According to a new study by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the time-honored strategy of “leave the driving to us” has become a new economic strategy, especially when the price of gasoline prices rises again (and it will).
     APTA’s calculations show that a person can generate savings of more than $8,000 per year by using public transportation and living with one fewer car in the family garage. This is a savings greater than the annual food budget, according to the Food Institute.
     The APTA conclusions are based on today’s gas prices of $3.909 a gallon as reported by AAA, and the cost of the monthly transportation pass charged in the 20 cities with highest transit ridership. Applying those factors to the top twenty cities generates monthly savings ranging upwards from $590 in Washington DC to $725 in Honolulu, which translates to a weighted annual average savings of $8,059 per year.
     Adjusting the family life-style to accommodate the single car household will require some compromises, but avoiding the costs of owning and operating the second car is no trivial savings, not to mention the opportunity for productive time on board transit instead of behind the wheel in rush hour traffic.
     As William W. Millar, president of APTA said, “In these tough economic times, a record number of Americans are saying my other car is the train or bus and it helps me balance my budget.” Transit ridership has been rising steadily over recent years, with a recent spike reflecting the cost of gasoline. Last year, transit trips totaled over 10.3 billion, a fifty-year high, and during the first quarter of 2008, ridership rose by 3.4% while vehicle miles on the highway were down by 2.3%.
      To calculate your own potential savings, you can access the APTA calculator at www.publictransportation.org.
      - Mort Downey