When millions of Americans start their cars to begin their morning commute, few likely consider what economists call opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is the sacrifice we make in order to obtain an end result. For example: the opportunity cost of going to college is letting go of making four years salary. However, you hope to earn more during your career, thanks to your education, to offset those lost wages. With commuting, we sacrifice time, better air quality, money for auto-related expenses, filling up our gas tanks a couple times a week, our health and anxiety levels, and safety in order to have the convenience and inclusion of driving. What are all these inefficiencies of driving solo to work adding up to at the end?

On average, 76% of Americans commute to work in a single-occupancy vehicle, according to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Only 5% of Americans take public transportation. While some cities are better than others, cities need ways to influence individuals to use public transit.

Living in Atlanta, a city full of drivers, I have heard it all. Everything from “MARTA doesn’t go anywhere I want to go” to “it’s too expensive” to the more honest and acurate excuse of “I just love driving my car”. Atlanta is made up of three types of commuters. The people that have to take the train because they can’t afford a car, the people that choose-to-ride, and the people that wouldn’t take MARTA even if you pried their cold, lifeless hands away from their steering wheel, gave them a free pass and put a station right outside their suburban neighborhood entrance.

In fall 2012, I visited my sister in Queens, where I’m from, last fall. She doesn’t own a car (like most New Yorkers) so I followed her all over the city using the metro. I had forgotten what taking mass transportation was really like. Waiting for the train, walking to the train, standing on the platform in the cold or the heat, being around all those people, staring at the floor and not making eye contact, transferring lines, walking to your destination after your stop and so on. I realized that people in Atlanta have the misconception that New York’s metro is convenient, faster and so much more reliable but really- it’s not. Her commute from Astoria, Queens to Union Square in Manhattan takes 45 minutes on a good day. Yes, MTA goes more places than MARTA ever will, but if no one ever uses MARTA, they certainly won’t be inclinded to build more.

New Yorkers have no choice however. Bridges, tolls, parking and just having a car is extremely expensive and unrealistic not to even mention their traffic. Atlanta parking is reasonably low (or worse free) and it’s easy to find everywhere. Why take Uber or the train when you can drive and park for free? This is just another piece of the puzzle that needs fixing.

Thinking about changing the way this city works has to come from our businesses. Why not offer flexible work hours or the ability to work from home one day a week? As a business, you would probably see an influx of profitability because your employees would be more motivated and productive not spending an hour in the morning “recovering” from their traffic ordeal. Really how old-school is the 9–5 thing anyway? Maybe the state could give businesses a tax break for doing so? Also there could be more shuttle rides offered between the transit stations and large corporate buildings. Turner Studios and a couple other large corporations in town, offer employees monthly free MARTA passes if you take it to work. Someone told me Arby’s headquarters, is giving workers monetary incentives to “go green” and take the train since they have outgrown their parking deck.

In Seattle, Washington an incentive program has paved the way for free bus rides for commuters. Through the Transit Incentive Program (TIP), county residents are eligible to receive eight free rides on the county’s Metro bus system when at least one vehicle is registered in each household. MARTA could also help here and pick up the tab for riders once and a while. I have a punch card for my local coffee shop—buy 10 cups and get one free. Actually, my latte ($3.50) is more expensive than a train ride, so why not have something like that?