HIDDEN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY SOLUTION: PUBLIC TRANSIT

-> A new American Public Transportation Association study shows that a person can reduce the chance of being in a crash by more than 90 percent simply by taking public transit instead of commuting by car. (The Hidden Transportation Safety Solution: Public Transportation: http://bit.ly/2d54b9m) Traveling by public transportation is ten times safer per mile than traveling by auto. The authors reveal that transit-oriented communities are five times safer because they have about a fifth the per capita traffic casualty rate (fatalities and injuries) as automobile-oriented communities. This means public transit cuts a community’s crash risk in half even for those who do not use public transit. Public transportation communities spur compact development, which reduces auto miles traveled and produces safer speeds.

Cities that average more than 50 annual transit trips per capita have about half the average traffic fatality rates as cities where residents average fewer than 20 annual trips. Since Americans average about 1,350 annual trips on all modes, this increase from less than 20 to more than 50 annual transit trips represents a small increase in transit mode share, from about 1.5 percent up to about 4 percent. That equates to an increase in transit mode share of less than 3 trips a month per person. http://bit.ly/2cm4tw9

from CenterLines, the e-newsletter of the National Center for Bicycling & Walking.