The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) released its annual Public Transportation Fact Book on Thursday, detailing the national aggregate statistical data for all aspects of the public transportation industry in the United States and Canada.
Sections of the report include an overview of U.S. transit facts, transit finances and operating statistics by modes of travel, transit vehicle characteristics and deliveries, federal grants and the Federal Transit Act, as well as statistical trends for Canadian transit operations.
“As the information in our annual Fact Book shows, investing in public transit will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality and public health, and help transform our nation’s transportation network for a sustainable future. Public transportation creates access to opportunities, including jobs, health care, and education, which can help our communities address the equity challenges that they face,” APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas said. “The entire industry will continue working with Congress and the Administration to capitalize on this opportunity to provide the public transportation investments necessary to address our nation’s climate and equity challenges and build back better.”
According to the Fact Book, the public transportation industry is a leader in clean technology, with the share of hybrid electric buses increasing from 7 percent to 18.8 percent of the past decade. Additionally, the book said, long-term investment into public transit systems supports 50,000 jobs, creating $382 million in tax revenue per every $1 billion invested.
The book found that cities with more than 40 annual public transit trips per person have half the traffic fatality rate of cities with less than 20 trips per person. Trips on subways, the book said, produce 84 percent fewer CO2 emissions than trips by car.