Driving on your own Vs. public transit costs $9.7K more annually

According to the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) July Transit Savings Report, individuals who ride public transportation instead of driving can save, on average, $809 this month, and $9,702 annually.  These savings are based on the cost of commuting by public transportation compared to the cost of owning and driving a vehicle which includes the July 24, 2012 average national gas price ($3.48 per gallon- reported by AAA) and the national unreserved monthly parking rate.

New York City, understandably, tops the list.

The top 20 cities with the highest transit ridership are ranked in order of their transit savings based on the purchase of a monthly public transit pass and factoring in local gas prices for July 24, 2012 and the local monthly unreserved parking rate.*

	City	Monthly	Annual
1	New York	$1,197	$14,363
2	Boston	$1,093	$13,110
3	San Francisco	$1,062	$12,747
4	Philadelphia	$966	$11,594
5	Chicago	$963	$11,559
6	Seattle	$961	$11,535
7	Honolulu	$928	$11,139
8	Los Angeles	$893	$10,722
9	Portland	$852	$10,226
10	San Diego	$852	$10,229
11	Minneapolis	$877	$10,523
12	Denver	$835	$10,015
13	Baltimore	$833	$9,993
14	Washington, DC	$805	$9,661
15	Pittsburgh	$791	$9,497
16	Cleveland	$789	$9,473
17	Miami	$766	$9,194
18	Atlanta	$762	$9,142
19	Dallas	$753	$9,037
20	Las Vegas	$732	$8,787

*Based on gasoline prices as reported by AAA on 7/24/12