Photo courtesy of laffy4k

Oil just reached an all-time high of $120 per gallon which means the national average price Americans pay to gas up rose 0.4 cent overnight to a record $3.603 a gallon, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.

With the other precipitous issues of climate change and the faltering economy, what is one way you can help save money on your gas budget, offer a “green” solution to pollution, and stay in shape at the same time?

Use Public Transportation

According to a report published in 2007, Public Transportation saves $6,200 per household and 1.4 Billion gallons of gasoline. “Public transportation provides Americans with greater freedom, access, opportunity and choice.

“Ridership is up over 25 percent since 1995, because Americans knew instinctively that it saves money and gasoline. Now we know exactly how much.” said American Public Transportation Association President William W. Millar.

“Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch?” Millar said. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average U.S. household spends $5,781 on food - and people who are likely to take public transportation can easily save more than that in a year.

Where does Exercise fit into this?

Usually, you’ll have to walk to catch to the bus or subway train, and once you get to the stop, you’ll probably have to walk to the last leg of your destination.

Walking is exercise. And it’s highly recommended.

Many years ago, when I relocated from Ohio to Washington, D.C., I had to rely solely on public transportation. That was the only way I could get anywhere and to find a job. Within the course of several weeks of applications and interviews, I learned a lot about how to get from point A to point B via bus and subway. On some days, I would travel between two states and the District of Columbia. BTW, this was before the days of the Internet. I had to call the Metro everyday to find out the mass transit route I had to take.

I quickly became an expert at where to sit on the train as after I would disembark in front of the escalator for my stops–if you’ve never used the subway system in DC, it’s safe, convenient, and makes for an easily navigated trip.

Once I got off the subway, I’d have to either catch a bus, or walk the ½ mile to my apartment, and it was uphill both ways.

Since then I have continued to use public transportation and thoroughly enjoy it.

I know that many of you don’t live in a major metropolitan area, but if you do, you should try the available public transportation. It’s inexpensive, you can read the newspaper or a book while you travel, you can save money by not purchasing gas, you help the environment by using mass transit, and getting to your final destination usually requires using a very natural form of transportation – walking.

It’s a win/win/win/win solution.

If you’d like to find out more information about the public transportation available in various cities, here’s a great link, State-by-State Guide to Transportation Assistance.

I love public transportation and use it almost everyday. That’s how I am able to log up to 13,000 steps per day.

Take public transportation, your body, wallet, and the environment will benefit, because

After all, it’s about a healthy lifestyle!

© Iowa Avenue