TRANSIT TRIVIA FACTS
Transit systems are good for the community. Just take a look at all of the benefits that arise from using transit:
Reduced energy consumption
- The fuel efficiency of public transit compared to the average commuter auto:
- 1 bus with 7 passengers = 1 auto
- 1 full bus = 6 autos
- A transit bus uses 8.7% less energy per passenger mile than a typical auto.
- Public transit reduces fuel consumption by about 1.5 billion gallons annually.
Increased economic benefits
- Riding the bus lowers your family’s commuting costs. If one member of a typical family, with two or more automobiles, used public transit to commute to work every day instead of driving alone, they could save from $3,630 to $7,870 per year. Riding Maritime Metro Transit costs only $240 per year!!
- The American Public Transit Association estimates that, for every $1 invested in transit, business revenues increase $3 to $3.50 nationwide.
- The Federal Transit Administration estimates that the 80 million Americans who live in transit-intensive metropolitan areas save $20 billion in auto costs each year.
Less traffic congestion
- One full 40-foot bus is equivalent to a line of 58 moving automobiles stretching 6 city blocks (more than ½ mile) if traffic is moving at 25 mph.
- If all the Americans who take transit decided to drive instead, their cars would circle the Earth with a line of traffic 23,000 miles long.
Less air pollution
|
Mode
|
Hydrocarbons
|
Carbon Monoxide
|
Nitrogen Ocides
|
Total (grams/mile)
|
| Electric Rail |
0.01 |
0.02 |
0.47 |
0.50 |
| Bus |
0.20 |
3.05 |
1.54 |
4.79 |
| Vanpool |
0.36 |
2.42 |
0.38 |
3.16 |
| Carpool |
0.70 |
5.02 |
0.69 |
6.41 |
| Single-Person Auto |
2.09 |
15.06 |
2.06 |
19.21 |
American’s transit travel stops more than 126 million pounds of hydrocarbons -- a primary cause of smog--and 156 million pounds of nitrogen oxides -- which cause respiratory disease and acid rain -- from ever leaving an auto tailpipe.
Safer travel
Public transit is one of the safest methods of passenger travel, according to the National Safety Council. The average death rates per 100 million passengers are as follows:
|
Mode
|
Death Rate
|
|
Automobiles
|
0.85
|
| Commuter Railroads |
0.17
|
| Airlines |
0.02
|
| School Buses |
0.01
|
| Transit Buses |
0.01
|
Convenience/Independence
- Ten million Americans use transit each working day. Another 25 million Americans use transit less frequently but on a regular basis.
- Americans depend on transit:
- 32 million senior citizens increasingly rely on public transit as their driving ability decreases with age
- 24 million people with disabilities need public transit to maintain their independence
- 37 million people living below the poverty line often cannot afford a car and rely on public transit to reach their jobs.
Excerpted from the American Public Transit Association’s (APTA’s)
|
MARITIME METRO TRANSIT