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Map Your Commute, Save Money

Updated Duke resource provides monthly cost estimate of driving to work

Whether your daily drive is two miles, 20 or more, Duke wants to you to know the cost of your work commute. 

Parking and Transportation Services has recently updated its Duke Commuter Savings Map, which provides a variety of information for faculty and staff about the real cost of getting to campus. Using estimates based on average gas costs and vehicle fuel efficiency, the map has dozens of locations selected on a Google Map, which offers detailed information on the price paid to drive to campus and alternative transportation options to cut costs.

For example, an employee driving from North Raleigh is estimated to spend about $83 a month – almost $1,000 a year - on gas alone before additional costs like permit fees to park on campus and maintenance for normal wear and tear. For that price, commuters could buy a 13-inch MacBook Air laptop or cover an average monthly mortgage payment.

Other estimates of driving to campus include:

  • Hillsborough/Efland - $55.28 per month
  • Chapel Hill/Carrboro - $43.43 per month
  • Rougemont - $59.23 per month
  • Durham (near Umstead or Eno River) - $31.59 per month

In the formula to create estimates, Parking and Transportation officials use $2.30 per gallon of fuel and the average vehicle fuel economy of 23.3 miles per gallon. 

“The commuter map is a great tool for exploring transportation options to Duke in a real, tangible way,” said Alison Carpenter, manager of Duke’s transportation demand management program. “Whether it’s to save time or money, the map is a great resource for the campus community to consider how commuting impacts their carbon footprint and wallet.” 

Take a look at the map below to see how much it costs you to drive to Duke and what you can do to save money on your commute. It can also be accessed here.