MBTA touts cost savings - study shows T riders save $13K per year

Posted by Ted McEnroe September 4, 2008 at 10:52 am

The MBTA is touting a new survey that shows Boston residents could save more than $13,000 per year by taking mass transit instead of driving into the city and - even more challenging - paying for parking.

The T touts the American Public Transportation Association’s “Transit Savings Report”. The report is a monthly analysis that shows the average annual savings represents more than one third more than the average amount a household pays for food in a year, according to the Food Institute ($6,111).

APTA’s monthly “Transit Savings Report” shows how much a person can save on a monthly and yearly basis by taking public transportation and living with one less car in his or her household. The report reminds commuters that taking public transportation is the quickest way to save money compared with the high cost of commuting by auto or light truck, and it includes the cost of parking.

The top 20 cites with the highest ridership are ranked in order of their transit savings based on the purchase of a monthly public transportation pass and factoring in today’s local gas prices and the local monthly unreserved parking rate.*

Top Twenty Cities – Transit Savings Report

City Annual Savings
1 Boston $13,490
2 New York $13,431
3 San Francisco $12,648
4 Chicago $11,738
5 Philadelphia $11,346
6 Seattle $11,327
7 Honolulu $11,215
8 Washington DC $10,593
9 Los Angeles $10,455
10 Minneapolis $10,302
11 San Diego $10,233
12 Cleveland $10,072
13 Denver $9,947
14 Portland $9,916
15 Baltimore $9,654
16 Miami $9,320
17 Atlanta $9,129
18 Dallas $9,095
19 Las Vegas $9,038
20 Pittsburgh $8,589

(Excuse the formatting - I’m not going to turn this into a table… you get the idea anyway.)