Public Transport

I picked up the 1978 Mercedes in Phoenix. Its not quite the car that I thought it would be. Lots of little things wrong with it. But it drives great. One thing I did while in Phoenix that I don't normally do is I took public transportation. They have a pretty good bus system in Phoenix. In fact, I'm finding that public transport has a lot to offer. For whatever reason, I never used it that much. I've lived near trains which I took usually just to avoid drinking then driving but I've never really tried buses. Public transportation has a lot more value than carting drunkards around late at night. Some interesting statistics from the American Public Transport Association, per passenger mile, public transportation:

• is twice as efficient as private cars
• is three times as efficient as SUV's
• produces 95% less carbon monoxide
• produces 50% less carbon dioxide

Still, these amazing statistics only reduce our oil consumption by 45 million barrels per year. That's only a little over two days in the life of America. If we used public transportation at the same rate as Europe, it would make a HUGE difference. We could meet or exceed our Kyoto protocol CO2 targets. Transportation accounts for 43% of energy usage in America. Obviously, if we can make an impact here whether it be by biofuels or other means, we will make a big impact overall.

Check out your public transport options on Google or other search engine! Most public transport agencies now have websites which have route maps, schedules and fares.