by Jerome Carter

Created on: October 20, 2010

Although public transportation is often maligned, there are many benefits to using this form of transportation.  Here are a just a few of the personal advantages to using public transportation:

(1) It is a cheaper alternative to automobiles:
As soon as you buy a car, it begins to depreciate in value.  A car is a big investment that never pays off.  Cars are expensive to purchase and operate.  Buying, leasing or even renting a car is expensive.  Purchasing insurance is expensive.  Paying for gas is expensive.  Repairs may be expensive.  Paying bus fare, on the other hand, is relatively cheap.

(2) Staying in shape:
Having to walk to and from bus stops, to stand on crowded buses or trains, and to walk up and down stairs at subway stations, will help to keep you in shape.  Instead of having to join a gym to stay in shape, you will be burning calories as part of your daily routine.  Because you are burning more calories you will be able to eat more food without gaining as much weight as the more sedentary automobile driver.

(3) Enjoying the scenery:
Since you don’t have to worry about paying attention to the road, you are free to sit back and enjoy the passing scenery.

(4) Reading a book:
On public transportation you have time to read your favorite book, do a crossword or sudoku, or read the paper.

(5) Avoiding traffic congestion:
Some forms of public transportation- subways and trams or streetcars- allow a person to avoid some of problems of traffic congestion.  Subway trains are not affected by crowded roads.  When roads are jammed, a subway will get a traveler from point a to point b much faster then a car will.

(6) Catching up on sleep:
Buses and trains are a great place to catch up on your sleep or take a nap.  This is obviously something you obviously can’t do while you’re driving, walking or cycling.

(7) Experiencing a city:
If you were to drive on a well-maintained highway in many parts of the world, the experience would be more or less the same.  Driving on a highway in North America would be no different from driving on a highway in Eastern Europe, assuming that the road conditions were the same.  But if you were to take public transportation, you would get a much richer local experience.  Using public transportation can broaden a person’s horizons by giving them a fuller view of the spectrum of society.

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