For the week of June 19 - 25, 2002

Smart money

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Forget the altruistic arguments about giving the community cleaner air by riding the Peak Bus. Forget the entreaties about reducing the amount of traffic on State Highway 75.

Put more than $1,500 in your pocket. Realize a nearly 6 percent increase in median annual family income?

Ride the Peak Bus. It’s like writing yourself a check. Saved and invested, the money will multiply over time.

After all, how altruistic does anyone really feel first thing in the morning when trying to get out the door to go to work?

Anyone who commutes to a job from Gannett Road, Bellevue or Hailey to Ketchum (or in reverse) can bank at least $1,500 in savings by the end of the year by commuting. It’s not chump change.

An annual bus pass costs $550, while the cost of a single-driver commute between the south valley and Ketchum averages $2,064 a year.

After 10 years of commuting, the person who cannot loosen the grip on the steering wheel will be at least $20,640 poorer. A two-car family with two commuters will be $40,640 poorer. That’s no way to put the kids through college, pay off the house or finance an exotic vacation.

On the other hand, the wise commuter who stuffs the money into long-term certificates of deposit will find himself with at least $18,000 in the bank after 10 years at current interest rates. A two-commuter family could bank double that amount.

Fewer miles on the family car also will make it more valuable when its time for a trade in. That will put even more money in a commuter’s pocket.

Driving a car to work is convenient, it’s true, but riding the Peak Bus is a paying proposition. It’s an opportunity that will fly or die based on ridership.

There are not many ways to make money that are this easy. Make sure this one doesn’t get away. Go with the smart money. Join the smart commuters. Ride the bus.

 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.