Report Finds Those Living Near Public Transportation Live Healthier, Longer
From AASHTO Jurnal
Individuals who live in communities with high-quality mass transit are generally healthier than their counterparts residing in areas that are more dependent on automobiles, concludes a newly released report from the American Public Transportation Association.
The report, prepared for APTA by the Canadian research organization Victoria Transport Policy Institute, focuses on what it characterizes as the important but often overlooked health benefits that public transportation can provide.
"People who live or work in communities with high-quality public transportation tend to own fewer vehicles, drive less, and use alternative modes more than they would in more automobile-oriented locations," according to the report. "This can provide large reductions in traffic crashes and pollution emissions, increases in physical fitness and mental health, and improved access to healthy food, housing, and medical care."
A person's primary means of travel activity, the report asserts, can help lessen several of his or her risks among the 10 leading causes of reduced lifespan as identified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 10 U.S. counties with the most transit-oriented growth, for example, have about one-fourth the traffic fatality rates as those counties with the most sprawling development.
The report underscores how pollution from automobiles can cause cancer and birth defects. The report, citing recent studies that have found that those regularly riding mass transit walk more than individuals not using such services, also emphasizes how a sedentary lifestyle can lead to strokes and heart disease.
"This is not to suggest that people should be forced to shift from driving to walking, cycling, and public transit just to achieve health objectives, but it does suggest that decisionmakers and the general public should be informed about the substantial safety and health benefits that can result from improved public transit and more transit-oriented development," according to the report.
Potential health impacts of transit should assume an even-more-prominent role in overall transportation planning, the report concludes.
The 33-page report, "Evaluating Public Transportation Health Benefits," is available at <a href="http://tinyurl.com/APTA-Report">http://tinyurl.com/APTA-Report</a>;