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Public Transit Benefits
General Information
Make your rides safer & stress-free, while helping everyone breathe easier! Leave your car at home and let us do the driving. There's no need to worry about traffic hassles or problems on the road. One full bus can take 44 single-occupant vehicles off the road and eliminate 90 percent of the vehicles' toxic emissions. Using Maritime Metro is a great way to relax knowing that the bus is one of the safest and cleanest ways to travel.Reduced Energy Consumption
The fuel efficiency of public transit compared to the average commuter auto:- 1 bus with 7 passengers = 1 auto
- 1 full bus = 6 autos
- A transit bus uses 8.7% less energy per passenger mile than a typical auto.
- Public transit reduces fuel consumption by about 1.5 billion gallons annually.
Increased Economic Benefits
Riding the bus lowers your family’s commuting costs. If one member of a typical family, with two or more automobiles, used public transit to commute to work every day instead of driving alone, they could save from $3,630 to $7,870 per year. As of 2019, riding Maritime Metro Transit costs only $336 per year!!The American Public Transit Association estimates that for every $1 invested in transit, business revenues increase $3 to $3.50 nationwide. The Federal Transit Administration estimates that the 80 million Americans who live in transit-intensive metropolitan areas save $20 billion in auto costs each year.
Less Traffic Congestion
One full 40-foot bus is equivalent to a line of 58 moving automobiles stretching 6 city blocks (more than ½ mile) if traffic is moving at 25 mph. If all the Americans who take transit decided to drive instead, their cars would circle the Earth with a line of traffic 23,000 miles long.Convenience/Independence
Ten million Americans use transit each working day. Another 25 million Americans use transit less frequently but on a regular basis. Americans depend on transit:- 32 million senior citizens increasingly rely on public transit as their driving ability decreases with age.
- 24 million people with disabilities need public transit to maintain their independence.
- 37 million people living below the poverty line often cannot afford a car and rely on public transit to reach their jobs.
Safer Travel
Public transit is one of the safest methods of passenger travel, according to the National Safety Council. The average death rates per 100 million passengers are as follows:Mode | Death Rate |
Automobiles | 0.85 |
Commuter Railroads | 0.17 |
Airlines | 0.02 |
School Buses | 0.01 |
Transit Buses | 0.01 |
* Excerpted from the American Public Transit Association’s (APTA’s) “Transit Fact Book”.