Free Essay: Public Transportation Better Than Using Private in Miami, Florida

Arguably, public transportation is becoming increasingly available not only for budget-conscious travelers but also for an entire city as a whole. In the case of Miami Florida, public transportation has over the recent past, flourished making it easy for almost everyone to get around Miami without a car. In particular, the Miami-Dade Transit is the most extensive transit agency in the state of Florida and also ranked the 14th largest public transit systems in the United States (Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization). The ease of public transportation is highly attributed to the fact that Miami does not only have accessible buses and trains but also has a completely free metro system. In this regard, the problem of private transportation in Miami, Florida is getting worse as the population grows, making it a controversial issue hence a better preference for the public means of transportation.

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To begin with, owing to the increased air pollution and clogging roads in Miami, Florida, public transportation means is preferred over the private means. According to News Miami, 2018, Miami takes the fifth position nationally and is ranked the tenth most congested city globally. More specifically, INRIX contends that due to a large number of private transportation means, Miami residents spend approximately 65 hours in traffic, on an annual basis. Nonetheless, this issue can be mitigated through educating people to use public transportation or even coming up with laws that encourage the wise reliance on public transportation. This, in essence, will help solve this dilemma, and in turn, reduce greenhouse gas emissions that pose great threats not only to human beings but to nature as a whole.

In a similar regard, the use of public transportation in Miami, Florida can help relieve the heavy financial burden that is caused by excessive traffic. According to estimates done by INRIX, a global traffic researcher that makes use of big data, traffic congestion costs Miami drivers approximately $3.6 billion every year (Sayer). Moreover, private drivers pay out an average of $628, 000 on a daily basis just to get the privilege of using the Miami-Dade Expressway. This being said, contrary to the popular belief almost all forms of public transportation in Miami, which are inclusive of the free metro system, numerous buses and trains, pose less of a cost to the traveler as compared to the private means of transportation (Sayre). Therefore, encouraging higher reliance on public means of transport as compared to the private means will essentially help individuals decrease the transportation costs and save the United States a lot of gasoline.

Additionally, public means of transport in Miami provides a lot of safety, mobility, and economic benefits to people and businesses. This, in turn, helps increase labor productivity because it helps reduce travel time as well as the out-of-pocket costs of commuters in congested areas. According to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), public transportation in Miami is increasingly becoming beneficial in all these regards as compared to the private means of transport following the plethora of projects and schemes that are currently upcoming in and around the city of Miami (Newnam). For instance, the city has seen the development of high-speed regional rail, bus, local rail, water travel, and pedestrian routes. While this may not seem like it aids in the public means of transport, the Director of the Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) for Miami-Dade contends that these transportation schemes and projects primarily coincide with the current development boom in Miami, which is more centred to urban living as compared to the previous waves of development.

Also, public transportation means helps to improve air quality through the reduction of the amount of Carbon gasses that are emitted into the air by cars. Despite the fact that the downside of public transportation lies in the fact that private cars and motorcycles can, at times, be more flexible and offer a more convenient form of travel to the travelers or commuters, its greener credentials merit a lot of concerns. More fundamentally, for anyone wanting to reduce the overall carbon footprint in the environment, the use of private means of transport is far less than attractive. According to Some research done by the American Public Transportation Association, it is evident the use of public transportation can help reduce the emission of carbon II gases by 37 million metric tons annually (Haites and Proestos). Thus, based on this context, in Miami, public transportation means is deemed the cornerstone of a sustainable community since it is more effective as compared to the private means.

Similarly, the improvement of Express lanes in Miami, Florida has made public means of transportation easier and better as compared to the private means. Today, in Miami, buses can use these Express lanes which were initially intended for private transportation. This, in essence, has enabled buses, which are Miami's primary means of public transportation, get to their destination on schedule, easier and faster than a private car motorist would have gotten there through using the general purpose lane. In the same vein, these buses use alternative fuels other than gas and fuel. According to FTA, there has been a significant increase in the number of buses and other public means of transport that are propelled by alternative fuels. Thus, based on this premise, encouraging people in Miami and across the United States, to use more public transportation means as compared to the private means will help reduce energy consumption by nearly 4.2 million gallons of gasoline each year (U.S. Energy Information Administration), in addition to saving as of $6,251 yearly.

Conversely, a majority of people in Miami like to use their private cars because they consider this a convenient means for them to go wherever and whenever they want. Besides, privacy is yet another significant consideration for the pro-private transportation means population. In this regard, some people feel more secure and that their privacy is guaranteed when they use their own private cars as compared to the public transportation means (Patterson). In particular, in Miami, many opt for the private means of transport since the public means of transport, mainly buses and trains can get crowded and noisy, making it hard especially for children, and those with special needs. For instance, according to Cordeiro the use of public means of transport can be stressful for those using wheelchairs since space is also a great challenge (Cordeiro). Thus, while public transportation means can be a great solution for the budget conscious people, it is not very efficient for those with special needs.

Nonetheless, on the rebuttal, the point on the special needs and privacy of individuals is essentially irrelevant since it does not make sense to put the individual's conscience and privacy over the greater good like conserving the environment or even saving money and energy for Miami households, the state and the country as a whole. Besides, the increased CO2 emissions by the increased number of cars on the roads, causes damage to human beings respiratory system and to a broader extent, contributes to the depletion of the ozone layer and this, in turn results to global warming which poses grave dangers not only to humanity but also to nature, as a whole (Rosenfield, et al).

In conclusion, based on the contentions made in this particular essay, it is with no doubt that public means of transport in Miami are more efficient as compared to the private means. This is regarding energy consumption, time-saving, conservation of the environment and the overall economic status of the state and the country as a whole. Despite the fact that public transportation is less comfortable and has limited privacy as compared to the private means, it is less expensive and should, therefore, be chosen over the private means. Besides, owing to the fact that buses, trains, and the metro are the primary public transport means in Miami, Florida, their overall structural features enables the transportation commuters and travelers in large numbers. This, in essence, helps not to play a negative-effective role in traffic and hence reducing car congestion which leads to traffic jams and the consumption of a large amount of fuels. Thus, in a nutshell, public means of transport in Miami may suffer a few unfavorable specialties but they should be chosen over the private means since their benefits outweigh their downsides.

Works Cited

Cordeiro, Monivette. "The Benefits and Struggles of Riding Central Florida's Better-than-nothing Public Bus System." Orlando Weekly, 21 June 2017, www.orlandoweekly.com/orlando/the-benefits-and-struggles-of-riding-central-floridas-better-than-nothing-public-bus-system/Content?oid=5113423. Accessed 2 Apr. 2018.

Haites, Erik, and Angelo Proestos. "Suitability of Non-Energy Greenhouse Gases for Emissions Trading." Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases: Scientific Understanding, Control and Implementation, 2000, pp. 417-424.

Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization. "Miami Dade county compendium of transportation facts and Trends report." Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization, July 2014, miamidadetpo.org/library/studies/compendium-of-transportation-facts-and-trends-report-2014-07.pdf.

Newnam, Jared. "Environmental Benefits of Public Transportation." South University, 7 Jan. 2011, www.southuniversity.edu/whoweare/newsroom/blog/environmental-benefits-of-public-transportation-31178.

News Miami. "Miami Ranks As One of the Most Traffic-congested Cities on Earth, New Study Finds." WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale, 6 2018, wsvn.com/news/local/miami-ranks-as-one-of-the-most-traffic-congested-cities-on-earth-new-study-finds/.

Patterson, Lindsey. "Personal Cars Vs. Mass Transport: Pros and Cons - Rescue a CEO." Rescue a CEO - Even Heroes Need Help, 26 Aug. 2015, rescue.ceoblognation.com/2015/08/26/personal-cars-vs-mass-transport-pros-and-cons/.

Rosenfield, Joan E., et al. "The impact of increasing carbon dioxide on ozone recovery." Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, vol. 107, no. D6, 2002, pp. ACH 7-1-ACH 7-9.

Sayer, Jason. "Miami's Infrastructure Woes Run Deep, but the City Has Its Eyes Set on 'huge Cultural Change?" Archpaper.com, 24 Apr. 2017, archpaper.com/2017/04/miami-public-transportation-plans/#gallery-0-slide-0. Accessed Apr. 2018.

Sayre, Wilson. "Riding The Bus Is Cheaper Than Driving. Isn't It?" WLRN | Miami, Ft Lauderdale, South FL: WLRN Miami Herald News, Events, Radio, 23 Jan. 2014, wlrn.org/post/riding-bus-cheaper-driving-isnt-it.

U.S. Energy Information Administration. "Annual Energy Outlook 2018." U.S. Energy Information Administration, 6 Feb. 2018, www.eia.gov/pressroom/presentations/Capuano_02052018.pdf. Accessed 2 Apr. 2018.