It may be the single most important element in any discussion of the environment.  Everybody has to get somewhere.  Jobs, schools, hospital, grandma’s house, the movies… everybody is involved.
The key is to be involved in thinking about how to get from where you are now to where you are going, more efficiently.
Here in Tampa Bay, the 19th largest metropolitan area in the United States, we do not have a well developed rapid transit system.  Geography plays a part, to be sure, our population centers are separated by large bodies of water, but the local governments of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater are just now seriously considering ways to better move our 2.7 million citizens around.
More than 30 United States metropolitan areas use subways, trains, or a combination of both, to get commuters to work or school.  Still, as of 2006, only 9% of the work trips taken every day employ mass transit.  In Europe, almost 39% of all work-related travel is by mass transit.
We have a long way to go, both in the United States, and right here at home.

Public Transportation- Every county in the Tampa Bay region has some sort of public transportation system.  Click on the link below that serves your particular area.

St. Petersburg / Clearwater / Pinellas County
Tampa / Hillsborough County
Pasco County
Hernando County
Lakeland / Polk County

Cycling- Here’s something that’s good for the environment… and good for you, too!  Ride your bike to work or school.  More and more of our roads are being re-fitted with bike lanes making the ride safer.  Many more of us will want to ride our bikes for fun!  Here’s a list of some of the Bay area’s best bike trails.
Bayshore Linear Park Trail.  Tampa   4.5 miles (10 feet wide)
Friendship Trail Bridge.  Better known, perhaps, as the old Gandy Bridge.  At 2.6 miles is believed to be the longest over-water trail in the World.  It’s a full 30 feet wide.
Pinellas Trail.  Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Dunedin, new Port Richey.  34 miles fully paved.
Suncoast Trail. Tampa, New Port Richey, Land O’ Lakes, Brooksville.  41.3 miles paved (non motorized)
Upper Tampa Bay Trail.  Tampa  8 miles completed
Flatwoods Park Trail.  Tampa  8+ miles paved

St. Petersburg has been awarded a Bronze Medal from the League of American Bicyclists in the area of engineering.
The city has recently acquired a 2.1 mile abandoned rail corridor that will be used to connect the very popular Pinellas Trail with the exciting area of downtown St. Petersburg. The corridor acquisition was completed after a two-year effort that required extensive multi-agency cooperation from the Trust for Public Land, Florida Department of Transportation, and the City of St. Petersburg. When construction is completed as anticipated in 2008, this will complete a 3.0 mile connection and ultimately provide a 36.7 mile facility from Tarpon Springs to St. Petersburg’s downtown. Current estimates indicate that the Pinellas Trail is used by approximately 90,000 people each month.

The Bay Area Commuter Service offers great information about alternative transportation, helps set up car pool and ride-share programs, as well as other good information.
http://www.tampabayrideshare.org/index.htm

For more information on eco-friendly Transportation go to the Pinellas Living Green Expo link for more on the Expo coming to Clearwater, May 3rd and 4th click here.