Public Transportation Matters

Hampton Roads Transit provides services to nearly 17 million riders each year.

Every day, millions of Americans don’t drive a car — for reasons like concern for the environment, vehicle maintenance costs, traffic congestion or all of the above. Yet, these people still stay connected to their jobs, schools and families. They make it to doctor’s appointments, the grocery store and even to the park and other recreational activities. How do people who don’t drive stay mobile? The answer is public transportation.

Each day, buses, ferries, vans and other forms of public transportation provide affordable, reliable and efficient services to 14 million people. Another 25 million people rely on public transportation less frequently, but on a regular basis. For many people who would otherwise be disenfranchised, public transportation is a lifeline.

Right here, Hampton Roads Transit provides services to nearly 17 million passengers. 15 million of those trips are on buses and trolleys; 400,000 are by way of the HRTElizabeth River Ferry, 249,000 by vanpool; and over 250,000 trips a year are provided to persons with disabilities through the Handi-Ride program.

Public transportation is a catalyst for strengthening the livability of Hampton Roads. Hampton Roads Transit provides greater freedom and mobility to our residents. Public transportation creates jobs, protects the environment, enhances our quality of life and makes it easier for employees to get work and consumers to get to local businesses.

Moreover, public transportation contributes to a critical determinant of economic success: quality of life. Communities that are great places to live attract the best businesses and the most highly skilled people.

Public transportation improves quality of life in several ways. It cuts down on the time drivers lose to stopped traffic, which can reach as much as 40 hours a year. While all those cars are idling in traffic, they are also pumping pollutants into the atmosphere. Public transportation, on the other hand, prevents the emission of more than 126 million pounds of hydrocarbons , which cause smog, and 156 million pounds of nitrogen oxides, which can cause respiratory illness. It conserves energy, reducing gasoline consumption by 1.5 billion gallons a year.

These benefits and others, explain why the use of public transportation is on the rise. In 2000, Americans rode 21.2 billion miles on buses — enough to circle the earth nearly 850,000 times. But this increa sed use also makes for increased costs. Here inHampton Roads, we need to invest more in public transportation, both to meet those costs and to expand transit to serve more people and accommodate future growth.

So, why does public transportation matter?Think about where we would be without it.

To be sure, transit systems aren’t cheap to build or run, and policy makers have more demands than they have dollars. But, public transportation pays for itself several times over. And if a stronger economy is the destination we seek, public transportation is the fastest way to get there.