National Video Testimonial Wall To Show Congress the Benefits of Transit

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) wants Congress to understand how transit benefits Americans. Post a video on APTA’s new Video Testimonial Wall to tell the world why public transit is important to you and your community and APTA will tell your story to Congress.

  For the latest Loudoun County traffic news and information, subscribe to Loudoun County Traffic via your favorite RSS reader, or get Loudoun County Traffic by e-mail.

Residents Who Live Near Public Transportation Live Healthier, Longer Lives

A recent study by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) found that people who live in communities with public transportation drive less, exercise more, live longer, and are generally healthier than residents of communities that lack access to quality transit. These communities also benefit from reduced pollution as transit produces fewer harmful emissions than single occupant vehicle travel.

Evaluating Public Transportation Health Benefits, a study conducted for APTA by Todd Litman of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute aggregates the findings of several recent studies and concludes that people living in transit-oriented “smart growth” communities enjoy several health benefits, not seen in other communities, including residents drive less, exposing them to a lower risk of fatal vehicle accidents.

Such communities also have less pollution, because public transportation produces far less emissions per passenger mile than private automobiles. In addition, people who live near quality public transit are more likely to undertake regular physical activity than residents of automobile-dependent communities.

  For the latest Loudoun County traffic news and information, subscribe to Loudoun County Traffic via your favorite RSS reader, or get Loudoun County Traffic by e-mail.

Poll Finds Residents Want More Transit, Like Metro

Here's an interesting article from the Greater, Greater Washington blog about transit. According to the blog, a new Washington Post poll shows large majorities of residents favor transit expansion and are generally pleased with the quality of Metro.

"62% of respondents said the region should focus its resources on "providing more public transportation options, such as trains or buses," while 30% favored "expanding and building roads" (question 16).

"Residents said this despite more listing traffic as the greatest problem facing the region (38%) than any other (question 1), and 65% of those who commute to work driving alone (question 3).

"Residents, even those who themselves drive, seem to broadly support the idea that our region must accommodate its growth through transit and transit-oriented development to avoid even greater traffic. 43% of respondents reported not being able to take transit to work (down from 56% in 2005), but still support building transit."

Read the entire article...

  For the latest Loudoun County traffic news and information, subscribe to Loudoun County Traffic via your favorite RSS reader, or get Loudoun County Traffic by e-mail.