Want To Save Energy? Get on the Bus

[David A. Kates]

Rail and bus riders conserve fossil fuels, lower their carbon footprint and save money, according to recent studies by the American Public Transportation Association.

Families who live near public transportation drive 4,400 fewer miles annually than households with no service. This saves 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline.

Furthermore, mass transit reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 37 million metric tons per year. Every home in New York City, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Denver and Los Angeles would have to curtail using electricity to save an equal amount of carbon.


The study, "The Broader Connection between Public Transportation, Energy Conse... also found that rail and bus systems promote good urban design.

"Public transit encourages more compact development and greater personal choice in how people travel,” said William W. Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). “People have closer access to jobs and shopping and more trips can be made on foot, by bike or just a short car ride."

Mass transit ridership has increased more than 25 percent since 1995, bolstered by consumers wanting to avoid high gasoline pump prices. Some families who use trains and buses are even able to get rid of one of their cars.

[See also: “Public Transportation and Petroleum Savings in the U.S.” and “Public Transportation's Contribution to U.S. Greenhouse Gas Reduct...]

Cleaner Energy

Most of the nation’s passenger trains are powered by electricity today.

But about 80 percent of transit buses still run on highly polluting diesel fuel.

This is beginning to change. Increasing numbers of transportation agencies are ordering compressed natural gas and diesel-electric hybrid buses.

King County Metro Transit in Washington State has had hybrid buses since 2002. They run on the electric battery at low speeds and diesel at high speeds. The buses recharge the battery though regenerative braking.

Half of King County’s bus fleet--or about 640 buses--runs on biodiesel. The agency uses a 20 percent mix of biodiesel with ultra-low diesel fuel. The biodiesel saves about 22,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution a year, the equivalent of taking 2,800 cars off the road. King County also has electric trolley buses.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the nation’s largest public transit system, has seen a jump in ridership while decreasing the amount of fuel used per passenger and per mile. The MTA is converting its buses to compressed natural gas and diesel-electric.

The Infrastructure

Michael Noble, executive director of Minnesota’s Fresh Energy, says in the documentary Fields of Fuel that he’d like to see public transit meet one-third of America’s future transportation needs. (The other two-thirds would be from electric vehicles powered by the sun and wind, as well as biofuel vehicles.)

America’s infrastructure still has a ways to go.

“Only about half of the country say they have access to public transportation,” commented Virginia Miller, the American Public Transportation Association’s senior media relations manager. “You can’t take something that your community doesn’t have.”

But voters have been passing ballot initiatives for mass transit in recent years. Denver residents voted for a $4.7 billion tax increase for rail and bus line expansion in 2004.

APTA is lobbying for the inclusion of public transit funding in federal climate change and energy legislation because of its clear links to greenhouse gas reduction and energy conservation.

The association points out that if the nation’s public transit infrastructure were obliterated, Americans would drive 102.2 billion more miles per year in their cars.