Getting & Using Transit Data

1. Getting & Using Transit Data John Semmens Laissez Faire Institute & Arizona Transportation Institute

2. Aggregated Data Sources • Public Transportation Fact Book, American Public Transportation Association (http://www.apta.com) • Highway Statistics, Federal Highway Administration (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hss/) • American Dream Coalition (http://americandreamcoalition.org/)

3. Transit Data • Ridership: Trips & Passenger-Miles • Vehicle-Miles & Hours • Costs & Revenues • Crashes & Fatalities • Crime

4. Highway Data • Vehicle-Miles • Costs & Revenues • Crashes & Fatalities

5. City-by-City Data • Transit Profiles, Federal Transit Administration (http://www.ntdprogram.com/NTD/Profiles.nsf/ProfileInformation?OpenForm&2001&All). • Section 5309 Annual Report on New Starts and Final Environmental Impact Statement, Valley Metro (www.valleymetro.org)

6. Local Data • Disaggregated Data • Traffic Impact • Environmental Impact

7. Transit's Share of Urban Travel 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2001 Year Sources: Public Transportation Fact Book and Highway Statistics

10. Cost Per Person-Mile of Travel Taxes Private Costs/Fares Total Roads $ 0.05 $ 0.29 $ 0.34 Buses $ 0.58 $ 0.20 $ 0.78 Light Rail $ 1.34 $ 0.14 $ 1.48 Sources: Public Transportation Fact Book,Highway Statistics and American Dream Coalition

11. Impacts of Alternative Investments ($ in billions) Public Transit Break-Even 5% ROI Amount Invested $370 $370 $370 Current Value of Residual Assets $19 $370 $615 Number of Jobs 1 million 19 million 32 million Source: Public Transportation Fact Book

12. Urban Travel Fatality Rates by Mode 1991-2001 Averages Bus Commuter Rail Heavy Rail Light Rail Urban Auto Fatalities/Billion Vehicle Miles 55 391 133 359 11 Fatalities/Billion Person-Miles 6 12 6 14 10 Sources: Public Transportation Fact Bookand Highway Statistics

13. 2001 Public Transit Serious Crime Statistics Total Rate* Bus 5,285 240 Commuter Rail 2,768 290 Demand Response 26 30 Heavy Rail 11,849 836 Light Rail 1,528 1,063 *murder/rape/robbery/assault/larceny/theft/burglary/arson per billion passenger miles Source: Public Transportation Fact Book

15. Carbon Monoxide Parts/Million in Year 2020 No-Build Build Light Rail Amount Higher Under Build Option AverageOne Hour Levels 6.5 6.8 +0.3 Average Eight Hour Levels 4.6 4.8 +0.2 Source: Central Phoenix/East Valley Light Rail Project: Final Environmental Impact Statement

16. Impact on Daily Traffic Auto Speeds Build No Build Region 22.3 mph 22.4 mph Corridor 17.7 mph 17.9 mph Source: Central Phoenix/East Valley Light Rail Project: Final Environmental Impact Statement

17. Relative Performance for Phoenix Transportation Options Efficiency Equity Effectiveness Mode Cost per Rider-mile Rider share of cost Share of regional travel Light Rail $2.90 5% 0.2% Bus $1.87 15% 0.9% Road/Auto $0.35 100% 98.9% Sources: Central Phoenix/East Valley Light Rail Project, FY 2004 Section 5309 Annual Report on New Starts (Valley Metro) Regional Transportation Plan (Maricopa Association of Governments) American Dream Coalition

18. Summing Up • There is a lot of published data available—both national & local. • Some data are easy to get, other data require more effort. • The data tell a story of public transit inefficiency, inequity & ineffectiveness. • Getting this story out to the media and voters is difficult.

19. Questions ?