A first step: Carpool, dammit. Statistics from 2006 say that Tampa Bay has 1.25 million commuters: 81 percent drive alone; 9.5 percent use some form of ridesharing and 1.4 percent take public transportation. “If everyone did something other than drive to work alone one day a week, not only would it have a momentous impact on air quality and the environment, but each person would save 20 percent of their commuting cost,†says Sandy Moody, executive director of Bay Area Commuter Services, a nonprofit funded by the Florida Department of Transportation that promotes alternatives to driving single-occupant vehicles. Learn more about BACS at tampabayrideshare.org, 813-282-8200.
Resources:
Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA), tbarta.com
This article appears in Feb 20-26, 2008.