Transportation
Many people see driving as the easiest route to take, but in
many ways it is not. Gas prices are flying upwards and your salary is not. When
people spend $70 to $80 to fill up their tank there are other answers that
begin to look much more appealing.
The increasing amount of people driving their cars around
has been detrimental to the environment. In 2003 the US Environment Protection
Agency rejected a plan to regulate greenhouse gas emissions because they
believe it would infringe upon our Constitutional rights. Although I am glad
that the government is not controlling our lives this does reveal that the
problem is going by unsolved. But there is something the citizens can do, and
it is not driving.
The price of taking care of a bike is significantly lower
than that of a car. In order to take care of a good bike you will need to air
up your tires once a week and do your lubes and wash your bike once a month.
This all adds up to about $20 and then $5 a year for a new bottle of bike chain
lube. In Portland, Oregon 6% of the working population cycle to work and 31% of
kids cycle to school. The only negative side effect of biking is the danger,
sometimes the weather will be questionable or the traffic more agitating than
normal and transportation issues will arise.
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| This is the Bike Farm in Austin, Texas. Love this place. |
If gas costs $3.60, you get 20 miles to a gallon and you
live 25 miles from work it will cost you $9 for transportation to and from work
everyday. Metro day bus passes cost only $2! There are a total of 71 routes in
Austin, taking you wherever you need to go. Riding the bus or rail is also a
wonderful alternative for bad weather days when your bike is not an option. The
rail travels from Leander to 4th St. downtown, stopping at several ideal
locations.
Now some of you may be thinking about convenience issues,
people simply do not want to go through the trouble of having to drive to a
park-and-ride and wait for the bus. Or they do not wish to create a plan and
have to wake up early to execute it. But the money saved is ridiculous! Also on the bus you get to experience
so many interesting occurrences, there is great diversity on Austin’s Capital
Metro buses.
What I am asking you to do is simply think about saving
money by making new transportation choices. You do not need to sell your car
and start wearing tie-dye shirts but maybe you could change one part. When you
go to work take the bus and save your car for those sporadic beach trips or a
night on the town. Tell other people about this issue as well encourage them to
seek new transportation options.
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