The high road

So K and I have been using our bikes to commute one way to/from work. We don't do it all the time, but we have managed to make it happen several times. We work relatively close together so K drops the kids off at daycare and takes his bike with him. After dropping off the little bundles of joy, he drives to work. I ride my bike in to work, and pick up the car. He rides his bike home, and I load my bike in the car and pick up the kids on my way home. It's complicated, and the logistics sometimes trip us up, but we both agree it is a great way to wedge some exercise into our busy schedules. We've also been touting our reduction in gas usage. But even with the high prices recently, I was saddened to see we're not really saving that much money. I guess the environmental and exercise benefits will have to suffice:

Scenario 1:
Average MPG between our 2 cars: 16.5
Total miles commuted via car per week: 118.8
Total gallons of gas used: 7.20

Price of gallon of gas: $4.05
Total cost of commuting per week $29.16

Scenario 2:
L and K each ride one way, 3 days:
New total miles in car per week: 94.8
Total gallons used: 5.75

Price of gallon of gas: $4.05
Total NEW cost of commuting per week: $23.27

Savings per week: $5.89
Savings per month: $24.74
Savings per 4 months: $98.97