Monday, October 15, 2007

Benefits of public transport - Take action for a better environment


Photo by johnseb

Today is Blog Action Day. Bloggers around the world unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. So today, I'll write about the most obvious benefit of using public transport: It helps to make a better environment.

I always hear people say "It won't make any difference to the world if I take the bus or go by car". Well, that's probably true. But have you ever considered that saving the environment doesn't necessarily mean you have to save the planet? What about the environment around you? Your city? Your street?

Nobody wants to live in a street with a lot of traffic. We moan about all the noise and exhaust they cause. We moan about the pollution that makes us sick. We moan about how dangerous it is to leave the house. We moan about traffic jams.

But still, we drive by car.

What if you'd take the bus whenever possible? That would be the first step to make your city a better place to live. A first step to leave your children a better world. So using public transport might not save the planet. But it will make your environment a better place to live.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Benefits of public transport - Run errands on your way home


Photo by daquellamanera

This post is part of a series of posts about the benefits of public transport.

When I talk to other people about using public transport, I often hear one argument that seems to be a killer-argument against taking the bus: They need their car to run errands.
At first sight this really looks like a strong argument. But if you take a closer look, you'll find that you don't really need your car most of the time. If you need to buy big items, a car might be necessary, but most things you buy won't be that big. The milk for tomorrow's breakfast will easily fit in your bag and go with you on the bus. But there are other arguments...

My shop can't be reached by bus.

So what? Your favourite shop can be reached by car, but you won't get there with the bus? Maybe that's because you chose it because you alway go there by car? Don't you think there are other shops that will sell you your milk? Try to take the bus to work, take a look out of the window and count the shops you can reach this way.

But my shop is much cheaper!

Even if you found a shop that sells everything much cheaper, driving there by car isn't free. On the other hand, you can easily leave the bus to go wherever you need to go and take the next bus home.

But this will take so much time! I prefer to have one "big-shopping-day" per week!

Granted, your commute will take longer if you go shopping every day compared to doing it just once a week. I used to drive to a big shopping center every saturday. I thought that I saved money by buying there, but one day I realized how stupid this was. It took me half an hour to get there and half an hour to go back. There were lots of people there and my shopping took quite some time.

Today, I visit the shop on my way home with the bus everytime I need something. This takes a couple of minutes every day. This is no time compared to my hour long journey to the shopping center. As a bonus, there is no need to go shopping on the weekend, so I've got more free time. And I always have fresh fruits at home.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Benefits of public transport - Make friends


Photo by ernoldiƱo

This post is part of a series of posts about the benefits of public transport.

Have you ever wanted to know more people and find new friends? Well, there's an easy way: take the bus.

Granted, you don't want to talk to everybody you see there, but you'll meet some interesting people after a short time. And it's actually quite easy to start a conversation. You take the same bus like them every day, and if the bus is late again or it suddenly starts to rain you've got a common problem. That's a good chance to start a conversation...

On the other hand, you could also take your car. But I bet it's much more harder to start a conversation with nobody around...