How it works

We add up what it costs to own a car in Boston for the trips you make, and compare it with a plan built from the T, Bluebikes, walking, car share and The RIDE for the same trips. Data as of October 20, 2026.

Assumptions

Car costs: AAA Your Driving Costs 2026 national averages for a new car kept 5 years: depreciation $4,422, finance $1,184, insurance $2,098 and maintenance 11.7 cents a mile for an average new vehicle, scaled by AAA's cost per mile for the type you choose.
Massachusetts taxes and fees: Excise $443 a year (5-year average at $25 per $1,000), sales tax $492 a year (6.25% spread over 5 years), registration $60 every 2 years and inspection $35 a year.
Fuel: 17.7 cents a mile: Boston regular gas at $4.249 a gallon (EIA, week of Oct 19, 2026) at AAA's average 24 miles a gallon.
Insurance: National average (AAA). Boston premiums are not published; enter your own quote in Assumptions on the results page.
Street-cleaning tickets: One missed move a year when your block has a posted schedule: a $40 ticket plus a $132 tow (or a $90 ticket with no tow for overnight cleaning). Storage is $35 a day after a tow and is not included.
Driving time: Rush hour 24.8 km/h in the morning and 20.7 km/h in the evening, 28.6 km/h otherwise (TomTom 2025). Road distance is the straight line x 1.3.
Finding parking: 5 minutes each time you arrive somewhere without a parking space of your own (a $0 parking cost at that end).
Transit time: Scheduled MBTA times for a typical weekday, door to door, including walking to and from stops and waiting for the next trip. Rush hour departures 7:30-8:30 am; other trips 10:45-11:15 am.
Walking and Bluebikes: Walking 80 m a minute; Bluebikes 15 km/h plus 2 minutes to unlock and dock, and the nearest dock must be within 500 m at each end. Bluebikes are planned April-November; the MBTA covers the same trips December-March. No walking or biking between East Boston and other neighborhoods (the harbor tunnels do not allow it).
Errands: Each trip is there and back. Distances of 0.6, 2 and 4.5 miles for in my neighborhood, nearby and across town; transit time is the typical midday time from your area to places that far away. Daycare counts 48 weeks a year, other trips 52.
MBTA fares: The cheaper of paying per ride ($2.40 subway, $1.70 bus) and a monthly pass ($90 LinkPass, $55 bus pass). Reduced fares ($1.10 / $0.85 / $30 pass) for riders 65 and older, people with disabilities and income-eligible riders 18-64. Free for riders 75 and older (Car-Free Seniors) and for blind riders.
The RIDE: $3.35 each way; about the regular transit time plus 20 minutes. Eligibility is decided by the MBTA; booking is 1 to 5 days ahead.
Car share: Assumed $14 an hour (no published Boston rate; enter your plan's rate) and 10 miles for each hour of use.
CO2: EPA 2025 factors: 0.297 kg a mile for cars, 0.394 for SUVs and pickups, 0.093 kg per passenger-mile on rail and 0.066 on buses. The RIDE counts as a car trip.
How the plan is chosen: Save money: the cheapest option (walk, then Bluebikes, then the T) that is at most 15 minutes slower than the T. Lower emissions: the same order within 20 minutes. Save time: the fastest. Easiest access: The RIDE when you may qualify, otherwise the T.

Sources

All 17 sources were retrieved on October 20, 2026.

1. MBTA GTFS static schedule (Fall 2026, published Oct 19, 2026)
Door-to-door scheduled transit times for a weekday (Wed, Oct 21, 2026), routes, stations and step-free access. Ferries excluded.
Terms: MassDOT Developers License Agreement. As of October 20, 2026.
- https://cdn.mbta.com/MBTA_GTFS.zip
2. City of Boston Live Street Address Management (SAM) addresses
131,987 building addresses with location, ZIP and neighborhood.
Terms: ODC PDDL (public domain). As of October 20, 2026.
- https://data.boston.gov/dataset/live-street-address-management-sam-addresses
3. Boston neighborhood boundaries approximated by 2020 census tracts
The 24 neighborhoods each address and census tract belong to.
Terms: ODC PDDL. As of October 20, 2026.
- https://data.boston.gov/dataset/boston-neighborhood-boundaries-approximated-by-2020-census-tracts
4. Street sweeping schedules
2,261 posted schedules matched to 42,085 addresses (blocks matched approximately).
Terms: ODC PDDL. As of October 20, 2026.
- https://data.boston.gov/dataset/street-sweeping-schedules
5. Parking meters
6,955 meters, counted by neighborhood.
Terms: ODC PDDL. As of October 20, 2026.
- https://data.boston.gov/dataset/parking-meters
6. Bluebikes live station feed (GBFS 2.3)
628 stations with location and number of docks.
Terms: Bluebikes GBFS open data. As of October 20, 2026.
- https://gbfs.lyft.com/gbfs/2.3/bos/en/station_information.json
7. City of Boston Bluebikes station list
Which municipality each station is in.
Terms: ODC PDDL. As of October 20, 2026.
- https://data.boston.gov/dataset/blue-bike-stations
8. American Community Survey 2024 5-year, tables B08201 and B08301
Households without a car and how workers get to work, 2020-2024, by neighborhood.
Terms: US Census Bureau, public domain. As of October 20, 2026.
- https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/
9. 2024 Census Gazetteer, Massachusetts tracts
Tract locations, to assign tracts to neighborhoods.
Terms: Public domain. As of October 20, 2026.
- https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/2024_gaz_tracts_25.txt
10. AAA Your Driving Costs 2026 fact sheet
Depreciation, finance, insurance, maintenance and cost per mile by vehicle type (US national averages).
Terms: AAA press material (cited). As of October 20, 2026.
- https://newsroom.aaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/AAA_YDC-Fact-Sheet_2026.pdf
11. MBTA fares, reduced fares and The RIDE
Fares, passes, the transfer pilot, reduced-fare eligibility, The RIDE fares and booking.
Terms: Public web pages. As of October 20, 2026.
12. Bluebikes pricing; City of Boston discounted Bluebikes
Plan prices, ride limits and the $5 Boston Bikes Pass.
Terms: Public web pages. As of October 20, 2026.
- https://bluebikes.com/pricing
- https://www.boston.gov/departments/boston-bikes/discounted-bluebikes
13. Boston Parking Clerk: fines and codes (updated 9/14/26), resident permits, meters, street sweeping and towing
Street-cleaning fine, tow and storage charges, permit cost, meter rates.
Terms: Public web pages. As of October 20, 2026.
- https://www.boston.gov/departments/parking-clerk/parking-ticket-fines-and-codes
14. Motor vehicle excise: Boston Collector-Treasurer; Worcester assessor statement of M.G.L. c.60A s.1
$25 per $1,000 of value on the 90/60/40/25/10% schedule.
Terms: Public web pages. As of October 20, 2026.
- https://www.boston.gov/departments/tax-collection/motor-vehicle-and-boat-tax
- https://www.worcesterma.gov/node/23879
15. U.S. EIA Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update (release Oct 20, 2026)
Boston regular gasoline, week of Oct 19, 2026: $4.249 a gallon.
Terms: US government, public domain. As of October 20, 2026.
- https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/
16. TomTom Traffic Index 2025, Boston
Rush-hour speeds (24.8 km/h morning, 20.7 km/h evening) and the all-day average.
Terms: Public web page (cited). As of October 20, 2026.
- https://www.tomtom.com/traffic-index/boston-traffic/
17. U.S. EPA GHG Emission Factors Hub 2025; EPA typical passenger vehicle
kg of CO2 per vehicle-mile and per passenger-mile.
Terms: Public domain. As of October 20, 2026.
- https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2025-01/ghg-emission-factors-hub-2025.pdf
- https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-typical-passenger-vehicle

What this does not cover

Live arrivals, trip planning, maps, car-share locations and garage prices.
Used cars, electric vehicles and weekend or leisure trips beyond the three errand types.
One commuting adult per household.
Street-cleaning blocks are matched to addresses approximately; check the posted sign on your block.
The written summary on the results page is produced with AI from the calculator's numbers; the numbers themselves come from the rules above.