo, commuting contributes an estimated 19% of emissions associated with the University. Commuting emissions are part of the campus goal of net zero emissions by 2050. Action item 41 of the Shift Neutral climate action plan is the development of an institutional Transportation Demand Management Plan. Part of that plan will involve finding creative ways to convince commuters to forgo the personal vehicle and choose sustainable means of getting to and from campus: by walking, biking, rolling or taking public transit.

There are many considerations that go into the decision of how to commute to and from campus: distance, travel times, climate and weather, cost, availability of sustainable transportation options, fitness levels, need to combine a commute with other trips, etc. Often if a commuter owns a personal vehicle, however, the simplest and easiest choice is to use that vehicle. Some, however, may be persuaded to leave that vehicle at home or even to give up that vehicle if they are made aware of the true cost of driving to campus.

The University of Waterloo is looking for an analysis of the full economic and societal costs of using a personal vehicle to commute to and from campus and recommendations on how to use these values to promote sustainable commuting options. This work relates to the UN Sustainable Development Goals 11 and 13.

Project Examples

• Reviewing data for commuting mode choices and sustainable transportation options for the University of Waterloo.
• Performing a literature review to identify best practices for quantifying the full cost of owning and using a personal vehicle. The full cost may include:
  • The full economic cost of owning a car so that you can commute to campus. This could be measured as an overall cost over the vehicle’s lifetime or an averge per km travelled and could include:
    • Upfront cost
    • Fuel costs
    • Maintenance costs
    • Insurance costs
    • Parking costs
    • Distance travelled
  • Incremental economic costs (avg yearly and per km commuting) of using a personal vehicle you already own to commute to UW including:
    • Maintenance costs from wear and tear
    • Fuel costs
    • Incremental insurance costs (from occasional to commuting vehicle)
    • Campus parking costs
  • Social costs - try to estimate average per vehicle financial and non-financial costs in Canada for factors such as:
    • Health impacts of emissions
    • Health impacts from sedentary lifestyles and driving stress ▪ Road accident costs
    • Climate impacts from emissions
    • Climate impacts from embodied emissions from the vehicle ▪ Urban heat island effect
    • Road infrastructure (new roads, bridges, parking lots)
    • Road maintenance (includes paving, plowing)
    • Road policing
    • Other (effects on plants, wildlife, farmland?) • Make recommendations on how to communicate these costs to commuters as a means of promoting sustainable alternative commutes.