Americans this year have embraced public transportation in a way not seen since the 1980’s, as they seek to lower their transportation costs.
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced yesterday that Americans continue to ride public transportation at record levels even though gas prices have declined.
More than 2.8 billion trips were taken on public transportation in 3Q08–an increase of 6.5% over the third quarter of 2007. This is the largest quarterly increase in public transportation ridership in 25 years. Meanwhile, vehicle miles of travel (VMT) on the nation’s highways declined in the same period by 4.6% according to the Federal Highway Administration.
Last year 10.3 billion trips were taken on U.S. public transportation–the highest number of trips taken in fifty years. In 1Q08, public transportation continued to climb and rose by 3.4%. In 2Q08, as gas prices rose to more than $4 for a gallon of gasoline, public transit ridership increased by 5.2%. The third quarter transit ridership increase of 6.5% continued the trend of more and more Americans turning to public transportation in record numbers.
"Investing in public transit can quickly create hundreds of thousands of ‘green’ jobs for Americans and help get our economy back on track," APTA President William Millar said. "In addition, increased public transit use reduces our dependence on foreign oil and lowers our nation’s carbon footprint."
Light rail (modern streetcars, trolleys, and heritage trolleys) had the highest percentage of ridership increase among all modes, followed by bus ridership, commuter rail and heavy rail.
To see the complete APTA ridership report follow the link below.
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