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Transit
Key points
- Public transit can cut transportation-related pollution in three important ways: 1) decrease the number of vehicle miles traveled in personal vehicles; 2) reduce traffic congestion, which cuts the amount of fuel burned by idling cars and trucks; and 3) prompt compact, transit-oriented development that diminishes the need for and length of trips in personal vehicles.
- Increases in transit use alone will produce modest decreases in vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions, with the improvements growing somewhat over time.
- Based on emissions per passenger mile, transit vehicles on average generate less greenhouse gas than do personal vehicles, so greater transit use can reduce the adverse environmental impacts of travel.
- The environmental benefits of transit grow when more riders who otherwise would drive cars board the bus or train instead.
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Transit is more efficient, cost-effective and popular when a metro region has areas of compact development with concentrations of important destinations, especially job sites.
Smart approaches and policies
- Encourage greater concentrations of employment within downtowns and other already-developed areas of Minnesota’s cities in order to create hubs or nodes for workplace destinations easily served by transit.
- Make transit more attractive to new riders who would otherwise drive on their own by improving service speed and reliability, upgrading the comfort of the ride, providing better transit information, stepping up marketing efforts, and encouraging employers to move from parking subsidies toward transit incentives.
- Accelerate the Metropolitan Council’s plans for expanded transit service, infrastructure and passenger loads in order to double ridership by 2020 instead of the current target year of 2030.
- Secure increased and stable funding for transit to allow accelerated service expansion and other initiatives that will boost ridership.
- For Greater Minnesota transit outside of the state’s larger cities, the best strategy for potential environmental gains likely will be an expansion of those services that can reduce vehicle miles traveled and curb transportation emissions, notably vanpools and intercity bus service on well-traveled routes.
