tl;dr: For me bicycling is 35% faster than public transit and 85% slower than driving a car, and I bicycle primarily for lower stress and the benefits of daily exercise.

My office is in the downtown district of a major city next to mine, 10 miles from my house in the suburbs. It costs $25 a day to park in the garage, although my employer subsidizes that if you sign up for a commuter benefit. Commute time by private motor vehicle is typically between 15-25 minutes during rush hour.

Transit involves a half-mile (10-minute) walk to a bus station, an 11-minute ride to another bus station for a transfer, another 15-minute ride to another bus station, and a 1/3-mile (6-minute) walk to the office, for a total of 57 minutes and $2.75 in fares. On a good traffic day, public transit takes an additional 42 minutes each way for about an hour and a half more time commuting.

There is a traffic-separated trail that starts about 1/10 of a mile from my house and ends about 1 mile from my office. Door-to-door, I'm usually doing the ride in about 37 minutes.

So, my commute options are:

* Drive single-occupancy vehicle. With employer subsidy, 20 minute trip and no out-of-pocket cost, otherwise $25. ~15 kWh (I drive an EV) plus wear and tear. Stress from driving and risk of collisions, but I have crumple zones and airbags to offer some safety.

* Bus. 16 minutes of walking, transfer with 15 minutes of waiting (if the buses are on schedule), and 26 minutes bus riding. Again, free if I sign up for an employer benefit, otherwise $2.75 each way for a total of $5.50. Risk of collisions when crossing the street. Buses enjoy a pretty low collision rate where I live.

* Bicycle. 37 minutes of riding, free to use bike cage. Risk of collisions getting to and from the trail and at points where the trail crosses roads. Could probably reduce this time to 32 minutes if I were to trade in my meat-powered bike for an e-bike.

I've settled on the bicycle option because I find it's the most stress-free while at the same time I get exercise I wouldn't otherwise be getting. It's hard to quantify the value of the exercise against the additional 30 minutes of commute time (74 minutes of cycling vs. 40 minutes of driving my car), but I suspect in the long run the exercise is working in my overall favor in terms of well-being. Wear-and-tear on the bicycle costs me significantly less than wear-and-tear on my car.

Since the trail is crushed gravel, I did have to make a capital investment in a bicycle with appropriate tires, a rack, and a bag that attaches to the rack pannier-style. I also shower at a locker room in my office building, but since I shower daily anyway, I don't count that as any lost time in my schedule.

Side note:

I'm often asked about bicycle commuting equipment since I've been bicycle commuting for about 15 years and have tried a lot of stuff, settling on what I've found works for me. Maybe I'll do a blog post sometime really getting into the details, but here's a "pretty okay" set of recommendations if you're riding on a crushed gravel trail:

* Chromoly steel frame with rack mounts and 45c tires; maybe something like the Motobecane Cafe Noir from Bikes Direct ($800, when you can find it in stock); Motobecane Gran Premio Elite works well for road-only commutes

* Planet Bike rack and full-size fenders

* 2 Wheel Gear convertible pannier/backpack

* Look Keo clipless pedals

* Shimano RC1 shoes (SH-RC100)

* Bontrager Commuter Comp Saddle

* Cycliq Fly6 and Fly12 combination lights+cameras (super-pricey, but they're also convenient and have proven to be durable for me)

* The Black Bib (the original $40 one)

* Multi tool with a chain breaker and tire levers

* Spare tube

* Chain quick link

* Something like the ez-clincher (note that specific one may not work great for 45c tires) tool for remounting your tire after changing a flat (pro tip: make sure the bead isn't set anywhere while you're popping the bead in if you want it to go easier)