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With gas prices rising, transit riders to save $10,000 this year

By Joe McKendrick | January 12, 2011, 10:02 AM PST

With oil prices hovering about $90 a barrel at this time, the savings incurred by switching from driving to public transportation for daily commutes may soar close to $10,000 this year. New Yorkers and Bostonians may save way more than that.

The path to savings: PATH train connects New Jersey commuters to the Big Apple. Photo: Wikimedia.

That’s the latest estimate, at least, from the American Public Transportation Association, which notes that riding public transportation saves individuals, on average $9,656 annually, and up to $805 per month — based on the January 5, 2011 average national gas price ($3.08 per gallon-reported by AAA) and the national unreserved monthly parking rate.

APTA notes that gas prices are at their highest level since October 2008, and 32 cents higher than the same time last year, providing riders an additional annual savings of more than $400.

Not clear from the APTA estimates is the impact of higher gas and oil prices on local transit authority operations — it’s likely that additional costs would either be covered by taking away from other services, passed on to taxpayers, or passed on to riders through new fare hikes. Also, these savings are in denser metro areas with good transit coverage — many Americans live in suburban or exurban areas that are underserved or not served at all, and the car is the only option.

APTA releases its monthly “Transit Savings Report” to examine how an individual in a two-person household can save money by taking public transportation and living with one less car. The assumption is that a person making a switch to public transportation would likely purchase an unlimited pass on the local transit agency, typically available on a monthly basis. APTA then compares the average monthly transit fare to the average cost of driving, based on the cost of insurance, license registration, depreciation, finance charges, gas, maintenance and tires.

The national average for a monthly unreserved parking space in a downtown business district is $161.56, according to the 2010 Colliers International Parking Rate Study. Over the course of a year, parking costs for a vehicle can amount to an average of $1,939.

APTA also provides annual savings estimates for commuters in the top 20 cities with the highest transit ridership:

New York $14,159
Boston $12,993
San Francisco $12,738
Chicago $11,660
Seattle $11,427
Philadelphia $11,305
Honolulu $11,063
Los Angeles $10,395
Minneapolis $10,180
San Diego $10,074

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About Joe McKendrick

Joe McKendrick is a contributing editor for SmartPlanet.

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RE: With gas prices rising, transit riders to save $10,000 this year

I often see buses with only 1 or two riders. How is that saving any money? There are huge mass transit subsidies in most metropolitan areas. Let's not just look at one side of the equation.

Posted by jterhar

12th Jan 2011

Just
In

The Urban Perspective

Thank you to all those who live in suburban and rural America for proving here that you can own and operate a used car for less than $10,000 per year. When you live outside of a dense urban area then, currently, a used vehicle will likely be your most economic form of transportation. However, try to drive that same used car into an American city like Boston or New York everyday on a commute and your expenses will escalate drastically. The cheapest and most enjoyable way to live is in a close knit downtown, like Philadelphia where everything you could want is in walking distance. My wife and I found a florist, baker, caterer, Reception Hall, Rehersal dinner site, hotel, and Church for our wedding all within a three block walk in Center City Philadelphia. We also had the convenience of a park for pictures, numerous restaurants, a bookstore, a library, and a reasonably priced grocery outlet all within that same very easily walkable area surrounding my wife's comfortable appartment.

I grew up in the rural area outside of a small town, and would never have guessed how much of a greater quality of life I could have by using my money to enjoy life instead of paying for the expense of a vehicle. Like many who have commented here, I would buy a used car in good shape for around $1500 and spend only a few thousand a year in maintenance. Now that I can easily get around the city on a subway for $1.45, or my legs for free, I do spend significantly less on transportation, living in the city.

Posted by Economist Cory

22nd Jan 2011

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RE: With gas prices rising, transit riders to save $10,000 this year

But in the Washington DC area, parking at subway and bus stations is going up, subway prices are going up and the toll road cost is going up...it's a lose-lose situation in DC anyway you slice it!

Posted by tech_ed@...

12th Jan 2011

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RE: With gas prices rising, transit riders to save $10,000 this year

Headline could be something like - Tax Payers Subsidies Now Over $10,000 per Year per Rider!!! Note - some actual research would be required to determine how big that number really is and how much it is increasing due to increased energy costs. But, that would be more work than just regurgitating APTA propaganda.
-bob

Posted by bob@...

12th Jan 2011

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I?ll bet my bus pass?

That the savings calculation covers only the cost of fares. When you factor in the rising cost of transit station parking mentioned above the savings vanishes.

And how does a mass transit user, who owns no car, recover the taxes paid that maintain roads they do not use? Most of the money used for road maintenance money comes from income or sales taxes.

Posted by Hates Idiots

12th Jan 2011

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RE: With gas prices rising, transit riders to save $10,000 this year

China is producing less than 1% of their energy needs from clean
sources and is fully utilizing its own coal and natural gas. China
recently signed a 50 billion dollar contract to import Australian
coal and is attempting to make similar arrangements to purchase
coal from the US Powder River Basin.

The worst form of pollution is poverty and American
unemployment is 10% and higher.

America has 1/4th the coal on planet Earth and 200 years worth
of natural gas. Cars and trucks can easily be converted to burn
natural gas and the conversion will produce American jobs.

Instead of competing with China, India and Japan for dwindling oil
supplies let?s keep the energy related jobs and money in
America.

And eliminating the need to import oil means the US does not
need to spend trillions on foreign wars in the Middle East. Plus
the annual 640 billion trade deficit with OPEC countries will
cease.

Posted by Repeal

12th Jan 2011

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RE: With gas prices rising, transit riders to save $10,000 this year

I often see buses with only 1 or two riders. How is that saving any money? There are huge mass transit subsidies in most metropolitan areas. Let's not just look at one side of the equation.

Posted by jterhar

12th Jan 2011

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RE: With gas prices rising, transit riders to save $10,000 this year

At $3/gallon, $10,000 would buy 3,333 gallons of gas. My pretty average car get about 23 mpg in the hills around here. That means the researchers would estimage that I drive over 75,000 miles per year just on my commute to burn $10,000 in gas.

Even if transit and transit parking were free, I could eliminate my car completely (no loan or depreciation) and insurance costs it would still be less than $10k. Nice headline, but the math makes no sense.

Posted by bphaley

13th Jan 2011

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RE: With gas prices rising, transit riders to save $10,000 this year

APTA's "average savings" is based on a two-person household giving up one car. Not an "average" choice by a long shot.

Posted by carol.fuhr@...

13th Jan 2011

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RE: With gas prices rising, transit riders to save $10,000 this year

And if you don't work downtown and the bus doesn't come near where you live, nor go to where you work, there is no savings at all. We have "free" parkin anyway. My gas guzzling pickup only gets 15-17 mpg, but my costs aren't 10K/year. Many stations here in OKC are less than 3.00+/gallon anyway. Ijust filled up last night for 2.819/gallon (to be sure there are some that are over $3, many hovering in the high $2.90's as well. Some stations actually went down in price overnight from $2.85 to $2.83, I can't remember exactly that was several hours ago.
In other words these generalizations are just that--generalizations and do not cover every situation.
Even if they someday get the light rail here, that many politicians want, and as many see it as a waste of money--not enough riders to make it worthwhile, it will be after I retire and won't need it personally. Again, it probably would not come near my home or my place of employment.

Posted by dhays

13th Jan 2011

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More press-release journalism.

Come on Joe. You just going to accept the PR from the American
Public Transportation Association at face value? Even the Warmists
have more credibility than this!

Even at $6/gallon, I wouldn't be spending anywhere near
$10,000/year on transit.

Posted by JohnMcGrew@...

13th Jan 2011

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RE: With gas prices rising, transit riders to save $10,000 this year

The problem is that fixed routes have difficulties competing with automobiles. I can drive to work in 15 minutes or less, but to take a bus I have to go downtown and transfer to another bus, which takes over an hour.

I'll stick with a car.

Posted by macmadman

13th Jan 2011

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RE: With gas prices rising, transit riders to save $10,000 this year

I would like to know what sort of fuel consumption this is based on. I don't even spend half of what the savings is per year on my car; insurance, alignment, tune-ups, oil changes, tires, brakes and fuel combined are less than $3000 per year.

I also have a 15min car commute and a 90+ minute bus commute to work. I am unwilling to waste 2+ hours every day to commute on a bus.

Posted by slahr

13th Jan 2011

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RE: With gas prices rising, transit riders to save $10,000 this year

This is so bogus.

I don't spend $10,000 a year for all three of my cars combined, so, I sure as heck ain't gonna save ten grand a year.

Insurance - $2,400
Gasoline - $2,000
Car payments - $2,940
Repairs/Maintenance - $2,500

Additionally. I have a 3 mile, 7 minute drive to work. I can't take public trans to get to my office from my house. My wife has a 16 mile, 25 minute drive to work. If she were to take public transportation (the bus), she would have to take three busses, walk 1-1/2 miles, and pay for a cost of $3.00 each way. Gasoline costs for her car are about $1.40 each way for the 25 minute drive.

Car = 1/3 the time and 1/2 the cost of the bus.

And I'm not likely to go grocery shopping where I have to walk 2 blocks each way in the 100+ degree hear carrying four bags of groceries.

NEWS FLASH: We don't all live in overcrowded big cities.

Furthermore, we had employees transfer from NYC to Austin. when they lived in NY, they didn't even own a car, so "savings" is bogus, there, too.

Posted by bb_apptix

17th Jan 2011

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RE: With gas prices rising, transit riders to save $10,000 this year

If you must have a car (for some reason unrelated to commuting), then it's almost always cheaper, faster, and more convenient to commute with it than with public transport.

Posted by dmm99

18th Jan 2011

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RE: With gas prices rising, transit riders to save $10,000 this year

And don't forget that for every $1 that a transit agency gets at the farebox, your local, state and Federal taxes provide $2+ to subsidize each rider (on average). Without using general fund money by the local and by the Federal Government giving / funding public transit no one could would be willing to pay the TRUE cost to take "public" transit - and waste from 1 to 4 hours a day over using their own vehicle.
At 3 MPG for the BEST bus on the road - that means they go through 40 gallons a day - at $3 a gallon - for just $120 in fuel costs. Add in the cost of a driver (at the cheapest $120 a day), plus retirement, plus maintenance of the bus plus the cost ($500,000 per bus over 20 years or $136 day *they BORROW money to buy buses so the real cost is double the sticker price*) plus admin overheard and it quickly comes up that they have to spend more than $800 a day per bus. And if they got 400 paying people a day at $2 a person they would break even - if EVERY seat of every bus what full and emptied on every trip throught the day. Note Economy.gov web site does NOT publish MPG for buses - only cars. If they did people would see that most only get 1.2 MPG. BTW, our M1 Abrams tank gets around 3 GALLONS per mile - so buses are way more efficient than a 60 ton main battle tank - makes them look good.

Posted by TAPhilo

19th Jan 2011

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The Urban Perspective

Posted by Economist Cory

22nd Jan 2011

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