Benefits of Transit

Stimulates the economy, creates jobs and provides greater access to employment, education, and medical appointments and business outlets

230,000 people choose Port Authority’s public transportation services each weekday to travel to jobs, education, shopping centers, medical appointments and other everyday life destinations.
Every $10 million invested in transit capital projects yields $30 million in business sales, and the same investment in transit operations generates $32 million
Every $1 billion invested in public transportation infrastructure supports approximately 47,500 jobs.
54 percent of public transportation trips end at workplaces; 15 percent at school; 9 percent at social visits; and 5.5 percent at medical appointments.

Helps revitalize business districts and activity centers

More than $300 million in office, retail and residential development has occurred in the vicinity of Port Authority’s Martin Luther King, Jr. East Busway stations.
Much of the development that has occurred in Downtown Pittsburgh over the past decade and a half has been situated above or directly adjacent to one of Port Authority’s subway stations.
Development on Pittsburgh’s North Shore is being designed in concert with Port Authority’s North Shore Connector project.
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.

Expands labor pool, job accessibility and reliability

In Pittsburgh, PNC and Mellon Bank chose the locations for new major downtown office complexes in part due to convenient access to the T and many bus routes.
Approximately 50 percent of persons who work or shop in Downtown Pittsburgh use Port Authority’s services for their commutes.
Employers around the country are taking advantage of the expanded labor pool that public transportation provides. Almost half of the nation’s Fortune 500 companies, representing over $2 trillion in annual revenue, are headquartered in America’s transit-intensive metropolitan areas.
In addition to enhancing employee recruitment, public transportation promotes employee reliability and less absenteeism and turnover.
Public assistance agencies are also using public transportation to help more people enter the workforce.

Helps businesses with the bottom line

Businesses that support public transportation options are realizing substantial savings in several ways. For example:
Port Authority’s EZ Gold program reduces payroll costs and taxes for both the companies and their employees, while providing economical and efficient transportation. Nearly 170 Pittsburgh area employers take advantage of this transportation and tax benefit.
Businesses in transit-intensive areas save on land required for parking and its associated costs. Where public transportation is a factor, the number of parking spaces required for offices and retail businesses can be reduced by 30 percent and 50 percent, respectively — saving between $2,000 and $20,000 per parking space.
Traffic congestion causes an annual loss of $40 billion to U.S. businesses. If all U.S. public transportation commuters drove instead, that loss would increase by 37 percent.

Reduces travel time for all commuters

Fewer cars on the road significantly reduces the commuting time of urban drivers, who, in 1999, spent an average of 36 hours — nearly five work days — in traffic delays. In 68 urban areas studied, the Texas Transportation Institute found that one-third of daily travel occurs under congested conditions.
One bus can take 60 cars off the road.
One light rail vehicle can take 125 cars off the road.

Addresses growing traffic congestion locally and around the nation

Each American traveling during peak periods wastes, on average, 62 hours a year—nearly eight full working days—in traffic congestion.
In 2000, congestion cost America’s motorists $68 billion.
If all Americans who take transit to work drove alone, they would fill a nine-lane freeway from Boston to Los Angeles.
Approximately 30,000 passengers can be carried on a single U.S. subway line in one hour. Ten additional highway lanes would be needed if these riders drove instead.

Improves mobility and transportation options

For many, public transportation is a necessity. Recent ridership figures indicate that public transportation is critical for many Americans.
Of current transit riders, over 20 percent would not have made the trip without transit, and nearly 70 percent 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 percent of public assistance recipients do not own cars and rely on public transportation.

Provides a vital transportation link for young people, senior citizens and persons with disabilities

Senior citizens rides are paid for through proceeds from the Pennsylvania Lottery on Port Authority vehicles during off-peak hours on weekdays and all day Saturday, Sunday and major holidays.
Port Authority’s ACCESS transportation system, the first of its kind in the nation, provides vital transportation to approximately two million senior citizens and persons with disabilities each year.
All of Port Authority’s buses and light rail vehicles are equipped with lifts, ramps and entry ways for persons with disabilities.
By 2020, 40 percent of the U.S. population will be senior citizens; many will be unable to drive. In fact, one-fourth of today’s 75+ age group does not drive. Meeting the transportation needs of seniors is a major community objective as well as a national goal. Public transportation and related travel options represent a lifeline for seniors, linking them with family, friends and a changing society.

Connects people to education

Port Authority has contracts with the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University to provide unlimited rides for university students, faculty and staff in exchange for an annual fee. More than 400,000 riders take advantage of this transportation benefit each month.
Approximately 12 percent of public transportation users are en route to schools of various types; and school districts, educators and concerned parents are finding that greater reliance on expanded public transportation services helps improve educational systems.

Helps clean the environment

Increased investment in and use of public transportation provides significant, direct environmental benefits and helps meet national air quality standards. By reducing smog-producing pollutants, greenhouse gases and run-off from paved surfaces that degrades the water supply, and by conserving ecologically sensitive lands and open spaces, public transportation reduces pollution, thus protecting the environment and promoting better health.
Public transportation reduces annual emissions of the pollutants that create smog--volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) by more than 70,000 tons and 27,000 tons respectively.
Public transportation reduces carbon monoxide (CO) emission by nearly 745,000 tons annually. This equals nearly 75 percent of the CO emissions by all U.S. chemical manufacturers.
Public transportation reduces emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), which contributes to global warming, by more than 7.4 million tons a year.
Expanded public transportation services are preserving public access to and the environmental quality of the nation’s national parks, including Zion and Bryce in Utah, Rocky Mountain in Colorado, Yosemite in California, and Denali in Alaska.

Conserves energy and helps reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil

If one in 10 Americans used public transportation regularly, U.S. reliance on foreign oil could be cut by more than 40 percent, which is nearly equivalent to the amount of oil imported from Saudi Arabia every year.
Each year, public transportation saves 855 million gallons of gasoline or 45 million barrels of oil a year
For every 10,000 solo commuters who leave their cars at home and commute on an existing public transportation service for one year, the nation reduces fuel consumption by 2.7 million gallons.
Full buses are six times more fuel efficient than cars with one occupant; full rail cars are 15 times more efficient.
The fuel efficiency of a fully occupied rail car is 15 times greater than that of the typical commuter’s automobile.

Saves you money

Public transportation use lowers household expenses and frees up income for other needs.
Automobile expenses are considerable:
For every dollar earned, the average household spends 18 cents on transportation, 98 percent 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 percent of income.
Household transportation costs rise in areas with sprawl and few transportation services.
Americans who live in transit-intensive areas save $22 billion each year by using public transportation.
Every $10 million invested in public transportation saves more than $15 million, both for highway and transit users.
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.

Provides a safe form of transportation

Compared to road systems, transit systems are significantly safer. Trips with similar destinations result in 200,000 fewer deaths, injuries and accidents when made by public transit than by car, adding up to between $2 billion and $5 billion per year in safety benefits. The National Safety Council estimates that riding the bus is over 170 times safer than automobile travel.

A vital asset in emergencies

Time and time again, the availability of public transportation in times of emergency — both natural and man-made — has proven to be critical in maintaining basic access, mobility and safety for individuals who come in harm’s way. The value of public transportation services in providing essential redundancy and resiliency in our transportation network cannot be overstated.

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.

Benefits for public programs and community services

According to a recent study, savings to social programs from transit use may be as high as $1.3 billion to $2 billion per year. Human services-oriented transit programs can be found in communities around the country.
The availability of public transportation can reduce costly duplication in transportation services. This helps agencies avoid medical institutionalization of the indigent and associated public costs, reduce demand for more expensive and oversubscribed paratransit services, provide and option to the costly use of ambulance and EMS services, and relieve other public agencies of transportation responsibility, thereby increasing their productivity.
Approximately 12 percent of public transportation users are en route to schools o various types.
The need for increased access and mobility also ties into the emerging lifestyle needs of children and young adults. As their activities become more extensive and widespread, public transportation plays an increasingly important role in linking young Americans to the larger community.