The San Marcos City Council has declared June 18, 2009 as Dump the Pump Day and is encouraging people to ride public transportation on this day. Public transporation helps save money, protect the environment, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and impove the quality of life for all Americans.
On average, people who ride public transportation can save over $8,000 per year based on today’s gas prices. It is estimated that U.S. public transportation use saves 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline per year – the equivalent of 900,000 cars filling up every day!
Public transportation also saves 541 million hours in travel time which in turn reduces stress and decreases congestion on busy roadways. Dump the Pump is a collaborative effort between the City of San Marcos, North County Transit District, and public transportation systems across the country.
For more information, please contact NCTD at (760) 966-6500.
where in the world does an average savings of $8k come from?
Say gas averages $3/gal, avg mileage per year of about 15000, avg gas mileage of 18mpg, and average car price of $20k over 5 years is still only $6500! And this doesn’t take into account the cost of public transportation. It’s not free.
Public transit from SEH to most of San Diego takes orders of magnitude MORE time than driving. I can’t think of a single case where it would SAVE me travel time to take public transit! For example, based on the NCTD trip planner, it would take 3 hours and 10 minutes to get to Petco Park from CSUSM!!! I can drive there in traffic in 45minutes.
I’m all for fewer cars on the road and public transit, but these comments and figures are outrageous! Where did these numbers come from? They are not on NCTD’s site.
Um, I’m guessing the $8000 also includes insurance cost, maintenance, and the depreciation of the car.
the challenge is that unless you don’t have a car at all, you will have to bear some cost associated with having one (minimal insurance, miminal gas, Depreciation and increasing taxes/registration costs) I agree that for Public Transit to make sense, it shouldn’t take 3-4 times as long to get to a destination as driving. Double is pushing it.