Shock o’ the day: More vacationers to use public transit this summer
May 19, 2008 at 10:39 am by Thomas Wheatley in NewsGas prices and parking costs will inspire more city-bound vacationers to hop on a climate-controlled train rather than sit in gridlock and bake. The American Public Transportation Association estimates that public transportation use in the nation’s urban tourist destinations will increase seven percent over last year’s numbers.
Estimated increases among top-ten destination cities surveyed:
New York City (53 percent - up 5 percent)
Washington, DC (47 percent - up 1 percent)
Boston (48 percent - up 5 percent)
San Francisco (40 percent – remained constant)
Philadelphia (38 percent - up 4 percent)
Chicago (35 percent - up 4 percent)
Seattle (32 percent – up 2 percent)
Las Vegas (30 percent – up 4 percent)
Los Angeles (31 percent – up 5 percent)
Atlanta (25 percent – up 3 percent)
We’ll see if MARTA can handle the small uptick in demand. Thanks to the state not ponying up any cash to help move people around the state’s most vibrant area, the agency’s getting by on what it can.
From APTA, in a press release after the jump:
Reducing the cost to get around a city was the top concern when travelers listed the most important reasons they would use public transportation during their city trip this summer. Forty-nine percent said it would be less expensive than taxicabs or rental cars, followed by 46 percent who said they won’t have to worry about finding a parking space for their vehicle, and 34 percent said it will be less expensive than buying gas to drive their personal vehicle.
The cost savings for travelers using public transportation are significant. A traveler can purchase a visitors pass for a local public transportation system and ride all day for as little as $3 to $10. That is a fraction of what it would cost to rent a car and park it, or take numerous cab rides around the city, or buy gas and park a vehicle. For instance, the daily parking rate for midtown New York is $42, in Boston it is $33 and San Francisco it is $27.
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