Conserving
Energy and Preserving the Air We Breathe
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The
facts are clear: public transportation is saving energy and reducing
pollution in America today -- and increased usage could have an even
greater impact in the future.
Per person and per mile, traveling by public transportation
uses significantly less energy and produces substantially less pollution
than comparable travel by private vehicles. Any serious effort to make
significant progress in improving our air quality and reducing our dependence
on foreign oil should address the way Americans travel.
Providing more freedom, mobility, access and opportunities,
public transportation is an essential element in sound national energy
and air quality policy. Public transportation:
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Offers one of
the most effective strategies to reduce energy consumption and improve
air quality without imposing government mandates or regulations.
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Enhances our national security by reducing our
nation’s dependence on imported oil. Potential threats the supply
and price of foreign oil as a result of terrorism, conflicts in
the Middle East and OPEC decisions underscore the need for a sound
national transportation strategy.
This document is an executive summary of the report,
"Conserving Energy and Preserving the Environment: The Role of Public
Transportation," by Robert J. Shapiro, Kevin A. Hassett and Frank S.
Arnold. All data, statistics and comparisons are extracted from the
report.
Saving Energy,
Cleaning the Air
Reduced consumption
At its current levels
of use, public transportation is reducing Americans’ energy bills.
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For every passenger mile traveled, public transportation
is twice as fuel efficient as private automobiles.
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Per year, public transportation saves more than
855 million gallons of gasoline, or 45 million barrels of oil. This
is equal to about one month of oil imports from Saudi Arabia; three
months of the energy that Americans use to heat, cool and operate
their homes; or half the energy used to manufacture all computers
and electronic equipment in America.
Better air quality
Even at current rates of use, public transportation
greatly improves air quality. Compared to private vehicles:
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Public transportation produces 95% less carbon
monoxide (CO), more than 92% fewer volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
and nearly half as much carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxides
(NOx) -- for every passenger mile traveled.
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Public transportation
reduces annual emissions of the pollutants that create smog -- VOCs
and NOx -- by more than 70,000 tons and 27,000 tons respectively.
These reductions
equal:
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nearly 50% of
all VOCs emitted from the dry cleaning industry, a major source
of this pollutant
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45% of VOCs
emitted from the industrial uses of coal
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50% of NOx from
the industrial uses of coal
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more than 33%
of the NOx emitted by all domestic oil and gas producers or by the
metal processing industry
In
addition, the reduced VOC and NOx emissions that result from public
transportation use save between $130 million and $200 million a year
in regulatory costs.
Other emissions
reduced
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Public transportation reduces CO emissions by nearly
745,000 tons annually. This equals nearly 75% of the CO emissions
by all U.S. chemical manufacturers.
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Public transportation
reduces emissions of CO2, which contributes to global warming, by
more than 7.4 million tons a year.
The Most Effective
Strategy
Americans use more energy for transportation than for
any other activity. Nearly 43% of America’s energy resources are used
in transportation, compared to industrial use (39%), residential use
(11%) and commercial use (7%). Greater use of public transportation
therefore offers the single most effective strategy currently available
for achieving significant energy savings and improving air quality,
without imposing new taxes, government mandates or regulations.
Americans
use more energy for transportation than for any other activity.
Levels of air pollutants
emitted by public transportation are only a fraction of those emitted
by automobiles.
Public transportation
in Europe
If Americans used
public transportation at the same rate as Europeans -- for roughly 10%
of their daily travel needs -- the U.S. would:
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Reduce its dependence
on imported oil by more than 40%, or nearly the amount of oil we
import from Saudi Arabia each year
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Save
more energy every year than all the energy used by the U.S. petrochemical
industry and nearly equal the energy used to produce food in the
U.S.
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Reduce CO2 emissions
by more than 25% of the Kyoto Agreement mandate
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Reduce CO pollution by three times the combined
levels emitted by the four highest-polluting industries (chemical
manufacturing, oil and gas production, metals processing, and industrial
use of coal)
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Reduce smog across the country by cutting NOx emissions
by 35% of the combined NOx emissions from the four industries cited
above, and cut VOC pollution by 84% of the combined VOC emissions
from these four industries
Similar statistics
apply to Canada, where public transportation accounts for roughly 7%
of that country’s daily travel needs.
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Every day, Americans use more energy and generate
more pollution in vehicular travel than they do in the production
of all goods, the operation of all commercial enterprises, or
the running of their homes.
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Modest increases would
make a difference
Even modest increases in the uses of public transportation
would greatly reduce hazardous pollution in congested areas where pollution
now poses the greatest risk.
For example, about half of the 35 largest public transportation
systems, serving 26 metropolitan areas, are located in "nonattainment
areas" that currently fail to meet EPA air quality standards for CO
or smog. In these highly populated urban and suburban areas, the pollution
reductions that public transportation can deliver would go directly
to improving air quality.
For
every passenger mile traveled, public transportation uses about one
half of the fuel consumed by automobiles, and about a third of that
used by sport utility vehicles and light trucks.
Economic gains
Achieving a genuine measure of energy independence
and cleaner air by investing in our public transportation systems has
significant economic advantages. While the study measured current and
potential benefits of public transportation, the findings suggest that
achieving greater energy savings and improvements in air quality by
significantly increasing passenger loads on public transportation vehicles
would:
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Be less costly
than continuing to expand the fleet of private vehicles, and to
build and maintain more roads and highways to accommodate them
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Absorb the rising
energy, air quality and congestion expenses of this approach
An Achievable
Goal for Americans
Increasing use of public transportation is a realistic
objective for Americans. In the early 20th century, the U.S. led the
world in public transportation development and use, demonstrating that
efficient public transportation is a realistic objective in this country.
Today, a public transportation renaissance is underway in the U.S. Specifically:
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Since 1995, use of public transportation has grown sharply, and
faster than the use of private vehicles.
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Passenger miles accrued on public buses and rail
systems have grown faster than the passenger miles accrued in private
automobiles, sport utility vehicles and light trucks.
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Public transportation ridership has grown at a faster rate than
air travel in recent years.
Essential to
National Policy
Making much greater use of public transportation may
be the most effective strategy to sharply reduce our dependence on foreign
oil and make historic strides in air quality. These results can be achieved
if we make public transportation a vital part of our nation’s energy
and air quality policies.
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If Americans used public transportation at the
same rate as Europeans, the energy savings would equal nearly
all the energy used to produce all the food in the U.S., and the
U.S. could reduce its oil dependence on the Persian Gulf by more
than 40% and on Saudi Arabia by 100%.
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Source
"Conserving Energy and Preserving the Environment:
The Role of Public Transportation," by Robert J. Shapiro, Kevin A. Hassett
and Frank S. Arnold. Copies of the complete report, which was commissioned
by the American Public Transportation Association, can be obtained on
line, at www.apta.com, or by calling 202-496-4800.
About the Authors
Dr. Robert J. Shapiro is managing director of Sonecon,
LLC, a non-resident fellow of the Brookings Institution and the Progressive
Policy Institute, Economic Counselor to the U.S. Conference Board, and
a director of the Axson-Johnson Foundation in Sweden and the Center
for International Political Economy in New York. From 1997- 2001, Mr.
Shapiro served as Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs,
which supervised the 2000 U.S. Census.
Dr. Kevin A. Hassett is a resident scholar of the American
Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on macroeconomics, public finance
and tax policy. He is the author or coauthor of four books and numerous
articles.
Dr. Frank S. Arnold, a nationally recognized expert
on environmental economics, is president of Applied Microeconomics,
Inc., a columnist for The Environmental Forum, published by the Environmental
Law Institute, and a consulting economist to ICF Incorporated.
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