In the interests of full disclosure, I should begin by pointing out that I live in New York City, where I am a regular and enthusiastic patron of the city's amazing public transportation system. I approach the train in much the same way that a cocker spaniel approaches car rides. If I could open the window, put my hands on the sill and let my tongue loll out of my mouth, I definitely would.

Right now, one of my biggest worries involves funding of the city's subway system. A little over ten years ago, the city and the state slashed funding. It would be prohibitively expensive to have an entirely rider-funded system, so the MTA began borrowing money. Lo and behold, a few years later, the subway is still underfunded, is seriously in debt, and is looking at massively raising fares while scaling back on service.

New York is only one of many cities currently experiencing problems with their public transportation systems. At the same time, these systems also offer one of the best solutions to the country's current gas crisis. America's subways, trams and buses conserve 4.2 billion gallons of gas per year. They reduce wear and tear on public roads, keep cars out of city centers, and allow citizens to cheaply move from place to place. In terms of pollution, each person who rides public transportation reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 20 pounds per day. In New York, that works out to over 3 billion pounds per year.

However, unless a consistent, reliable funding source emerges, the sort of feast-or-famine situation that is plaguing New York and other cities will continue. With that in mind, it was particularly satisfying to discover HR 6052, the Saving Energy Through Public Transportation Act of 2008. This bill would provide federal subsidies both to cities and to "non-urban areas" for the development and improvement of public transportation systems. It is designed to improve the public transportation grid while lowering fares for travelers. The bill has passed the House of Representatives and is currently working its way through Senate committees.

Between cheap public transit, fewer drivers clogging the highways, lowered petroleum dependency and reduced carbon emissions, HR 6052 seems like a great idea for pretty much everyone. Now if we can just get it passed...

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. He even has favorite subway beggars: the current winner is the magician on the four line.

I found this ridiculous piece on MarketWatch about why people should be happy that gas prices are high and going higher. Using oil is apparently an evil, evil act, and now we are being punished and this writer is happy.

I can't really argue with his points on a decreased dependence on the Middle East and the potential for new investments and inventions. But where I go crazy with these types of things is the idea that this will force people to live "correctly" in the author's eyes. He mentions that families will be forced to be more financially responsible with super-high gas prices. Newsflash: If you were bad with money before, you're not going to become a financial genius just because gas got more expensive.

He says "urban sprawl" is bad. High fuel prices will stop that. What's wrong with people living wherever they choose to live? Why is it better to live closer to hundreds of thousands of other people in urban areas? It's not! Unless that's what you choose! Why would we celebrate limiting people's choices?

In the United Kingdom, diesel fuel now costs $11.50 per gallon, while it costs $8.54 a gallon in France. Regular gasoline is just as bad: in France, it's going for $8.67 per gallon, which is just below the Union-wide average. Part of the reason for this high cost is the increasing price of gasoline; because gas is traded in dollars, it has inflated worldwide. In fact, were it not for the euro's considerable strength against the dollar, gas prices would be much, much higher.

Another part of the reason for the huge gas prices is the EU's heavy tax on gas. While taxes only account for about 11% of gas prices in the United States, they make up approximately 70% of gas prices in the European Union. France's Nicolas Sarkozy has proposed a reduction/removal of Europe's value added tax, or VAT, which would cut gas prices by approximately 20%. Unfortunately, because of the structure of the EU, doing so will require the unanimous approval of all member states. Moreover, there is every likelihood that this tax reduction would only encourage gas suppliers to raise their prices still further.

It's nearly summertime, and that means you can look forward to hours on the road, on the rail or in the air. Of course, there's no way to completely cut gas out of your life when talking about transportation, but there are ways to cut gas out of your vacation: Public transportation.

Now, sure, the New York subway transportation can be frightening to visitors not familiar with mass transit, but that doesn't mean it's not safe and cheap. As a matter of fact, it's cheaper than renting a car and filling your tank up with $4/gallon gas, driving in circles and shelling out for a GPS.

While you have your vacation planner out, prepare for hot spots to visit. If you're considering the nation's capital, consider seeing the sights on the metro system that can transport you from downtown D.C. to the outskirts of Maryland and Virginia, all for a low price of $7.80. And, if you think getting around is going to be hard, well, there are now web sites that can give directions from point A to point B. Despite the ads around NYC, you shouldn't have to rely on celebrities to help get you around. There are ways you can navigate the city, save on gas, and have more money to splurge on the kids.

Take a look at 5 major cities, and the estimated costs to get around. Traveling just got a little easier.

As the national average price for a gallon of gas creeps closer to $4 (and actually hit $4 at home for me on Monday) mass transit is looking more appealing to many. Consumers are leaving their cars behind in favor of buses and subways. It makes plenty of sense, as a family with 2 cars will spend an estimated $700 more this year on gas than they did last year.

Mass transit doesn't work everywhere. In Milwaukee, it would be next to impossible for me to get to and from work without my car. And without the ability to visit a client in the suburbs on a moment's notice, my business would quickly be impacted without my car.

Watch this video to see who's saving money and which cities have some of the best and most accessible public transportation systems.


Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

The hard thing about writing comedy is that it all too often loses its punch by becoming reality. A few weeks ago, I joked that governments could make money by running real-time auctions among cars approaching an intersection, the highest bidder getting the green light.

In the current issue of Forbes is an article about a new technology being installed in Calgary's city bus fleet that allows those buses to trigger approaching lights to green. The result is public transportation that moves more quickly through city traffic than individual vehicles, saving the system a huge amount of fuel (2,000 gallons per bus per year) and a similar reduction in CO2 emissions.

Calgary is only the latest of 98 cities that have installed these 'signal preemption' systems, totaling 30,000 plus intersections. The transmitters were originally designed for emergency responders. The original systems, using infrared, were soon hacked, allowing those with a hacked unit to sail through town without stopping. Encoding has, at the moment, kept the new systems free from interlopers.