How Public Transportation Helps the Environment
In 2006, Pennsylvania’s public transit services saved more than 110 million gallons of gasoline, prevented 755,000 metric tons of global warming pollution and saved Pennsylvanians more than 20 million hours of sitting in traffic. It also reduces other harmful pollutants like carbon monoxide and air pollutants that cause smog.
- Public transit reduces emissions of the pollutants that create smog by about 100,000 tons annually. These reductions save between $130 million and $200 million each year in regulatory costs.
- Public transit reduces carbon monoxide emissions by nearly 745,000 tons annually. This equals nearly 75 percent of the carbon monoxide emissions by all chemical manufacturers in the United States.
- Public transit reduces traffic congestion by improving traffic flow and decreasing the need for new road development and other land use.
- Public transportation produces about half as much carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide, per passenger mile, as private vehicles. It reduces emissions of carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming, by more than 7.4 million tons a year.
- According to a report by ICF International, "Public Transportation and Petroleum Savings in the U.S.: Reducing Dependence on Oil," public transportation in the U.S. saves 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline every year—about equal to 300,000 cars filling up every day. For example, Amtrak is approximately 40 percent more energy efficient than airlines, automobiles and buses on a per-passenger-mile basis.
Learn more about alternative transportation and the environment.