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Working in Westshore and commuting each day from Odessa, I realized that I needed to move closer to work when I started averaging a near-accident a week on the Veterans Expressway. Maybe I could handle fighting traffic for 35 minutes twice a day, but a person can only take so many people merging late at the Anderson Road tollbooth before they do something about it. Of course, I would have loved to take a commuter train, but we will just have to wait on that.
In looking at places to live, I picked a price point and considered Northdale,New Tampa, Seminole Heights and South Tampa. Each area has their advantages and disadvantages in terms of neighborhood features and access to stores and schools. But, in terms of commuting to Westshore, Seminole Heights and South Tampa are overwhelmingly less expensive, which means more money in my pocket.
(To clarify, I used Google Maps to determine mileage and the best suggested route.)
We forget that with each beep of the SunPass, $0.25 to $1.00 is taken out of our wallets. When adding up 12 months of 50 trips per month on the Veterans Expressway from Hutchison Road, you could spend $750 a year on tolls. That is not to criticize tolls, but it makes you think twice about how much the true cost of transportation is.
Speaking of the true cost, I used the IRS mileage standard of $0.55 per mile to determine my real commuting costs. Mileage, not the cost of gas, is the real factor in determining how expensive it is to drive. The less you drive, the longer you can put off oil changes and new tires, and the longer your car will be in service. Under the mileage standard, New Tampa residents could spend around $6,000 a year on mileage. That figure is closer to $7,000 if you live further north on Bruce B. Downs Blvd., rather than in Tampa Palms. Add insurance, car payments and repairs, and you will get the true cost of driving.
Of course, South Tampa ended up being my pick. This is just one experience, but with a poor regional transit system and fluctuating gas prices, we will either see more people moving to where they work or offices going to where their employees live.
-Mobility Mike
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