The Benefits of Public Transportation
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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:
nearly 50% of all VOCs emitted from the dry cleaning industry, a major source
of this pollutant
45% of VOCs emitted from the industrial uses of coal
50% of NOx from the industrial uses of coal
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:
Reduce its dependence on imported oil by more than 40%, or nearly the amount
of oil we import from Saudi Arabia each year
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.
Reduce CO2 emissions by more than 25% of the Kyoto Agreement mandate
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)
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.
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. |
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:
Be less costly than continuing to expand the fleet of private vehicles,
and to build and maintain more roads and highways to accommodate them
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.
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%. |
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.
For more information on public transportation and its many benefits, visit
www.publictransportation.org.
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