Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Public Transportation

I freely admit the last time I took a bus was during my University years. Or rather , I should say year, because after less than one year, I vowed never again to use public transit. And for the most part, I've been able to. I've occasionally used the LRT to get to and from K-Days and concerts, but never again as a regular mode of transport.

This month I gave up my underground parking spot in the core of downtown and bought a bus pass. I drive to the LRT Park N' Ride in Clareview and take that downtown. The trip takes no more than 20 minutes. As an added bonus, I'm not fighting traffic morning and night. I used to come home very stressed after the drive. Not anymore!

Cost of my parking spot: 160 dollars.
Cost of the bus pass: 59 dollars.

After a week, I noticed I had used an eighth of a tank of gas. I would normally be down to less than a quarter of a tank of gas. If my gas consumption stays the same, I should be able to eliminate 3 fill ups per month!

Total gas saving: Between 100 and 150 dollars (depending on price).

Total savings overall: Between 200 and 250 dollars.

Not bad... The LRT is quick, the incidence of smelly and/or scary transient people isn't what I thought it would be. I'm sure I'll be cursing public transit when the next flu season hits, but for now it seems like a pretty good deal.

Extra Bonus! The walk from the terminal to my destination is also a good bit of daily exercise, and that's never a bad thing!

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