Alternative Transportation (AT)

Includes: Public transit, Carpooling, Vanpooling, Biking/Bikepools, Walking, Ride-sharing, Hybrids, Car-share, Scooters/Motorcycles, Rollerblades

Car Dependency: Costs, Pollution and Climate Change

21% of all U.S. greenhouse gases come from cars & light trucks.

• For every dollar earned,

the average household spends – 18 cents on transportation, – 98 percent of which is for buying,

maintaining and operating cars, – The largest source of household debt

after mortgages

CO$T

• One gallon of gas = 20lbs of CO2 • The average American drives

15,000 miles and uses 600 gallons of gas per year. That’s 12,000 lbs of CO2 every year!

• At $3/gallon, that’s $1800/year• $4/gallon, that’s $2400/year

41% of trips in urban areas are 2 miles or less. 89% of these trips are by motor vehicle. (One

can easily cover 2 miles in about 15 minutes by bike).

For every 10,000 solo commuters who leave their cars at home and commute on an existing public transportation service for one year, the nation reduces fuel consumption by 2.7 million gallons (and >25,000 ton reduction in CO2 emissions)

Americans in transit-intensive areas save $22 billion a year by using public transportation.

Driving smart keeps pollution at a minimum.

– Burning fossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel releases carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere, contributing to global climate change.

– CO2 is the most important human-made GHG, and highway vehicles account for 26% of U.S.

– CO2 emissions (1.7 billion tons each year).

The average American emits 22 tons of carbon dioxide every year.

The worldwide average is just 5 tons per year

ScienceDaily (Apr. 29, 2008)

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What Can We Do?

• Slow down. For most vehicles, fuel efficiency begins to drop rapidly at 60 mph. Driving within the speed limit can improve fuel efficiency by up to 23 percent.

• Take it easy. Slamming on the brakes and accelerating. too quickly can reduce fuel efficiency up to 33 percent

• Get a tune-up. Routine maintenance can up fuel efficiency by 4 percent, while fixing more serious problems can improve efficiency up to 40 percent.

• Check the air pressure on your tires and inflate any that are lower than the pressure recommended in the owner's manual. Properly inflated tires can increase fuel efficiency by 3.3 percent

• Replace clogged air filters. A clogged air filter can cut a vehicles fuel efficiency by 10 percent

- Accelerate gradually. - Use cruise control on the highway. - Obey the speed limit. - Consider turning your engine off if you will be idling for long periods of time. - Combine your errands into one trip. - Keep your car tuned and support the smog check program. - Don't top off at the gas pumps. - Replace your car's air filter. - Keep your tires properly inflated

Driving smart keeps pollution at a minimum.

The average vehicle emits around 6 to 9 tons of CO2 each year.

Alternative Transportation reduces travel time for all commuters

• One bus can take 60 cars off the road.

• One light rail vehicle can take 125 cars off the road.

• Each American traveling during peak periods wastes, on average, 62 hours a year—nearly eight full working days—in traffic congestion.

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1 bus can take 60 cars off of the road

AT conserves energy and helps reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil

If one in 10 Americans used public transportation regularly, U.S. reliance on foreign oil could be cut by more than 40 percent

Full buses are six times more fuel efficient than cars with one

occupant.

AT connects people to education

• Port Authority has contracts with Pitt and CMU to provide unlimited rides for university students, faculty and staff for an annual fee. More than 400,000 riders take advantage of this transportation benefit each month.

• Approx. 12 % of public transportation users are en route to schools of various types.

AT provides a safer form of transportation

• Compared to road systems, transit systems are significantly safer.

• Trips with similar destinations result in 200,000 fewer deaths, injuries and accidents when made by public transit than by car, adding up to between $2 billion and $5 billion per year in safety benefits.

• The National Safety Council estimates that riding the bus is over 170 times safer than automobile travel.

• CARPOOLING

• VANPOOLING

• TRANSIT

• BICYCLING

http://www.bike-pgh.org/101/01.html

Check out the new guide in your browser:

www.bike-pgh.org/101

• Urban riding basics

• Laws

• Practical advice for navigating the city. 

• Everything from what to wear to navigating intersections is covered.

• BikePGH along with Street Smarts** is joining forces with a wide range of partners in Southwestern Pennsylvania to encourage the use of sustainable transportation.

• All of us benefit in the region when individuals stop habitually driving single occupant motor vehicles to work everyday.

• Car Free Fridays unites all modal options - transit, walking, biking, and ride share as a singular alternative to one person driving one car to work.

• The mutual goal is making our streets safer , the air we breathe cleaner , a better quality of life, and a stronger local economy - because very little of the money we spend on gasoline and car purchases stays in the region.

Free Ride Recycle-a-Bike • One project of Bike Pittsburgh is the Free Ride Recycled Bike Shop

in Point Breeze.• It is a non-profit, do-it-yourself recycled bike shop that enables

people of all ages to obtain, recycle, and maintain bicycles. • Through educating people on how to recondition used bicycles, they

are putting forgotten bikes back on the streets in a reliable, safe condition.

• They aim to enhance the health of our community and environment by promoting active living and encouraging bicycle transportation.

• Location:inside Construction Junction214 N. Lexington Ave.Pittsburgh, PA 15208(412) 731-4094freeride@bike-pgh.org

Data Sources

• Port Authority of Allegheny County http://www.portauthority.org/PAAC/CustomerInfo

• US Environmental Protection Agency ( US EPA) and Center for Transportation Analysis

• 2001 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey

• 2008 AAA estimates based on 15,000 mi/year• Department of Energy (DOE); www.fueleconomy.gov

www.commuteinfo.org (For carpooling, vanpooling, bikepooling, ride share, etc)Email: commuteinfo@spcregion.org

Phone: 1-888-819-6110

Regional transit providers: www.portauthority.org

http://www.newcastletransit.org http://www.thebusbutlerpa.com Town & Country Transit –(724)548-8696 or 1-800-245-8588;http://www.indigobus.com http://www.bcta.com http://www.westmorelandtransit.com http://www.ggcbusride.com/ http://www.factbus.comhttp://www.mmvta.comhttp://bike-pgh.org/

Local Resources