Fifty-two percent of summer vacationers in the U.S. will use local public transportation systems to get around during their trip, according to the American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) Green Travel Forecast.

This percentage represents the highest number recorded since the initial survey three years ago (up four percentage points from 2007). Synovate, a market research firm, conducted the survey for APTA among 24,711 U.S. adults in April 2010.  

"During these economic times, travelers are looking to save money and reduce their overall travel costs, yet still have the ability to enjoy their trip," said APTA President William Millar. "Having access to good local public transportation is becoming an essential part of a vacationer's travel plans because it is an easy way to stretch a travel budget."  

Fifty-one percent say that the availability of a public transit system played a role when choosing their travel destinations, with 28 percent saying it had a strong influence. Slightly over half (52 percent) also said that using public transportation had a strong effect on reducing their total costs of travel.

The top ten city destinations with the highest percentage of visitors who will use public transportation during their trip was topped by New York City (50 percent), with Boston (46 percent); Washington, D.C., (46 percent); San Francisco (41 percent); and Chicago (39 percent) rounding out the top five.