What Would Happen If All Public Transportation Stopped?

The TTI focused on several aspects when doing their study. When looking into the value of transit, they found that "New York is far and away the winner with 63 hours of additional delay per peak period auto commuter if its transit system were discontinued," writes Aaron M. Renn.

The TTI report also calculates the additional congestion cost that would occur if public transit suddenly stopped, charted by Renn as the current savings that cities get by having transit:

"New York dominates the charts with nearly $8 billion in savings. But even down the charts there's big money. In Chicago, which is gearing up for another round of fare hikes and service cuts, the cost of congestion avoided due to public transit is about the same as the combined operating budget of all regional transit agencies. Chicago transit is effectively self-funded in terms of benefits delivered to motorists alone," says Renn.