I finally started using public transportation two weeks ago.  I used the max light rail train 3 times and a shuttle bus twice in two weeks.  Everyone needs to make a pledge to ride public transportation at least once a week.  It is good for the riders pocketbook, the environment, and creates jobs.  I saved $20 in parking fees, $15 in gas, and the wear and tear on my 1993 Mercury Grand Marquis gas guzzler with 175,000 miles on it already.  My 1987 Honda Civic just quit for good and ended up in scrap yard, so i am forced to drive a gas guzzler because I am disabled and poor.

About public transportation....The typical public transit rider consumes, on average, one half of the oil consumed by an automobile rider. More...Transit News Features Riding Public Transit Saves Individuals $9,167 Annually As Gas Prices Remain Steady -- Helps Individuals Save Money And The Environment

Individuals who ride public transportation can save on average $9,167 annually based on the August 7, 2009 national average gas price and the national unreserved monthly parking rate.0 hours before start.​

“The Transit Savings Report” released monthly by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) calculates the average annual and monthly savings for public transit users. The report examines how an individual in a two-person household can save money by taking public transportation and living with one less car.

America’s Not-So-Fast Trains

President Obama noted the other day that high-speed rail is not some pie-in-the-sky idea. “It’s happening now,” he said. “The problem is that it is happening elsewhere.” Japan, Spain, China and Germany are among those with superspeedy trains that rival air travel and easily eclipse the irritations of a car trip. Yet America has only one high-speed corridor, from Boston to Washington, where the Acela Express is often forced by conditions to slow down to average speeds of around 70 miles per hour.

National Journal blog -- Does Greener Transportation Mean Less Green For The Highway Trust Fund?

Strategies that aim to get people out of their cars and off the roads also mean less revenue for the ailing Highway Trust Fund, which last week needed a $7 billion transfer from the general fund (on top of the $8 billion it got last September) to meet its funding commitments for the current fiscal year. Are strategies to cut carbon emissions from transportation harmful to the long-term viability of the Highway Trust Fund? How can we achieve the goals of cutting transportation emissions and increasing trust fund revenue?

More Than Half of Vacationers Traveling to Cities This Summer Will Use Local Public Transit System -- Travelers cite use of public transit to help stretch their travel budget

As Americans look for ways to cut travel cost this Memorial Day weekend, many vacationers seek affordability through the use of a city’s local public transportation system. According to APTA’s Green Travel Forecast, a new travel survey released by the American Public Transportation Association, 51 percent of summer vacationers responded that they will use a city’s local public transportation system to get around during their visit.

 

Obama Puts Nation On A Path To Serious Train Service

A robust American rail system is about more than tracks and train sets. It will make us less oil dependent, undergirding our national security. It will lower our carbon emissions. And it can contribute in a big way to the mobility and economic health of "megaregions," those metropolitan areas where most Americans now live.

 

Public Transportation Is Safe -- Public Transit Systems Have Precautionary Procedures In Place

The millions of people who take public transportation should continue to do so, knowing that public transit systems already have procedures in place to deal with seasonal flu outbreaks and are closely monitoring the H1N1 virus (swine flu) outbreak.​

Transit systems regularly clean facilities, vehicles, and fare vending equipment with high-grade germicidal solutions and will take additional measures as appropriate. Coordination on this issue is happening between transit systems and federal agencies.

 

Two Out of Three Jobs Created by Public Transit Investment Replace Jobs Hardest Hit by Economic Downturn -- New Study Shows $1 Billion Investment in Public Transportation Yields 30,000 Jobs

A new study released today shows that investing in public transportation provides jobs to the American workers who may need them the most. Job Impacts of Spending on Public Transportation: an Update shows that two-thirds (67 percent) of the jobs created by capital investment in the public transit industry replaces lost blue-collar jobs with “green jobs” in the public transit sector.

 Nearly One-Third of Nation’s Public Transportation
Commuters Live In New York City

   Of the approximately 6.4 million people nationwide who usually travel to work using public transportation, nearly one-third live in New York City, according to a new analysis of American Community Survey data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

   New York is the only city where the majority of workers — 55 percent, or 1.9 million people — commute from home to work via public transportation. That is by far the highest percentage among the nation’s largest cities (Table 1).

   Among other large cities (250,000 population or more) the highest public transportation rates are in Washington, D.C. (37 percent), Boston and San Francisco (31 percent each), Chicago and Philadelphia (27 percent each), Newark, N.J. (26 percent), and Baltimore (25 percent). Only 1-in-8 workers (12 percent) in Los Angeles, the nation’s second largest city, use public transportation, and in Houston, the nation’s fourth largest city, only 6 percent of workers use public transportation.

   Overall, only 5 percent of the nation’s 128.6 million workers use public transportation to get to work.

   Referring to the analysis, Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon said, “Transportation planners can use the new American Community Survey to track trends in commuting patterns. Having updated information every year instead of every 10 years will allow them to make more informed decisions about transportation resources and options.”

   Driven by New York City’s dominance, New York state led all states in the percentage of its public transportation commuters. Statewide, 27 percent of New York workers used public transportation. Other states above the national average were: New Jersey (10 percent), Maryland (9 percent), Massachusetts (9 percent), Illinois (9 percent) and Hawaii (6 percent).

   Of the 231 counties for which data are available, four New York City boroughs ? Manhattan (New York County) (61 percent), Bronx (60 percent), Brooklyn (Kings County) (58 percent) and Queens (51 percent) ? had the highest percentages of public transportation commuters by far. Other counties in the New York metropolitan area with high public transportation rates were Richmond County (Staten Island) (33 percent) and Hudson County, N.J. (31 percent). Counties in other areas with high rates of public transportation use include San Francisco County, Calif. (31 percent) and Suffolk County, Mass. (30 percent).

   Other survey highlights

Nationwide, 77 percent of workers drove alone to work, 10 percent carpooled and 2 percent walked.
Bus transportation accounted for 55 percent of public transportation use nationally; subway or elevated rail use ranked second at 29 percent.