Getting & Using Transit Data

John Semmens

Laissez Faire Institute

&

Arizona Transportation Institute

Aggregated Data Sources

• Public Transportation Fact Book, American Public Transportation Association (http://www.apta.com)

• Highway Statistics, Federal Highway Administration (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hss/)

• American Dream Coalition (http://americandreamcoalition.org/)

Transit Data

• Ridership: Trips & Passenger-Miles

• Vehicle-Miles & Hours

• Costs & Revenues

• Crashes & Fatalities

• Crime

Highway Data

• Vehicle-Miles

• Costs & Revenues

• Crashes & Fatalities

City-by-City Data

• Transit Profiles, Federal Transit Administration (http://www.ntdprogram.com/NTD/Profiles.nsf/ProfileInformation?OpenForm&2001&All).

• Section 5309 Annual Report on New Starts and Final Environmental Impact Statement, Valley Metro (www.valleymetro.org)

Local Data

• Disaggregated Data

• Traffic Impact

• Environmental Impact

Transit's Share of Urban Travel

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2001

Year

Sources: Public Transportation Fact Book and Highway Statistics

Federal Aid & Transit Deficits

($30,000)

($25,000)

($20,000)

($15,000)

($10,000)

($5,000)

$0

$5,000

$10,000

Year

in m

illio

ns

Federal Aid

Deficits

Source: Public Transportation Fact Book

Cost Per Passenger Mile for Transit & Per Vehicle Mile for Automobiles

$0.00$0.10$0.20$0.30$0.40$0.50$0.60$0.70$0.80$0.90

1965

1967

1969

1971

1973

1975

1977

1979

1981

1983

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

Year

Transit

Automobiles

Sources: American Dream Coalition and Public Transportation Fact Book

Cost Per Person-Mile of Travel

  TaxesPrivate

Costs/Fares Total

Roads $ 0.05 $ 0.29 $ 0.34

Buses $ 0.58 $ 0.20 $ 0.78

Light Rail $ 1.34 $ 0.14 $ 1.48

Sources: Public Transportation Fact Book, Highway Statistics and American Dream Coalition

Impacts of Alternative Investments($ in billions)

  Public Transit

Break-Even

5% ROI

Amount Invested $370 $370 $370

Current Value of Residual Assets

$19 $370 $615

Number of Jobs1

million19

million32

million

Source: Public Transportation Fact Book

Urban Travel Fatality Rates by Mode 1991-2001 Averages

  Bus Commuter Rail

Heavy Rail

Light Rail

Urban Auto

Fatalities/Billion Vehicle Miles

55 391 133 359 11

Fatalities/Billion Person-Miles

6 12 6 14 10

Sources: Public Transportation Fact Book and Highway Statistics

2001 Public Transit Serious Crime Statistics

  Total Rate*

Bus 5,285 240

Commuter Rail 2,768 290

Demand Response 26 30

Heavy Rail 11,849 836

Light Rail 1,528 1,063

*murder/rape/robbery/assault/larceny/theft/burglary/arson per billion passenger miles

Source: Public Transportation Fact Book

Carbon Monoxide Pollution in Central Phoenix

0

50

100

150

200

25019

67

1969

1971

1973

1975

1977

1979

1981

1983

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

Year

Day

s E

xcee

din

g E

PA

Sta

nd

ard

s

Source: Maricopa County Environmental Services

Carbon Monoxide Parts/Million in Year 2020

 

No-Build

Build Light Rail

Amount Higher Under Build

Option

Average One Hour Levels

6.5 6.8 +0.3

Average Eight Hour Levels

4.6 4.8 +0.2

Source: Central Phoenix/East Valley Light Rail Project: Final Environmental Impact Statement

Impact on Daily Traffic

Auto Speeds Build No Build

Region 22.3 mph 22.4 mph

Corridor 17.7 mph 17.9 mph

Source: Central Phoenix/East Valley Light Rail Project: Final Environmental Impact Statement

Relative Performance for Phoenix Transportation Options

  Efficiency Equity Effectiveness

 

ModeCost per

Rider-mileRider share

of costShare of

regional travel

Light Rail $2.90 5% 0.2%

Bus $1.87 15% 0.9%

Road/Auto $0.35 100% 98.9%

Sources: Central Phoenix/East Valley Light Rail Project, FY 2004 Section 5309 Annual Report on New Starts (Valley Metro)Regional Transportation Plan (Maricopa Association of Governments)American Dream Coalition

Summing Up

• There is a lot of published data available—both national & local.

• Some data are easy to get, other data require more effort.

• The data tell a story of public transit inefficiency, inequity & ineffectiveness.

• Getting this story out to the media and voters is difficult.

Questions ?