- On
- 20 Apr 2022
- Reading time
- 3 minutes
Transportation plays a big role in almost everybody’s daily lives. It gets us to and from work, our studies, to friends and family, and wherever we might want to go. From A to B. In these modern times, modes of transportation have become fast and efficient. You can cross the world in a matter of a day.
Here in the Western world, private means of transportation are the most common and popular. Most people tend to have their own car or one that is shared between the family. Some even have a couple. It’s an underappreciated luxury, as it allows you to travel where you want when you want. But it also carries with it its own fair share of issues for society as a whole. This is why we would like to highlight some of the benefits and solutions public transport can bring to the table.
Freeing Up Your Monthly Budget
One of the core strengths of public transport is its affordability. It is significantly cheaper to use public transport daily than your own car. You don’t have to pay for gas, you don’t have to pay for insurance, car checkups, or face the large bills the mechanic hands you every year. All it costs is a ticket.
If you replace private means of transportation with public means, you’ll very quickly feel your monthly spending budget has grown significantly. This is money you can save, invest, or spend on something you actually like.
Reduction of Traffic Congestion
The largest of most common cars can seat between 5 and 7 people in total. But mostly it is just an individual or two per vehicle. During busy hours of the day, this often leads to congestion as thousands of cars clog up the narrow city streets.
Public transportation like trains and buses can carry hundreds of passengers at a time. You won’t have to do much math to figure out, that this also means there will be much fewer vehicles on the roads during rush hour, and this essentially means you will reach your destination much faster.
Of course, this requires that a majority of people start using public transport for it to have an effect.
Protecting the Environment
A major contributor to pollution is the exhaust fumes that cars’ diesel and petrol engines produce. The production of these fuels is themselves also big sinners when it comes to environmental pollution. With millions of cars running each day, this constitutes a large problem.
While electric cars have been proposed as a general solution, we can’t get around the fact that the production and maintenance of batteries for these cars is still not without its own environmental impact.
The point we’re making here ties into the previous point. The fewer cars on the road, the less pollution is generated. Trains and buses are by no means Co2 neutral yet, but they reduce emissions significantly.
Easier Access for the Elderly
It is no secret that most people’s driving skills decay with time. When we become elderly it can often be dangerous for us to drive our own cars. We might even become fully unable to do so due to medical conditions etc.
This means we’re most likely going to be relying on public transportation in the future. And in that case, it would be nice if it could accommodate the needs elderly people have. Many trains and buses have seats reserved for the elderly, but they're certain is a need for more. The more popular public transportation becomes, the more accessible it will be for the elderly too.
Is the Future Public?
While public transportation has a lot of good arguments going for it, it is hard to predict whether a majority of people in the nearest future will switch the comfort of their own cars for it.
The trick would be to make public transportation much more appealing than it currently is. This would of course require government grants and general investment to increase comfort and efficiency.
Steps are being taken in that direction each year, and hopefully, it will bear fruit in the not-too-distant future. But maybe it’s already time for you to reconsider your stance on transportation? Maybe you’ll reconsider before you buy your next car?
