I recently read a shocking article which turns my research into something more quantitative. A male by the name of Mantill Williams crunched some numbers in order to report the annual savings of using public transit. Several factors affected the estimate of average savings including the average national gas price, average parking fees, and average public transit costs. The average gas price was determined, with a little help from AAA, to be $2.97 a gallon. The average cost for parking in a downtown business district was determined to be $154.23 a month. If you are doubting these figures, you can read more about the methodology here. If you are interested in calculating your potential personal savings you can visit the website.
New York had the highest savings with about $1,153 saved a month, and $13,839 saved a year. Ranking number 4 on the list is my hometown, Chicago with an average monthly savings of $964 and a yearly savings of $11,568. Number 8 in the list was Los Angeles (a city known for its packed freeways) with a monthly savings of $843 and a yearly savings of $10,111. Even the city with the lowest savings was still a significant amount of money per month. Pittsburgh had the lowest savings of $685 per month and $8,214 per year. I don’t know about you, but I could go on an impressive shopping spree with an extra $8,214 a year.
I think that these findings are very important because money is something which speaks to everyone in the world. Some people still debate the existence of global warming, while others do not think they have the power to significantly reduce America’s carbon footprint. Nevertheless, if people understand that public transit can reduce their travel costs, they will be much more receptive to altering their driving routine. If it is these findings and cost efficiency that influence people to reduce their carbon footprint, then so be it. The means of solving the issue are less important than the actual resolution of the problem of global warming.
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