APTA Study: $5 a Gallon Could Result in 1.5 Billion Additional Passenger Trips in the U.S.

Rising gas prices will spur a record move to public transportation according to a new study released by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) on March 14, 2011. The study also pointed to the increasingly dire need for additional funding for the nation’s transit systems to modernize existing infrastructure and expand capacity to cope with this rising tide of ridership. A number of major transit systems experienced double-digit ridership increases in February of this year, parallel with surging gas prices. A recent DOT study found that the U.S. transit industry needs an additional $86 billion just to bring the transit industry to an acceptable state of repair.

While this Center certainly understands and supports the urgent need to cut the budget deficit and reduce the national debt, we also know that a healthy public transportation industry contributes substantially to economic development, cuts the use of foreign oil and thus strengthens our defense posture, and provides Americans with viable, affordable travel options. For every dollar the federal government puts into public transit, it also put over four dollars into highways. We maintain that such an imbalance is unsustainable.

The study can be found at:

http://www.apta.com/members/memberprogramsandservices/advocacyandoutreachtools/tellingourstory/Documents/Effect%20of%20Gas%20Price%20Increase%20Paper%20Version%207%20(3).pdf