Report: US transit use saved 4 billion gallons of gas in 2008

Transit use up, VMT down

Steve Hawley, Sep 22, 09.

A new report by Environment America says that record transit usage saved over four billion gallons of gasoline last year, enough to power 7.2 million cars - roughly the number of registered vehicles in Florida.

The report notes that transit use increased four percent last year to 10.7 billion trips, while driving fell four percent. Louisiana and North Carolina led the nation with a 16 percent increase in transit usage, followed shortly by Maryland and Arizona. However, the increase in Louisiana could be a residual effect of Hurricane Katrina, which drove transit ridership down 70 percent in New Orleans. Sixteen states saw transit usage increase at least four percent and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) drop at least four percent.

In Texas, transit usage increased by two percent and VMT dropped four percent. Texas saved over 115 million gallons of gasoline through transit usage, according to Environment America, enough to fuel over 200,000 cars. Transit also reduced statewide carbon dioxide emissions by more than one million tons.

The executive summary notes:

Transportation is responsible for more than two-thirds of our nation’s oil consumption and nearly a third of our carbon dioxide emissions. To make us more energy independent and reduce pollution, we need to build a transportation system that uses less oil, takes advantage of alternative fuels, and shifts as much of our travel as possible from transportation modes that consume a lot of energy to those that consume less.

Full report: Getting On Track: Record Transit Ridership Increases Energy Independence