Public Transportation Green

photo courtesy of jenny8lee

creative commons license

During Our Daily Green's trip to Washington DC, one of the first things we acquainted ourselves with was the Metro. For a family of Midwestern suburbanites, it was a bit daunting, but before long we knew what color train lines stopped where and the stations where to change color lines, as well as a rough idea of the wait and how to find a decent seat. (walk to the very front or back of the train while waiting for the train, instead of the middle with the masses). 

We spared ourselves the stress of driving in an unfamiliar city, the high cost of parking and fuel consumption (not to mention trying to find a place to park in the first place), and got a little extra exercise, especially at the DuPont Metro station, where the broken escalator had 130 steps to walk up and down. We counted.

Our experience in the nation's capital reminded us why public transportation a good idea. Moving many people from point A to point B at the same time in the same vehicle is imminently more efficient and cost effective than via single vehicles. According to a Sharable report by Jay Walljasper from April 2011,

Public transit has experienced a quiet renaissance over the past two decades as the number of transit systems nationally has jumped from 1044 to 7700.  He mentions the 13 Best U.S. Cities for Public Transportation by expanding upon the U.S. News and World Report Top 10:  

1. Portland, Oregon
2. Salt Lake City
3. New York
4. Boston
5. Minneapolis-St. Paul
6. San Francisco
7. Los Angeles
8. Honolulu
9. Denver
10. Austin
11. Washington

PublicTransportation.org is an online resource from the APTA (American Public Transportation Association). It is devoted to information about public transportation. The site offers a Fuel Savings Calculator, a Carbon Savings Calculator and Public Transportation Search tools as well as frequently updated news from the world of public transportation.

Have you ever used public transportation? What is it like in your part of the world?

For additional reading, the APTA publishes an annual Fact Book, available in a free PDF download. 

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