The high cost of car ownership in Georgia

$1,991: average annual spending on gasoline in Georgia per household (source: GasBuddy).

$6,876: average annual payments for new cars for a household in Georgia (source: AutoWise), among the highest costs in the U.S.

Also, the cost of auto insurance in Georgia has been creeping upward for years, at a rate higher than the U.S. average (source: thezebra.com). The car/asphalt/road-construction/insurance lobbies have got a hold on our wallets.

Reducing car dependency, even reducing need for multiple cars per family, could save Georgia households thousands of dollars annually.

I know many people will look at this data and say “we need more companies to allow telecommuting.” And certainly, that’s a good step. But commuting makes up less than 25% of all car trips. Much more work is needed in order to facilitate less dependence on car ownership.

To get to a place where households can comfortably cut down on the costly burden of car ownership, we need changes to urban design, street design, and parking policy. We need investment in buses, expansion of bike lanes, slower car speeds, better pedestrian infrastructure – so much.