A Commuting Resolution for 2025: Ride Your Local Subway or Bus
For those who live in cities served by public transit, this is the perfect time to make a commuting habit that could save you money and improve your health.
Morning commuters wait for the MARC and Amtrak trains in New Carrollton, Maryland.
Photographer: Linda Davidson / The Washington Post via Getty Images
New Year's resolutions tend to take on a certain flavor: Pay off debts, eat healthier, exercise more. But this year, city residents might consider mixing things up and embarking on a habit that would be better for the planet’s health as well as your own. It might even be more convenient. This New Year’s, consider pledging to take public transit.
Only 3.1% of US adults use public transportation to get to work, according to 2022 data from the Census Bureau, down from 5% in 2019. That year, almost 76% of Americans said they drove alone to work, a number that fell to 68.7% in 2022 as more people reported working from home. Among those who take transit, 70% were located in one of seven metropolitan areas — Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, DC.