Taking the Bus: How You Could Save 1000 a Year
If somebody told you that they knew a really easy way to save 1000 a year, would you listen? We all try to save money in as many ways as we can, such as by turning off electrical items and using voucher codes like from https://www.raise.com/coupons/lowes. Would you be prepared to try a transport style experiment that meant changing your commute habits and abandoning your car for a couple of months? Well, by taking a bus instead of driving your car will do just that – put 1000 back into your pocket.
Some research carried out came up with these results – take a bus, leave your car at home as often as possible and the savings equate to about 95 a month.
Saving money and the environment
Hybrid cars running on electricity from batteries, solar energy and wind turbines are all the rage as we become more conscious of the environment and how pollution, particularly from heavy city traffic affects it adversely. Cities that promote the use of public transport are also cities that have good public transport systems. The fuel you burn in your car adds to the pollution. What if you didn’t take your car to work every day? What if another million commuters decided not to take their car to work anymore and used public transport? People are becoming more conscious of the environmental footprint they are leaving every time they take their car out for a drive.
Savings by region
If you calculate the cost of parking and fuel daily compared to taking the bus, the resultant cost-savings may surprise you. Stagecoach examined 35 key commuter routes in England, Scotland and Wales and calculated the difference in cost.
Scots living in the West of Scotland will be happy to know that they can save the most. An amazing 2,800 annually for those who pay bus fares as opposed to taking their car. That’s almost 3 times the national average savings of 1000, mentioned earlier. More commuters on buses also means a lot less traffic congestion. More commuters also means bus companies can maintain fare pricing.
If you live in the North East of England it’s also good news. The cost of driving your own car costs 73% more than the bus route between Newcastle and South Shields. Commuters in Merseyside travelling between Heswall and Liverpool In the West, could save 1400 a year by switching to the bus. The least amount of savings occurred in Greater Manchester, with commuters saving about 740 a year for travelling between Reddish and Manchester.
