Benefits for Individuals and Families

In community after community, public transportation is making a real difference in the daily lives of individuals and households.

Improves mobility

Transit systems throughout the U.S. are providing choices and luring riders from their cars. For example, in Denver, nearly 50% of light rail riders previously used cars, and nearly 60% of new riders on the city’s Southwest LRT extension are new to transit. Over 25% of commuters to the city center use transit and light rail — 56% ahead of projections. The LRT systems in Denver, Salt Lake City and Dallas have attracted 60%, 43% and 30% more riders, respectively, than projected.

For others, public transportation is a necessity. Recent ridership figures indicate that public transportation is critical for many Americans.

• Of current transit riders, over 20% would not have made the trip without transit, and nearly 70% do not have access to cars at the time their trip is made. One-third have yearly household incomes below $15,000 — well below $17,600, the poverty level for a family of four in 2000.

• Nearly 94% of public assistance recipients do not own cars and rely on public transportation.

Reduces road congestion

If all Americans who take transit to work drove alone, they would fill a nine-lane freeway from Boston to Los Angeles.

Public transportation takes cars off the road. According to Maryland DOT’s estimates, that reduction amounts to 60 cars for a full bus, 12 cars for a full van, and up to 200 cars for a full commuter rail car. In St. Louis, a full MetroLink light rail train removes 125 cars from the roads, and the entire system removes 12,500 cars from daily rushhour traffic.

Reduces travel time

Fewer cars on the road would significantly reduce the commuting time of urban drivers, who, in 1999, spent an average of 36 hours — nearly 5 work days — in traffic delays. In the 68 urban areas it studied, the Texas Transportation Institute found that one-third of daily travel occurs under congested conditions.

State-of-the-art public transportation systems are reducing travel times for the 10 million Americans who use transit each working day, on every mode of travel.

• In Atlanta, travelers and airline workers rely on MARTA rail service for a 16-minute ride from downtown to Hartsfield International Airport.
• San Francisco’s high-speed catamarans have cut travel time for Bay-area commuters by 30% and have posted a 50% increase in ridership.
• In Minneapolis, 155 miles of the freeway system’s busonly shoulder lanes speed transit riders and improve traffic flow on adjacent lanes.
• In New York City, the 30-year-old Lincoln Tunnel Exclusive Bus Lanes accommodate 1,700 buses and 60,000 passengers a day.

Connects and extends transportation networks

The most successful systems are those that provide easy-access links within and among all forms of modern travel — highway, air, water, bus and train. Across the U.S., multimodal transit systems are reaching greater numbers of people, providing travelers with optimum choices.

• A new downtown bus terminal in Waco, TX, links local, intercity, senior and rural bus services.
• The Secaucus Transfer Station links 11 of Northern New Jersey’s 12 rail lines.
• Bikes-on-buses programs are successfully linking riders with different transportation modes. For example, in the San Francisco area, 2,000 bicyclists commute each day between San Francisco and Silicon Valley on commuter trains equipped with bike racks. In Phoenix, buses equipped with bike racks attract more than 1.5 million bicyclists a year.

Enhances economic opportunity

Public transportation use lowers household expenses and frees up more income for other needs.

Automobile expenses are considerable:

• For every dollar earned, the average household spends 18 cents on transportation, 98% of which is for buying, maintaining and operating cars, the largest source of household debt after mortgages.
• For the poorest households, transportation costs can exceed 35% of income.
• Household transportation costs rise in areas with sprawl and few transportation services.

Savings with public transportation are substantial. Americans living in transit-intensive metropolitan areas save $22 billion annually in transportation costs. Savings add up for everyone: every $10 million invested in public transportation saves more than $15 million, for both highway and transit users. This includes savings of about $1,500 and 200 gallons of gas — per year. Plus, transit availability can reduce the need for additional cars, a yearly expense of between $4,800 and $9,700.

Silicon Valley commuters are excellent examples. Riding the Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority’s Altamont Commuter Express, the daily 80-mile commute by train saves each commuter over $2,500 annually — $2,688 by train compared to $5,282 by car.