At the same time, a healthy economy has created thousands of new jobs. Transit is a key element in moving people into the workforce by providing access to jobs. The amount of time drivers spent stuck in traffic grew to more than 40 hours a year, in one-third of the cities studied by the 1999 Texas Transportation Institute Annual Mobility Report. One person using public transit for a year will avoid putting 3,300 pounds of vehicle exhaust emissions and pollutants into the air. A 1996 Federal Transit Administration Study reports that each year millions of pounds of pollutants are avoided due to the use of public transportation - more than 126 million pounds of hydrocarbons, a primary cause of smog, and 156 million pounds of nitrogen oxides, that can cause respiratory disease.
Public transportation can significantly reduce dependence on gasoline.
Even switching to public transportation for a shorter 5-mile commute each way can save over 150 gallons at 15 miles per gallon. Transit uses less than one percent of the energy consumed in this country. Safe travel is a high priority of public transportation systems, as well as federal, state and local governments. According to the National Safety Council, riding the bus is already 47 times safer than car travel. By train, commuters are 23 times safer than traveling by car.