TTI Report Says Public Transit Saved 796 Million Hours of Delay on our Nation’s Roads

Sept. 28, 2011
Top 40 cities ranked based on hours of delay saved due to use of public transit

Public transportation's value as a solution to relieving congestion was validated once again by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) 2011 Urban Mobility Report. The report which was released today looks at road congestion in 439 United States urban areas and notes that relieving congestion will be critical to keep up with job growth as the economy rebounds. As in past years, the data overwhelmingly shows the importance of public transportation in relieving congestion. (See the table below for the top 40 urban areas).

The 2011 Urban Mobility Report makes clear that without public transportation services, travelers would have suffered an additional 796 million hours of delay and consumed 303 million more gallons of fuel. Had there been no public transportation service available in the 439 urban areas studied, congestion costs for 2010 would have risen by nearly $17 billion from $101 to $118 billion.

"This report clearly shows as our economy rebounds, expanding public transportation use is key to reducing traffic congestion," said American Public Transportation Association (APTA) president William Millar. "Even if you don't ride public transportation, there are clear benefits in supporting expansion of public transit options. Better public transportation in your community means less congestion on the roads."

The association notes in addition to its proven record of reducing congestion, public transportation offers economic benefits. Every $1 billion invested in public transportation creates and supports 36,000 jobs. Public transportation plays an important role in helping people commute to work; nearly 60 percent of all trips on public transportation involve travel to and from job sites.

U.S. public transportation use also produces significant energy-savings benefits. Each year 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline are saved because our citizens use public transportation.

"This report serves as further evidence that Congress needs to pass a long-term transportation bill to expand public transit as part of the solution to reduce our dependence on foreign oil," said Millar. "Greater investment in public transportation has the benefit of putting people to work as well as getting people to work."

The urban areas listed below had the highest savings in hours of delay due to public transportation use in 2010. Also, included in the following table are congestion cost savings from public transportation use.

To see the 2011 Urban Mobility Report, go to http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/

Hours of Delay Saved Rank

Urban Area

Savings from Public Transportation Use

Hours of Delay Saved

(Thousands)

Congestion Cost Savings

(Millions of Dollars)

1

New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT 

377,069

7,932.1

2

Chicago, IL-IN  

91,109

2,036.5

3

Washington, DC-VA-MD  

35,567

725.7

4

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA

33,606

708.8

5

Boston, MA-NH-RI  

32,477

662.9

6

San Francisco-Oakland, CA 

28,431

586.6

7

Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE-MD  

26,082

549.5

8

Seattle, WA  

14,377

312.8

9

Baltimore, MD  

13,924

295.8

10

Miami, FL  

9,276

192.9

11

Atlanta, GA  

8,589

184.4

12

Houston, TX  

7,082

147.9

13

San Diego, CA 

6,460

136.3

14

Denver-Aurora, CO  

6,376

130.8

15

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 

6,137

126.2

16

San Juan, PR 

5,798

116.8

17

Portland, OR-WA  

5,581

113.7

18

Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 

5,360

109.0

19

Pittsburgh, PA  

5,058

104.7

20

Salt Lake City, UT

3,251

63.3

21

St. Louis, MO-IL 

2,805

61.7

22

Phoenix, AZ  

2,519

58.6

23

Cleveland, OH  

2,098

41.1

24

Austin, TX  

1,941

38.5

25

Detroit, MI  

1,937

40.4

26

San Jose, CA 

1,896

37.2

27

New Orleans, LA 

1,879

41.4

28

Milwaukee, WI  

1,849

38.0

29

Orlando, FL  

1,399

29.7

30

Sacramento, CA  

1,367

27.8

31

San Antonio, TX 

1,366

26.8

32

Las Vegas, NV 

1,317

25.5

33

Virginia Beach, VA 

1,300

24.7

34

Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN  

1,255

26.2

35

Riverside-San Bernardino, CA 

1,140

25.2

36

Tampa-St. Petersburg FL 

1,021

21.1

37

Hartford, CT  

957

18.7

38

Buffalo, NY  

804

16.4

39

El Paso, TX-NM 

764

15.7

40

Providence, RI-MA  

747

14.5