How Your Commute Can Help You Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

Image: iStock/dusanpetkovic

Keeping that New Year's Resolution is often easier said than done. But this year is going to be different thanks to a few tips we have up our sleeves. So whether you're aiming to reduce stress, save money, or make time for a new hobby, we've got some ideas for you.

Get more exercise

This one is pretty self-explanatory, but the statistics are perhaps even more impressive than one might expect.

When it comes to public transit and transportation alternatives — things like cycling or walking to work — it’s obvious why some measure of exercise is necessary. Whether you’re walking a few blocks to a bus stop or cycling a mile or two to work, the steps-taken and calories-burned add up pretty quickly.

A study published in the Journal of Public Health Policy found that users of public transportation are more likely to meet the recommended 30 minutes of moderate physical activity each day, five days a week.

"The idea of needing to go to the gym to get your daily dose of exercise is a misperception," Assoc. Prof. Lawrence Frank, the J. Armand Bombardier Chairholder in Sustainable Transportation and a researcher at the UBC Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, told Science Daily. "These short walks throughout our day are historically how we have gotten our activity. Unfortunately, we've engineered this activity out of our daily lives."

Finally read that book

A desire to spend more time reading isn’t at all uncommon, but it’s often the first thing to go by the wayside on a busy day. Between a stressful commute, a lunch meeting, and days spent in front of a computer, the idea of picking up a book in the evening sometimes seems impossible.

But, replacing a four-wheeled commute with a bus or train ride affords a commuter uninterrupted time each morning and afternoon to dive into a book.

Two years ago, Reddit user nervousTO agreed, writing “I love reading on the bus. No matter how busy I am, it's the one place where I know for a fact I'll be able to get some progress made on my current book.”

Learn something new

If you’ve ever tried to ride public transit in a new city, you know it can sometimes take some serious navigation skills. But even if you’re far from the Lewis and Clark of DART, the local transit system is happy to help out.

DART's Mobility Ambassador Program offers free travel orientation services to anyone needing a little extra help using public transit.

Travel orientation training is easy and fun. In short, would-be commuters get to take outings with a DART Mobility Ambassador, who teaches a student how to prepare a trip plan, pay the fare, and travel safely.

Signing up for the Mobility Ambassador program is easy (visit their website for more information).

Feel less stress

Living in a modern, digital, constantly-connected world is stressful. Thankfully, you can choose commute options that relieve some amounts of stress.

Evidence shows sharing a ride, or traveling together, leads to more satisfaction and less stress. Basically, driving alone is socially isolating, which causes some people to feel stress and frustration more acutely.

Simply put, a 2015 study stated: “driving is the most stressful mode of transportation when compared to others.”

The study, titled Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, found, in part: “active transportation modes are not only environmentally and socially more sustainable, they are also a less stressful way to travel.”

Save that precious dough

In case you missed it, an earlier LegacyConnect article noted the average commute costs “a whole $5,304 a year.”

That’s not a small number, is it? Luckily, the estimated annual cost of DART comes in at $4,152 a year less than driving (a monthly all-access DART pass costs only $96).

Don’t believe it? Try out TryParkingIt's online calculator to estimate how much money you could save by trying a new transportation method.

Make Legacy even better

Cities across the country are choosing to rethink urban areas so they are at least as accommodating for people as they are for cars.

In the words of former Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett, "Oklahoma City was an incredible place to live ... if you were a car. But if you happened to be a person, you were seemingly combating cars at every turn."

Every person that chooses to walk, bike, take a scooter, ride transit, or share a ride makes it a little easier for Legacy to become friendlier to people.

"Those battles signal a deeper cultural shift in our residents and our city's leadership, too," Cornett wrote in The Next American City. "By changing what we thought was possible in our streets and blocks, we opened the door to much bigger actions in how our streets and sidewalks, transit and trails, parks and schools and trees fit together to become a city that is truly built for the future."

Ready to get started?

Right now, the City of Plano is making it easier than ever to keep those resolutions. Plano has joined the statewide "It's Time Texas Community Challenge," an eight-week challenge encouraging individuals, organizations, and cities across Texas to take steps toward health like getting a workout, eating nutritious food, and drinking plenty of water.

Participants who join on behalf of their city or local school district can earn points for their community with each healthy action submitted. Participants can also win individual prize giveaways for themselves.

At the end of the challenge, the cities and school districts with the most points in each category can earn a prize to put toward a community health project.

Click here to learn more or sign up.