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The Importance of Public Transportation

A US Congressman once proclaimed that, "There can be no doubt that the transportation sector is the most critical sector of our economy." I know exactly what he means. In this day and age, access to transportation is considered a necessity.

Public transportation is defined as a service that is available for use by the general public. It is a cheaper and environmentally friendly alternative. It is not a transportation service that you can arrange privately to suit your own personal convenience (although you may, to a certain extent, such as paying for a cabin or suite on a train or ship) since you have to consider other passengers who are riding and making similar arrangements with you.

I have experienced first-hand how important public transportation is.

I live in Saipan, a US territory and the closest things we have to public transportation are tourist and school buses. You have to have your own car or bike, rent a car, or pay upfront for a taxi to go from point A to point B. Otherwise you end up basked in sweat and sunburn traveling to work every day. When I first came here, I walked. I walked going to and from work. I walked to the store and lugged my heavy groceries back to the house. I walked to church and I barely got to go to places farther than a twenty-mile radius from my house since I did not own a car then, and I considered renting a car and riding a taxi such an expense for a starting single mother like I was at that time.

For me, public transportation is very important because of the following reasons:

1. It saves money.

According to research done by the American Public Transportation Association, individuals can save up to $9,515 annually by parking their cars at home and using public transportation instead. In this economy, saving money has become a main concern in most households. With the rising prices of fuel and other vehicle-related expenses, doing the public commute to work and school certainly saves money.

2. It helps the environment.

When you switch from driving your car to taking public transport, you are reducing your carbon footprint and making a great step forward in saving the environment. The environmental costs of individuals using their cars every day have done massive damage to the environment and if the majority or all individuals like you and me use public transport instead, think of what good we could do for the environment.

3. It will wean us out of energy dependence.

According to a paper made by Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue and Dr. Claude Comtois, transportation accounts for approximately 25% of world energy demand and for more than 62% of all the oil used each year. Ninety-five percent of transportation is almost completely reliant upon petroleum products with the exception of railways using electrical power. While the use of petroleum for other economic sectors, such as industrial and electricity generation, has remained relatively stable, the growth in oil demand is mainly attributed to the growth in transportation demand.

When we strengthen our public transportation services, we are consequently lessening this oil demand and dependence. It will also motivate us to consider alternative energy and fuel resources.

4. It provides ease and convenience.

Having public transportation definitely eases some of the burdens of people who do not have cars or prefer not to own one. They are provided with choices to use public transport. Public transportation also provides valuable services not just to local inhabitants in the area but to tourists as well. When a tourist visits a place, which does not have public transportation, their choices are limited and the experience they get is limited, too.

All in all, public transportation improves our way of life, strengthens the community, provides new jobs for the public and gives us a cleaner environment.

参考翻译：

公共交通的重要性

一位美国国会发言人曾经断言：“毫无疑问地,交通是我们国家经济体系最至关重要的领域。”我深刻地明白他这句话的含义。在如今这个时代，交通的便捷性已经被认为是一种生活的必需条件。

公共交通的定义是为广大公众提供出行便利的服务。它便宜并且环保。它不并是那种你可以私自安排来为你自己个人提供便利的交通服务(尽管，在一定程度内，你可以为你携带上火车或是轮船的行李箱包付费)，因为你必须要考虑一下其他与你同行的乘客,可能会做出和你相类似的安排。

我亲身体验过公共交通的重要性。

我居住在塞班岛，这是美国的领地，我们接触最多的公共交通就是旅游巴士和校车。要想从Α地到Β地去，你不得不有自己的小汽车或是自行车，或是租车,或是打的。要不然，你就得每天沐浴着温暖的阳光上下班，甚至会被晒伤。当我第一次来这时，我步行。我走着去上班,下班了又走回来。我走着去商店,又走着把购买的物品拉回来。我走着去教堂，甚至我家附近方圆20英里的地方我都步行，因为我那个时候没有车，我当时是个单身母亲,我觉得租车、打出租都是一笔开销。

对于我来说，公共交通很重要，原因如下。

1  省钱

根据美国公共交通协会的研究，如果把车停在家里并去乘坐公交，个人每年可以省下 9515 美元费用。在这种经济状况下，省钱是大多数家庭考虑的主要因素。由于燃油费价格飞涨，并且与车辆有关的其他收费也不断涨价，乘坐公共交通上下班和上学必然是很省钱的。

2 有利于环保

当你的出行从自驾变为公共交通时，你就减少了你的碳排放量，并为保护环境迈出伟大的一步。个人使用私家车，对环境造成很大的破坏，而且如果大多数人甚至所有人都像你我这样，乘坐公共交通的话,想想我们可以为环保做出多大贡献。

3  它可以让我们逐渐减少对能源的依赖

根据让-保罗·罗德里格博士和克劳斯·格里姆博士的研究报告，公共交通每年大约占世界能源需求的25％,其中超过 62％是石油。除了使用电力的铁轨,95％的交通几乎都完全依赖原油产品。然而,其他经济领域，例如工业和发电,它们对石油的使用量基本维持稳定。石油需求增长的主要因素是交通需求的增加。

当我们巩固并加强我们的公交服务时，我们就会降低对石油的需求，减轻对石油的依赖，这也会成为我们寻求新的可替代能源的动力。

4它提供舒适和便利

公共交通无疑为没有车或是不想买车的人减轻了负担。他们可以选择公共交通。此外公共交通不仅为当地居民而且还为外地游客提供宝贵的服务。当游客初来乍到，如果没有公共交通，只能打出租的话,他们的选择也就会非常有限而且昂贵了。

总之,公共交通能改善我们的生活方式,增强社区间的联系，为公众提供新的就业机会，并且给我们一个更加干净的环境。