When it comes to the public transportation system, the United States is slacking. A well-developed transportation system can take the nation a long ways when it comes to becoming green, and Walk Score’s newly launched Transit Score offering allows homebuyers to evaluate long term transportation costs associated with a potential home.
According to a study conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute, commuters waste 4.2 billion hours and 2.8 billion gallons of gas sitting in traffic each year. This is a lot of waste. Today’s commuters are very interested in a public transportation system that will help cut back on this waste of time.
Walk Score’s over 4,000 websites has been helping house-hunters find the perfect address for years. Walk Score has now introduced a tool that will help calculate commuting costs into the cost of purchasing a home. This tool is called Transit Score. It is designed to provide buyers with an effective solution to this driving issue.
Walk Score, developed by Front Seat, is based in Seattle. This product has been helping customers make housing decisions based on proximity to nearby amenities. These amenities include grocery stores, restaurants, schools, and public transportation. Walk Score has found that walkable neighborhoods offer tremendous value in terms of the economy, environment, and health benefits. A study conducted by the Center for Neighborhood Technology shows that traditional suburb dwellers can spend up to 32% of their income on the cost of transportation. That’s a lot of money going down the drain! Those living in more walkable neighborhoods only spend up to 12 percent.
Walk Score helps house hunters meet their transportation requirements with Transit Score. This service provides buyers with custom commute reports and a transportation calculator. Before you buy, you can know your transportation costs as well as proximity to public transportation and other essentials. This project is partially funded by The Rockefeller Foundation’s transportation initiative. It allows for third parties to easily add public transit information to its website.
Walk Score’s transportation ratings are currently available in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C.
Keith Munsell 
