Not to sound like a broken record, but we love to highlight any study that shows that ditching your car in favor of transit, bikes, or your feet can save you some money. The American Public Transit Association (APTA) releases a monthly “Transit Savings Report” to examine how a person in a two-person household can save money by taking public transportation and living with one less car. According to their November report, individuals who switch from driving to riding public transportation can save an average of $816 dollars this month — or about $9,797 per year. These savings are based on the cost of commuting by public transportation compared to the November 18, 2011 average national gas price ($3.38 per gallon- reported by AAA) and the national unreserved monthly parking rate. These savings are more dramatic this year than last year, with current gas prices nearly 50 cents a gallon higher than they were at this time last year.
They also provided a list of the top 20 cities with the highest transit ridership, and ranked them in order of their transit savings based on the purchase of a monthly public transit pass and factoring in local gas prices for November 18, 2011 and the local monthly unreserved parking rate. Note that New York is #1, and Philly is not far behind at #5 — meaning that many New Jerseyans who live near those cities could probably save a lot of money too.