Many people in the United States use some form of public transportation. My question is: Does people using public transportation actually have an impact when it comes to the environment? In this paper I will focus on public transportation’s environmental impacts and compare that to automobile impacts. Also I will look at Metro Transit a public transportation network in Minneapolis, Minnesota and see how there operation works.
According to the Metro Transit website Metro Transit was established by the Minnesota State Legislature in 1967, and in 1998 the name was changed to its current name Metro Transit. For many years Metro Transit only ran buses. Today they have 910 buses running on 127 routes. The next big event came in 2004 when the Minneapolis Light Rail opened. The Light Rail line runs from the Mall of America to Target Field. In between there are stops at the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport, as well as stops through south Minneapolis, and other stops in downtown Minneapolis. They are planning to expand the line into St. Paul in the near future. Another big milestone accrued when the Northstar Train opened in 2009. The Northstar train runs from Big Lake to Target Field. There are stops in between in Elk River, Anoka, Coon Rapids, and Fridley.
Metro Transit receives its funding through a number of different components. It receives its funds through the State Motor Vehicle Sales Tax, the State General Fund, fares, and federal revenues. A majority of that funding comes from the fares people pay to ride the public transportation. The local fare is $2.25 during rush hours which is 6-9am and 3-6:30pm, and $1.75 during non rush hours and on weekends and holidays. There is a built in 2 ½ hour transfer that allows a person to ride on any bus or train without having to pay again. There are also special tickets that elderly people can buy for a reduced price, also there are special event tickets that last for six hours but they do cost fifty cents more. Also a person can buy a rail only pass that lasts for twelve hours but can be only used on the Light Rail.
According to Metro Transit’s website they have been launching a series of hybrid buses. The first one was launched in 2002. Today there are 67 hybrid buses with thee hopes being that there will be 75 by the end of this year. The Metro Transit hybrid buses are 28% better fuel efficient then the current buses. Also they have 85% fewer particulate emissions than the buses they replace. Lastly they run more quietly than the regular buses. Another environmental contribution from Metro Transit is their Light Rail. The Light Rail runs on electricity so there are no carbon fuel emissions from the trains. Also the trains are powered by renewable wind, hydropower, and biomass energy, which are renewable and cleaner.
There have been studies done that prove public transportation is more energy efficient and environmentally than personal automobiles. In a study done by the APTA in 2007, they found that carbon dioxide emissions from public transportation was 12.3 million metric tons less then that of automobiles. They also concluded that public transportation saved a net total of 3.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. In a separate study done by Linda Bailey in 2007 she concluded that current public transportation usage reduces U.S. gasoline consumption by 1.4 billion gallons each year. Also that households that use public transportation save an average of $6,251 every year. This compares favorably to the effects automobiles have on the environment. Chester, Horvath, and Madanat did a study in 2010 and said “ Automobiles dominate total regional performance accounting for 86- 96% of energy consumption and emissions”. They also stated that fuel combustion is a large component of emissions. Coinciding with that EDF states that 600 gallons of gasoline gets consumed by one U.S. car each year. Also 12,000 pounds of carbon dioxide is emitted from one U.S car each year, and it takes 240 trees to absorb the 12,000 pounds of carbon dioxide.
One major environmental impact from fuel emissions is air pollution. The study done by the APTA concluded that air pollution claims 70,000 lives a year. Also that the annual cost of health damage from a motor vehicle pollution is estimated to be between $29 billion and $530 billion. Another study done said air pollution can cause lung and heart disease, acid rain, that it can destroy trees and damage fruits and vegetables. The APTA study said that public transportation produces, on average, per passenger mile 95% less carbon monoxide than cars, 92% percent fewer volatile organic compounds than cars, 45% less carbon dioxide than cars, and 48% less nitrogen oxide than cars.
The goal of this project was to see if using public transportation made a significant difference when it comes to the environment. The fact that public buses, and trains hold more people than cars has a big impact. Studies showed that public transportation emit far fewer hazardous emissions into the air. The less hazardous chemicals in the air the cleaner the air, the cleaner the air the heather people can be. So to conclude it seems public transportation does have a significant impact on the environment and it is worth it to use public transportation.
References
Bailey, Linda (2007). Public transportation and petroleum savings in the U.S.: reducing dependence on oil. Retrieved from http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/apta_public_transportation_fuel_savings_final_010807.pdf on May 1st 2010.
Chester, M., Horvath, A., & Madanat, S. (2010). Comparison of life-cycle energy and emissions footprints of passenger transportation in metropolitan regions. Atmospheric Environment, 44(8), 1071-1079. doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2009.12.012.
Ebi, K., Mills, D., Smith, J., & Grambsch, A. (2006). Climate Change and Human Health Impacts in the United States: An Update on the Results of the U.S. National Assessment. Environmental Health Perspectives, 114(9), 1318-1324. doi:10.1289/ehp.8880.
Sallis, J., Frank, L., Saelens, B., & Kraft, M. (2004). Active transportation and physical activity: opportunities for collaboration on transportation and public health research. Transportation Research Part A: Policy & Practice, 38(4), 249.
(2009). Going Green Facts. What's New In Your State: Going Green!, 1-6. Retrieved from Environment Complete database.
http://www.publictransportation.org/reports/asp/better_health.asp
http://www.edf.org/article.cfm?ContentID=6083
http://www.metrotransit.org/
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