All Entries / Ron Talks About How Public Transit Helped Him Avoid a Grueling Commute
I work for the Social Security Administration, in an office that recently relocated in to downtown Tampa. Prior to starting to ride the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) I was commuting 25 miles from home to work, and 25 miles from work back to my home, on my Honda Helix scooter. While I was saving a lot of money on my scooter versus a car, due to the superior fuel mileage; however, I was racking up a lot of miles. Plus the commute into downtown can be very frustrating.
I am extremely hypertensive, I really didn't need the added stress of dealing with the 45 minute to 1 hour commute each way, with all the traffic, and weather issues. Now I ride an easy 8 miles to my park and ride location, and take the bus the rest of the way in to down town. I read while I ride the bus, which has allowed me to read several books this past year, plus I am saving a ton of money because I don't have to pay for parking downtown, or for as much maintenance on my scooter. I am driving over 7,000 miles less per year, and I save as much on parking as my ticket costs me.
I have a lot less stress in my life since I let HART do the driving; plus the bus drops me off and picks me up closer to my building, than I could park in any parking lot in the area. I believe in the program so much that I now do the mass transit briefings during the orientation for our new new employees. As a result HART ridership in our organization continues to grow. This means less cars on the road, less pollution in the air, and a safer commute for our employees. It is a win - win all the way around, we need more public transportation not less!
