Rising gas prices have made it increasingly more economical to take public transit rather than drive. A person can achieve an average annual savings of $8,188 based on today’s gas prices in Atlanta, according to an analysis released by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). According to the “Transit Savings Report” a person can also save an average of $682 per month based on today’s gas price in Atlanta of $3.806 as reported by AAA.

These savings are based on purchasing a monthly pass on MARTA and a person getting by with one less car in their household.

Gas prices nationally have increased by 179.9 percent since 2003 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, making public transit use an increasingly more cost efficient way to travel. APTA’s analysis shows an annual savings of more than the average household pays for food in a year.

To highlight the cost benefits of public transportation, APTA will begin releasing a “Transit Savings Report” each month to show how much a person can save on a monthly basis by taking transit. This report will be posted on MARTA’s website.

MARTA also provides a Transit Savings Calculator at www.itsmarta.com for individuals to calculate specifically how much they would save based on their vehicle and travel patterns.

“At MARTA we continue to see more and more people leaving their cars behind to take advantage of how affordable and convenient it is to use public transit. Most recently in June, we saw our ridership increase 9.8% over June of last year,” said MARTA General Manager/CEO and APTA First Vice Chair Beverly A. Scott. “Using public transit not only saves you money from sky rocketing gas prices, it also serves as one of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint – contributing significantly to improving our environment.”

Based on APTA’s analysis, Atlanta ranked eighth in the country for the highest savings an individual could achieve by taking public transit rather than driving.

Tags: Traffic, transportation