Transit News

New Nationwide Study Shows Need for More Public Transit

Los Angeles remains the number one most congested region in the country, according to the federally sponsored Urban Mobility Report released today by the Texas Transportation Institute. The average Los Angeles commuter spends an additional 72 hours a year stuck behind the wheel in gridlock. 

Bay Area traffic ranked second in the nation for traveler delays due to traffic congestion, with commuters spending an extra 60 hours a year stuck in traffic. San Diego ranked sixth, with commuters spending an additional 57 hours stuck in traffic. The findings underscore the need for additional public transit, especially in California’s urban areas.

According to Emily Rusch at CALPIRG, “Population has increased, households own more cars, and drivers travel further each year. Traffic congestion won’t slow down until those trends change. Governor Schwarzenegger needs to focus policy on getting more cars off the road, particularly through enhanced rail and bus transportation.” She added that, “Each full bus can get fifty cars off the road. Drivers across California should be calling for more and better public transportation, even if they’ll never use it.” 

The report calculates mobility and traffic congestion on freeways and major streets in 85 cities and is the most authoritative source on the nation’s traffic conditions.

The report determined that just to maintain existing levels of traffic congestion:

• Los Angeles needs 126 million new transit riders/carpoolers
• Riverside needs 75 million new transit riders/carpoolers
• San Francisco needs 34 million new transit riders/carpoolers
• Sacramento needs 48 million new transit riders/carpoolers
• San Diego needs 58 million new transit riders/carpoolers

“We need to expand bus and rail systems to reduce the number of drivers on the road,” concluded Rusch. “Doing so will address critical congestion problems in California’s cities, and help meet our state’s commitment to reduce global warming pollution.”

View findings of the report here: http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/congestion_data/

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