Lies My Transit Lobbyist Told Me
Randal O'Toole critically evaluates a recent press release from the American Public Transportation Association suggesting that recent transit data indicate public transportation use increased 25.1 percent in the last decade.
U.S. transit systems carried fewer riders in each of the last four years than they did in 2001. But you would never know it from press releases and puff pieces issued by the nation's transit lobby, which is pumped up by support from railcar manufacturers, rail engineering companies, and others who profit from rail transit construction.
...From the release: "More than 9.7 billion trips were made on U.S. public transportation systems in 2005, for a 1.3 percent increase over 2004, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) said April 5. Since 1995, public transportation use increased 25.1 percent."
Response: APTA neglects to note that public transit use increased from 1995 to 2001, but declined by 0.9 percent since 2001."
"...From the release: "Some light rail systems showed double digit increases in ridership: Minneapolis (168.9 percent)"
Response: Minneapolis light rail opened in June of 2004. When you start service in the middle of one year, your ridership over the entire following year is bound to be a huge percentage increase over the first year."
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Energy Per Passenger Mile
The tables on pages 58-59 of the DoE Transportation Energy Data Book PDF say commuter rail uses 2,714 BTUs per passenger-mile (PM), the least among the modes listed in that table. Mr. O'Toole omitted that.
And though he also said rail transit's lower energy usage per PM amounts to little savings "if you add the energy cost of building rail transit," he also omitted mention of energy consumed by road/highway/freeway construction as it relates to cars (or, to be fair, buses).
Page 60 of that data book shows very little pattern to be discerned from comparing energy usage among transit systems. Also note that even the authors of the data book seem cautious about coming to conclusions from their numbers; the table Mr. O'Toole cites from page 58, the table on which the paragraph introducing his energy-per-PM discussion is based, is preceded by the following disclaimer:
Because of the inherent differences between the transportation modes in the nature of services, routes available, and many additional factors, it is not possible to obtain truly comparable national energy intensities among modes. These values are averages, and there is a great deal of variability even within a mode.
Re: Energy Per Passenger Mile
Good point. You should not compare energy per passenger mile for rail transit and automobiles without also considering that rail transit tends to generate higher densities and to reduce passenger miles traveled, while automobiles tend to generate lower densities and to increase passenger miles traveled.
Charles Siegel
Other things left out
Also what was left out is the externalities created by roads - urban heat island exacerbation, increased runoff, offgassing of new asphalt, particulate matter from cars, etc.
Best,
D
ridership
APTA statistics show 9.0 billion riders in 2001
http://www.ntdprogram.com/NTD/NTDData.nsf/2001+TOC/Table28/$File/T28_32.pdf
and 9.7 billion in 2005 according to O'Toole (and also here:
http://www.apta.com/research/stats/ridership/riderep/documents/05q4cvr.p... )
Isn't that an INCREASE of about 700 million riders?
Beware The Powerful Public Transit Lobby
The nation's transit lobby "is pumped up by support from railcar manufacturers, rail engineering companies, and others who profit from rail transit construction."
That is terrible. These transit companies are so powerful that their lobbying overwhelms the lobbying of the poor little automobile and oil companies, who do not have the money to get their ideas out to the public.
"APTA neglects to note that public transit use increased from 1995 to 2001, but declined by 0.9 percent since 2001." It actually increased during an economic expansion and declined when the stock market bubble burst??? That is shocking.
Charles Siegel
Haha, nice catch Charles
That is exactly what I was going to say. Another loser article from Randall O'toole, backed by conservative funding. Wouldn't be surprised if it was all auto and oil $$. Can't wait for the next one Randall, hope its a zinger and profests your love of the auto and SF detached dwelling!
Randall O'Toole's Source of Funding
I have always wondered where Randall O'Toole gets his funding. It obviously does not come from the tremendously rich and powerful public transit lobby.
Charles Siegel