Public transportation has a few different connotations with it, especially in the United States. A lot of times, public transportation is seen as unhealthy, cheap, and possibly gross. This dialogue about public transportation needs to stop. According to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, public transportation can help you reduce your carbon footprint by 4,800 pounds annually. Pressing environmental need means that we must change our stigma about public transportation and find ways to become more comfortable with using it.Â
If youâve never taken public transportation before, make yourself comfortable with it! Take a friend with you, just go from one bus stop to the next, anything that will help you be confident in yourself when using the bus or the Trax system.  Also, if youâre worried about money, the University of Utah offers free fares with your Ucard. The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions also states that you could be saving more than $9,700.00 by using public ctransportation. Donât we LOVE saving money in this economy?! Google maps is a God send when it comes to figuring out which buses and/or Trax you need to use when getting from one destination to the next. By putting in the current address and your destination address, Google maps will usually give you two options if not more on how to get to your destination.Â
Another way to get familiar with Utah public transportation is going to rideuta.com. They have a lot of resources there that youâre able to access. They have a section titled âTrip Plannerâ, where like Google maps, you put in your destinations and itâll give you the routes to take! However, unlike Google maps, youâre able to put the time you want to depart, and itâll give you the closest scheduled stop near you! And if youâre wondering if your ride is going to be on-time or late, check out âVehicle Locatorâ on the website and itâll give you real time of the bus and Trax.
 If you feel like you want to go âold-schoolâ, you can also look up âSchedules & Mapsâ on rideuta.com. The section says it all: it will show you all the Trax rails and bus lines within Salt Lake City. You will also be able to access maps of the valley as well! Utahâs transportation system needs to be utilized better, especially with the Winter season (a.k.a inversion season) coming up. One way to curtail fossil fuels emissions is using public transportation and scaling down our carbon footprint. Becoming more confident in your ways of using public transportation will not only have a great impact on you, but on the environment around you.Â
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