AP Photo /Mary Altaffer
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By Tania Asnes
Ed zips around Los Angeles on his iZip electric hybrid bicycle, but what are New Yorkers to do?
After a recent exchange with a New York City Metrocard machine, I was surprised to find green lettering printed across my purchase. A Metrocard (the logo of which usually appears in blue) is nearly every NYC denizen's transportation must-have. At $2.00 a ride, or $81 for a month of unlimited rides, it grants us access to the city's many subway lines and bus routes. I flipped my card over to find a green fact - complete with illustration - to make me feel good about using public transportation. "Every full bus keeps 40 cars off the road," it averred.
As it turns out, Governor Paterson unveiled the limited edition green Metrocard on April 15, 2008 in honor of Earth Day. Accompanying the temporary color change were several promises to make public transit in New York City more earth-friendly. As a writer at Gothamist points out, the new Metrocards are green only in that they draw attention to the benefits of public transportation; they are not made out of recycled material. Like their blue brethren, most of them will find their way to the trash can eventually, adding to the more than nine million tons of municipal solid waste that New York City produces annually.
New Yorkers may produce an inordinate amount of waste, but we do have incredibly low per-capita gasoline consumption. Before we pat ourselves on the back, though, we should remember that convenience is probably the main factor in our choice to use public transportation. Not only is it easy to travel by subway or bus in New York City, but also street parking regulations and private parking garage rates can make owning a car expensive and inconvenient. Even taxis, the centers of a typical New Yorker's 'driving' experience, are expensive and reserved typically for last-minute luggage ferrying or rides home in the wee post-partying hours.
Are we New Yorkers painting the town green with our use of public transportation? In a way, yes we are. However, if owning a car were less problematic, some of us might get behind the wheel. As it stands, we can be proud to live in a city where convenience and conservation cooperate - sometimes.
Three ways to green your public transportation pass:
- Refill it! Make that little extra effort and renew your pass until it expires. If you think about how often you purchase more rides, it's clear you’ll be taking a significant chunk out of your ecological footprint.
- Recycle it! Once your pass expires, it can join your newspapers, magazines, and other junk paper in the recycling bin.
- Decorate with it! Use expired passes to adorn your walls or a homemade paper chair, or even to make Christmas decorations.
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