Benefits for Communities and Local Governments

Increased congestion on the roadways threatens the economic future and the quality of life for urban residents. Even the extensive public transportation networks already serving many major metropolitan regions are being taxed to the limit by demand that exceeds their capacity.

Residents and community leaders are recognizing that fully functional, high-capacity, region-wide public transportation services are essential to keep America moving.

Communities that invest in public transportation realize enhanced development and prosperity.

Reduces investment required for expansion of roadway network

Urban rail systems can provide more capacity in a 100-foot right-of-way than a six-lane freeway, which requires a 300- foot right-of-way.

According to a recent study, public transportation use reduces roadway-related costs — traffic enforcement, emergency services, right-of-way acquisition — by an estimated $1 billion to $1.7 billion per year. From 1980 to 1994, it is estimated that Atlanta’s MARTA system saved $2.2 billion by providing motorists with a public transportation alternative.

That’s significant for cities throughout the U.S. The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) estimates that an average of 64 more lane miles (27 miles of freeway plus 37 miles of principal arterial streets) is needed to meet a single year’s increase in traffic in the cities it studied.

Creates and sustains jobs

Every $10 million invested in public transportation capital projects generates 300 jobs, and the same amount invested in transit operations generates 600 jobs. Here are some examples of how public transportation helps create and sustain jobs:

• In San Diego, nearly 7,000 workers would be stranded without transit. Their direct contribution to the local economy is $140 million, and their spending supports an additional 3,200 jobs.
• Riders on southern Illinois’ RIDES program, which serves 11 counties, contribute a combined payroll of over $1 million per year to this rural area.
• Since its inception in 1999, the Guaranteed Ride Home Program run by Outreach, Inc., the Santa Clara Valley (CA) Transportation Authority’s paratransit agency, has enrolled over 1,700 participants and provided more than 47,900 rides to work.

Helps revitalize business districts and activity centers

Developers in places as diverse as northern Virginia, Portland, San Diego, Denver, Chicago, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Dallas, St. Louis, northern New Jersey and New York are investing millions in corporate buildings, sports facilities and entertainment complexes around transit stations.

• Transit villages like those in South Orange, NJ, and North Hollywood, CA, are becoming hubs for new business and cultural activities.
• The Washington Metro has generated nearly $15 billion in surrounding private development. Between 1980 and 1990 alone, 40% of the region’s retail and office space was built within walking distance of a Metro station.
• St. Louis’ MetroLink system has sparked the construction of the $5.8 million Jackie Joyner Kersee Sports Complex, the $60 million Performing Arts Center, and the $266 million Convention Center Hotel. The Busch Stadium station provides access to the $646 million Ballpark Village, the largest single development in St. Louis’ history.
• State-of-the-art regional public transportation systems in Atlanta and Salt Lake City were essential to those cities’ successful Olympics bids.

Helps increase tax base and public revenues

The $27 billion U.S. public transportation industry generates up to a 6-to-1 net return on investment — which translates into higher revenues for cities and states.

• Between 1994 and 1998, the increase in the taxable value of properties located near Dallas’ DART rail stations was 25% more than elsewhere in the metropolitan area.
• Through 2010, Washington’s Metrorail system will generate $2.1 billion in revenues for the Commonwealth of Virginia.