•High quality public transportation (convenient, comfortable, fast rail and bus transport) and transit oriented development (walkable, mixed-use communities located around transit stations) tend to affect travel activity in ways that provide large health benefits, including reduced traffic crashes and pollution emissions, increased physical fitness, improved mental health, improved basic access to medical care and healthy food and increased affordability which reduces financial stress to lower-income households.
•Traffic casualty rates tend to decline as public transit travel increases in an area. Residents of transit-oriented communities have only about a quarter the per capita traffic fatality rate as residents of sprawled, automobile-dependent communities.
•Public transit reduces pollution emissions per passenger-mile, and transit-oriented development provides additional emission reductions by reducing per capita vehicle travel.
The eco-minded can see a significant impact on their own sustainability footprint. If you live near public transit, you are likely to drive an average of 4,400 miles less every …show more content…
Just as in most other states, an overwhelming majority of Texans use their personal auto as a primary means of travel. This fact, along with much lower 2016 fuel prices, may be contributing to some noticeable differences between the 2014 and 2016 datasets.
In fact, Texas ranks near the bottom of the list in per capita spending on transit, yet Texas has the greatest need.
Transportation accounts for more than 30% of carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. By taking public transit, 37 million metric tons of carbon dioxide is saved from going into the air each year. That's a lot!
A single commuter switching his or her commute to public transportation will reduce about 5,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually. That savings doubles if a household with two cars makes the