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Over the past twenty years society as a whole has become more and more concerned about environmental issues and specifically climate change. Indisputable evidence of melting ice caps and irreversible damage to eco-systems causes mass outcries and demands that something be done. However, these outcries and demands often do not stretch far enough to cover the extra costs involved. When doing something about the environment suddenly costs money less people are willing to help make a change.

In the transportation industry however, people are responding. The governments respond by stricter emission standards and tariffs on fuel-inefficient vehicles. The car companies respond by designing more fuel-efficient and hybrid vehicles. The public responds by demanding these types of options and opting to pay "carbon offset" charges instead of actually reducing their emissions.

These are all steps in the right direction, but they are only baby steps. Simply reducing the emissions from each vehicle or financially compensating for them will not be enough. An overall reduction in the number of vehicles being driven is a necessary step to reducing carbon emissions and their resulting damage to the environment. Carpooling can help and walking or cycling is an excellent option when it is feasible, but to have a true impact on the quantity of cars on the road people need to drastically increase their use of public transportation.

Many people are opposed to using public transit and often for good reasons. It's less comfortable, it can often take much longer to reach their destination and they lose the privacy of their own car. For all this they are also being charged more than the cost of the gas they would have used if they have driven instead. It is no wonder that more people aren't using public transportation.

Unfortunately, many governments are doing little to actively promote the use of transit systems. Some areas are making monthly passes partially tax deductible, but this does little to offset the hundreds of dollars, and sometimes even more, a transit user can spend over the course of a year. And what of occasional users? They receive no compensation whatsoever. Transit users are people who are going out of their way to do their part of the environment and they are paying dearly for it. Not only are they charged to ride public transit, but the fares are constantly being increased. How can people be convinced to ride the buses, subways and streetcars when the cost to do so is rising while the level of service is not?

If governments are serious about combating carbon emissions and climate change a commitment to public transit must be made.

Public transportation should be free for all users. It should be entirely funded by all levels of government and supplemented by advertising revenues. Only by eliminating the financial cost associated with public transit can people be encouraged to start or continue using it.

The world is facing a global environmental crisis. Any plan that can encourage the population at large to pitch in and do their part must be implemented. After all, in the long run, higher government spending on public transit is a small price to pay for the life of the planet and the future of the human race.

Learn more about this author, Leigh-Anne Parsons.
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