Transit's success depends on the ability of planners to make the lives of travelers worse off by making it harder to get around, restricting housing choice and type, and subjecting people to all manner of externalities and lifestyles they routinely choose to avoid in the current housing market place (e.g., small homes, urban noise, and air pollution" (Stanley 2007).
Facts and figures publication of the Road Information Program, a Mobility Comparison of Investments in Highways and Mass Transit, notes that Despite a 148.8% increase in operating subsidies between 1980 and 1990, mass transit was unable to increase its share of the nation's PMT. In fact, between 1980 and 1990, mass transit's share of the nation's passenger miles of non-marine, surface transportation decreased from 1.43% to 1.27%...total PMT provided by mass transit exceeded 1% of total transportation in only 10 states in 1990 " (Weyrich and Lind).
K.C. Jones Monthly, based in Kansas, argued in a skeptical article, "Public Transit: A Worthwhile Investment?," that Public transit is clearly a declining industry. Ridership peaked during the World War II period at roughly 23 billion trips per year.... As World War II came to an end and life returned to a more normal mode, public transit lost most of its market advantages. Ridership declined by about two-thirds, from 23 billion annual trips to around 8 billion in recent years. Public transit's share of urban passenger miles fell from over 30% in 1945 to barely 2% in 1995" (Weyrich and Lind).
A trip can only be transit competitive if transit is available. If there is no train or bus, you can't get there from here, at least not on public transit. But the point this criterion makes is less obvious: measuring total trips is irrelevant, because in much of America, no transit is available.
The best official source is the American Housing Survey. The latest available figures are from the 1993 Supplement. According to that survey, 54.48% of American households had public transit available (the trend is down, from 58.9% in 1983.) the number tells us that, in terms of transit competitive trips, transit could not compete for any trips from almost half the households in America, because they had no transit available. Here the American Housing Survey has even more interesting news. In 1993, only 28.8% of U.S. households reported that they had satisfactory public transportation available (down from 39.39% in 1983 and 54.52% in 1974, the first year surveyed).17 and here's the kicker: while annual transit trips per household nationwide remained virtually steady from 1974 to 1993, annual trips per household where satisfactory transit service was available doubled over the same period, from a low of 150 in 1976 to 300 in 1993.18 What has held down transit ridership is not unwillingness to use satisfactory transit, but its declining availability. In fact, the 1993 AHS Supplement indicates a virtual one-for-one correlation between households having satisfactory transit and households using that transit at least weekly (Weyrich and Lind).
Research done in Edmonton and Toronto, Canada, and published in 1982 "found the 'walking impact zone' to be as far as 4000 ft from the station, which indicates that some people would walk more than a half a mile to get to a rail transit station. However, while the walking distance grows, the number of commuters using the rail...
The Metro Atlanta Regional Transportation Association (MARTA) is the supervising authority of the mass public rail system that serves Atlanta and its surrounding areas. (Orr, April 1, 2011) MARTA is also responsible for the majority of the bus routes that serve Atlanta's urban areas. The outlying counties' bus routes fall under the jurisdiction of each individual county that they run to, from, and through, such as Cobb County's Cobb
Therefore, Trains are best for freight traveling long distances where loading and unloading efficiency and times are less of a concern. For shorter distances, rail travel is less efficient unless it is incorporated into the transportation network that serves passengers in gridlocked parts of town. In these instances, people can efficiently use light rail as a form of mass transit, and this mode of transport makes sense. Each mode of
1). Conclusion The nation's public transportation system is at the forefront of keeping communities moving. The research showed that ensuring that these transit systems have a comprehensive safety program in place has assumed increasing importance in recent years. Not only are there a wide range of federal, state and local regulations to be considered in this analysis, though, there are a number of approaches used in the planning process that make
' But as the economy wavers and technology enables businessmen and women to use virtual, rather than face-to-face meetings, focusing on either a low-end or high-end strategy is problematic. Southwest can generate fewer cost savings as fuel costs rise and the numbers of vacationers plummet. More airlines are adopting its 'nuts only' service, diluting the image of its unique brand. However, luxury service is less in demand, given the still-shaky
In cases involving continued discrimination, disability lawyers have made the point that freedom of movement is essential in making sure that such individuals are gainfully employed. Access to public transportation can abrogate the need for continued public assistance in financial terms. Legislators, too, have recognized access to transportation as a necessary prerequisite to obtaining work. A Harris poll cited by Senator Durenberger noted that, "three of ten disabled persons stated that
S. transportation infrastructure is a bad idea. But in contrast to these doom and gloom pessimists, a restructuring and revitalization of U.S. transportation infrastructure is not only an excellent idea, but is very necessary if the U.S. economy is going to survive and continue to be a major global economic superpower (Lindsey, 2007). Without the highway infrastructure, the U.S. would have been unable to grow as it did in the 1950's
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