We should all be concerned about what is happening in our environment. With a rising carbon footprint, we and our future generations would be the ones to suffer. As a way to counter that, we should find ways to be more eco-friendly in our daily lives. That includes our daily commute to wherever we need to go.
There are many eco-friendly options to travel. You can walk, ride a bike, or use electric vehicles but the best one of all is to use public transport. Are you a fan of using public transport? If you aren’t the information below could change your mind.
What are the Environmental Benefits of Public Transport?
One way to reduce our carbon footprint is to take public transport. This does not just mean taking the bus or train. It is about combining our public transport options to get around so that we can reduce how much carbon dioxide we emit into the atmosphere.
Let’s look at some numbers first before we go into detail about how it affects the environment. Taking the bus instead of your private car would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 1.3 kilograms per mile.
By comparison, driving a hybrid car would reduce it by 0.6 kilograms per mile. The number of pollutants in the air would also decrease if more people used public transport rather than their personal cars or even riding motorcycles to work every day.
Due to the rise of vehicles, people tend to think that public transportation is less important. But we should remember that we need to take care of the environment and reduce our carbon footprint so we could live in a better world for our future generations.
Taking public transport may not be faster than taking your personal car or riding a motorcycle, but taking it would benefit the environment in a number of ways. Not only would you save money, but also reduce your carbon dioxide emissions and have a less stressful commute overall.
The Most Environmentally Friendly Way To Travel
There are many ways to travel and be eco-friendly, but the most environmentally friendly way is by taking public transport. Riding the bus or train instead of driving your own car would greatly reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, public transportation reduces an individual’s carbon dioxide emissions by about one-third.
Passenger Transport Vs. Vehicle Emissions
Car exhaust contributes to air pollution and is hazardous to human health, especially in congested areas with high traffic density. For example, in some parts of California, concentrations of harmful pollutants in the air exceed federal standards by as much as 50%. In a study conducted in 1990, it was found that an increase of ten new cars on the road meant a one percent increase in carbon monoxide levels and a two percent increase in nitrogen dioxide levels.
In comparison to private transportation, public transport has a significant environmental advantage. Public transport emits far less carbon dioxide per passenger mile than cars, motorcycles, and planes (including the manufacture of the vehicle). Taking public transport is not only good for the environment; it can also benefit your health.
Passenger Transport Vs. Air Pollution
Public transportation uses one energy source to maintain its fleet while personal vehicles use another energy source to run and as such, emit more pollutants. The fuel used by an electric train is believed to be cleaner than the fuel used to power a car or any other motor vehicle. An electric train does not emit carbon monoxide or other harmful gases like cars and trucks do. It also doesn’t suffer from the same problems related to fuel evaporation or spillage.
The Takeaway
For the average American, public transportation is more energy-efficient than even walking or biking to work. Every day people in large cities use public busses and trains to get around. Riding a bus full of passengers will greatly reduce carbon dioxide emissions per person compared with the same number of people riding in their cars.
Public transportation systems are large and require a lot of infrastructure, so we should look at ways to improve their efficiency and maintain it so we could reduce our carbon footprints and contribute to a healthier world for generations to come.