Personal vehicle ownership and operating cost calculator

Abstract

The thesis develops a personalized, online calculator for the costs of owning and operating private vehicles. The online tool combines EPA certification test results, the Georgia vehicle value database, the USDOE fuel economy database, and other data sources to calculate the cent/mile cost of operating the vehicle. The calculator also provides users with complete data entry flexibility, allowing them to incorporate personally-tailored costs for vehicle insurance, parking, tolls, etc. The primary goal of this research is to provide students at any educational level a tool that helps the public better understand their vehicle ownership costs.