Use Public Transportation

Don't forget that you can always use public transportation to augment the resources you use to get around. If you live in the city, this is a good option for it eliminates the cost of fuel and other expenses associated with a car of your own.

The relative difficulty or cost of this tip is rated 1 to 10. A rating of 10 suggests that this tip is the most difficult or most costly. Expected savings are also rated 1 to 10. A rating of 10 suggests that this tip will provide substantial savings in fuel, money or both.



Use public transportation. When we think of how to save gas, many of us forget about the bus and light rail. Our thoughts about gasoline saving tipsusually don’t include alternative transportation, just using gas more wisely. Public transportation can augment our private means of getting around, and this is how many people save money.

When I went without a car during my first year in California, I used to go to singles events in other cities. I would take public transportation and walk from the transit center. Otherwise, I would arrange for someone to pick me up at the transit center to go the rest of the way to the party. People were glad to help out, and I met some interesting people that way too.

So, going without a car isn’t impossible, it's just a bit of a challenge. Viewed from an energy conservation standpoint, it’s how to save gas by not using any. Is there a more certain way to save money on gas? I don’t think so.

Buses in major cities work well enough. When you see lots of people standing around waiting for them, that's a good indication that they must be an acceptable form of transportation. They aren’t private, and you share air space with others, but that isn’t all bad.

For years I used a bus to travel to the airport. It was a 3 and one half hour ride, and at least one change of buses. It wasn’t convenient, but the bus helped me save money. I probably spent too much time traveling to and from the airport on a bus, but it had distinct benefits:

• I didn’t have to drive.
• There were no parking fees to pay.
• I worked on the bus with my laptop.
• It was the cheapest and easiest way to get to and from the airport.

As the saying goes: everything has its price. The price of using alternative transportation is time. If you have more money than time, then drive your car. If you desire to have more money than time, then take the bus.



Light rail and other types of public transportation exist in major cities like Portland, Chicago and others. Each one operates a little different, but seems to serve some of the people reasonably well. Here are some examples:

• Washington D.C. has the Metro where you ride a train to key points within the D.C. area. You pick your train, get in it and go to work or go see some of the sights. I used Metro to save money on gas when I lived in the D.C. area for three months.

• The area around San Francisco has BART where you ride a train to numerous stops all around the Bay Area. You can walk between the trains, so you can hop on the closest train and then find one that suits your needs during the ride. BART helped me save money on gas and avoid traffic congestion. I even used BART to go fishing.

• Denver has a light rail. The fares seem reasonable and you can get monthly passes. The cost of monthly passes is much cheaper than a typical monthly fuel bill for a car used to commute. What a great way to save money on gas.

The systems don’t run all the time, but schedules are convenient enough for work, shopping and weekend recreation. Buses coordinate with light rail and other buses, so you can get around pretty well in major metropolitan areas once you get to know the system and schedules.

Even smaller areas have bus systems. To find out more about public transportation in your area, just contact the local transit authority. They’ll be glad to fill you full of information about the system.

Cost or difficulty: 4
Savings: 7

Done with Public Transportation, take me back to Save Gas