While many view it as not entirely comfortable as compared to the use of a personal car, public transport is one of the most amazing ways to travel and enjoy your journey.
As much as private flights, taxis, or cars give you more independence and convenience, to some extent, there are limitless ways public transport pays off.
Here are at least 20+ extraordinary reasons why you should use public transportation when you travel.
According to Wikipedia,
“Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, or mass transit) is a shared passenger-transport service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, carpooling, hired buses, and transportation network companies, which are not shared by the general public without private arrangement.”
20+ Extraordinary Reasons To Use Public Transport
1. Public Transport Eases Congestion
Most of the road traffic congestion is attributed to the use of private vehicles and the notion of everyone wanting to use their own personal cars for privacy and comfort.
If we are serious about addressing the problem, we should often opt for public transport. Recent research indicated that a full carriage bus in a public transport system equals about 55 cars on the road with one occupant.
So, if we could all use public transport, we’d probably be decongesting more the 50 cars on the road.
2. Public Transport Reduces Environmental Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Greenhouse gas pollution is ever on the rise, and that’s the reason states, organizations, and environmentalists advocate for emission reduction techniques.
By using public transport, you’ll be able to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions by more than half.
Research has proved that having just three to eight people on a public transport bus can cut emissions by half compared to an individual commuting in a personal car by himself or herself.
3. More Time to People-Watch
I know this may sound a bit far-fetched, but it’s one of the advantages of using public means to commute.
You see, public transportation is used by people from diverse backgrounds with varied cultures, norms, and ways of living. If you opt for public transportation, you’ll have the chance to people-watch and even learn the nature of different people.
4. You Meet New People
Public transportation is used by diverse people, and again, there is no need for over-emphasizing this point. The odds are that you’ll be able to interact with many people from different cultures if you use public transport instead of traveling privately.
5. More Time to Relax
We all have work days when we’re all swamped with work so much that all we long for is a moment to relax. And while nothing beats the comfort we get from home, using public transport provides you some rest before getting home.
When traveling with public transport, you can take a nap, avoid road rage, and get out of the pressure of driving your own private car. You can also read or enjoy the view, which will help boost your dopamine hormones and reduce your stress levels.
Furthermore, using public transport to travel helps you unwind. At the end of your public transportation journey, you’ll definitely have moments to recall and reflect on some of the best moments in your life.
6. Great Way to Save Money
Public transport can save you up to four times the money you use commuting in your private or personal car. Regularly using your personal car will require maintenance costs and other additional charges such as parking fees, emission tickets, and speeding fines.
By using public transport, you’ll be able to save all the money directed to such miscellaneous expenses of using a personal vehicle.
7. It Helps Improve Personal Health
That’s right, public transport will ensure you walk more often between the stations and places where you board the buses, planes, or trains. With such kind of activity, you are ensured of some extra physical activity in your frequent travel routines.
The payoff includes improved personal health by exercising muscles and crucial organs and reducing stress levels. Walking, in particular, has been proven to relax the mind and improve one’s mental health. Consequently, walking in between your public transport routines aids in improving your mental health and physical well-being.
8. Reduces the Need for Fossil Fuels and Minimizes the Depletion of Natural Resources
Train, Bus, ferry, and tram travel, as pointed out by TransLink, considerably saves on the dependence on fossil fuel reserves and supplies that continue to destroy natural environments.
Therefore, public transport saves on at least twice the fossil fuel energy used in personal cars. To bring you into perspective, one full train saves fossil fuel that would have been used by more than 600 cars on the road.
9. Allows You to Expand Your Social Network
Public transport is used by thousands of diverse people across society as opposed to private travel, which only means you are traveling by yourself or your relatives. If you use public transport, you have all the room to make friends and enjoy the ride by meeting interesting new people.
10. Quicker Travel
It may sound less convincing, but public transportation systems have dedicated travel routes. This makes it quicker to reach travel destinations than traveling alone in a personal car.
For instance, a cross-country train trip takes much less time to reach the various defined destinations than the time it takes to reach the same destination in your own car.
11. You’re Spoilt for Choice
Suppose you can’t just wake up one morning and use your neighbor’s car simply because you don’t want to use your own. Well, that’s one area where public transport beats personal transport.
With public transport, we have more than one option to use. You can opt for the bus, train, ferry, or plane. Each option has its benefits and demerits, but with all factors considered, public transport will be more fulfilling.
Regardless, if you were to use any of the options, your last priority should be the plane, as it generates more carbon dioxide.
12. Public Transport Has Fare-Saver Tickets
One in every major season or holiday must have public transport offers on ticket discounts. This is an advantage you’ll only get to enjoy if you frequently use public transport.
Also, some ticket discounts include return fares, which reduce your overall spending on travel.
13. You Get to Plan your Trip Very Well
If you have to use public transport, you’ll have to plan your travel. Most people do not know that planning your travel makes you a frugal traveler.
In other words, it will help reduce your expenses and overall wastage in general because you’ll not be overwhelmed with last-minute purchases or rushes, which may cause additional travel costs.
14. Allows You to Be an Agent of Change
The world is moving toward being environmentally conscious, so you can join the rest of the world’s agents for change by using public transport.
As environmentalists and climate change experts advocate, public transport, particularly trains, buses, and ferries, can help cut greenhouse gases by half. You will also be helping in reducing the devastating environmental impacts.
15. The Views are Better With Public Transport
The rail lines and buses often connect the most important sights of cities and allow the traveler to view the most exclusive settings, such as parks, hills, and forests. By using public transport, you’ll be able to have some of the most memorable and rewarding views.
16. You Get to Witness How Quirky Bus Drivers Can Be!
This is an awesome experience, especially for those inclined towards learning belief systems and just out to have fun. If you use public bus transport, you’ll be able to notice some of the quirky beliefs and personalities of the drivers.
For instance, some bus drivers may have the interior of the buses creatively painted with very bright and weird colors. Some even bring their religion into the buses by having personalized shrines such as the honoring Buddha, Jesus, or the Virgin Mary. Some may also bring family pictures.
17. Most of The World Travels by Public Transport
Commuting using public transport reminds us that most people in the world can’t afford personal cars and will even encourage your commitment towards environmental sustainability goals.
It will remind you that other people on the planet can’t afford some of the machines contributing to massive environmental degradation globally.
18. It Will Help Your Cities Become Better-Placed
Environmentalists and urban planners have it that public transport helps cities reduce traffic congestion and the overall level of pollution. This means that if you use public transport, you’ll be reducing congestion and pollution within and around your city. Why not contribute to making your city a better place by using public transport?
19. It Promotes Local City Tourism
Again, most people are usually discouraged by the congestion level in major cities because it leads to traffic and air pollution. Congestion due to huge traffic and private vehicles makes maneuvering within the city tricky, thus limiting the number of people wishing to visit congested cities.
Therefore, if most people were to use public transport in major cities, it would aid in decongestion and encourage city tourism. Tourists may also feel much safer and free to use public transport systems such as trains and buses because they can meet new and interesting people from different cultures.
20. Buses and Trains are Much Safer Compared to Personal Vehicles
Personal vehicle accidents are estimated to contribute to higher fatality rates than bus or train-related accidents. More than 1.3 million deaths and many more injuries annually are due to global car accidents. Traveling by public transport significantly reduces your threat to road carnages.
21. Areas With Public Transport Have Better Security
Evidence-based research from criminology reports indicates that areas with public transport have improved overall security and few cases of crimes.
That’s because public transport areas are actually well-lit and manned by patrol and police officers, thereby reducing crime rates and improving security by more than 80 percent.