Commuting in Spain can eat up 18% of your monthly net salary
The real cost of getting to work in Spain is far higher than commonly claimed. Calculations show it can reach up to 18% of monthly net salary in fuel alone.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Commuting: 1% of your salary a day? The reality is 17% a month
For a worker earning 1,200 euros net a month, driving 60 kilometres a day (30 each way) means spending 5.40 euros on fuel alone, based on calculations using average consumption of 6L/100km and petrol at 1.50 €/L. That is 0.45% of the monthly salary for each working day, but over a month (20 days) it adds up to 108 euros, or 18% of net pay. The popular 1% daily figure is an underestimate that does not stand up to the real numbers.
Breaking down the real cost
The INE (Spain's statistics institute) puts the most common net salary at between 1,100 and 1,250 euros a month. For that profile, the cost of commuting by car is not limited to fuel: depreciation, insurance, maintenance and taxes must also be added. If everything is included, the percentage can climb to 30% or more. One concrete figure: in the province of Alicante, an intercity public transport ticket costs between 8 and 18 euros a day return, which in itself represents between 0.7% and 1.5% of the monthly salary per day, and between 14% and 30% per month.
The set lunch menu: another 2%
The menú del día, the set lunch menu created in the Franco era so that workers could eat with dignity, today costs around 12-15 euros, equivalent to 1-1.25% of the monthly salary per meal. Added to transport, the average worker spends more than 20% of their pay just to get to work and eat out. The irony is that the menú del día remains a useful invention, but its relative cost has not come down.
Remote work or moving house: the way out
Against this drain, remote work appears as the most obvious solution: zero euros in commuting and the chance to eat at home. However, not all sectors allow it, and many companies frown upon it. Another option is moving closer to work, but housing prices in large cities are prohibitive for someone earning 1,200 euros. The result is that a significant part of the working population works to pay for the privilege of being able to work.
The question nobody answers is why, with current housing and transport prices, it is still compulsory to travel to an office to do jobs that could be done from home.
Related discussions in the forum
For a worker earning 1,200 euros net a month, driving 60 kilometres a day (30 each way) means spending 5.40 euros on fuel alone, based on calculations using average consumption of 6L/100km and petrol at 1.50 €/L. That is 0.45% of the monthly salary for each working day, but over a month (20 days) it adds up to 108 euros, or 18% of net pay. The popular 1% daily figure is an underestimate that does not stand up to the real numbers.
Breaking down the real cost
The INE (Spain's statistics institute) puts the most common net salary at between 1,100 and 1,250 euros a month. For that profile, the cost of commuting by car is not limited to fuel: depreciation, insurance, maintenance and taxes must also be added. If everything is included, the percentage can climb to 30% or more. One concrete figure: in the province of Alicante, an intercity public transport ticket costs between 8 and 18 euros a day return, which in itself represents between 0.7% and 1.5% of the monthly salary per day, and between 14% and 30% per month.
The set lunch menu: another 2%
The menú del día, the set lunch menu created in the Franco era so that workers could eat with dignity, today costs around 12-15 euros, equivalent to 1-1.25% of the monthly salary per meal. Added to transport, the average worker spends more than 20% of their pay just to get to work and eat out. The irony is that the menú del día remains a useful invention, but its relative cost has not come down.
Remote work or moving house: the way out
Against this drain, remote work appears as the most obvious solution: zero euros in commuting and the chance to eat at home. However, not all sectors allow it, and many companies frown upon it. Another option is moving closer to work, but housing prices in large cities are prohibitive for someone earning 1,200 euros. The result is that a significant part of the working population works to pay for the privilege of being able to work.
The question nobody answers is why, with current housing and transport prices, it is still compulsory to travel to an office to do jobs that could be done from home.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (46 replies).
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