That’s a whole lot of assumptions.

If you care about your health, it’s definitely better to bike. If you care about your time, combining your commute with your cardio is hard to beat.

$6000 a year is an awful lot to give up, especially considering the total cost of car ownership is another couple hundred a month on top of that, and more in my area, where a parking spot is $200 a month or more.

As you make more money, you start to get flexibility - you can reasonably do things like spending that additional money for a house near a train, where you don’t need a car. Then that $500 is an investment rather than depreciation. Rather than penny pinching, it’s strategy that can pay dividends for the rest of your life.