New Study Shows Public Transit Saves Households $6,200

The American Public Transportation Assocition has issued a new report that shows households that use public transit save at least $6,200 per year. You can read the report and press release by clicking here.

Several years ago after our kids left home, we reduced our auto ownership from two to one -- a Prius hybrid. I use the bus and MetroLink for my daily commute and my wife drives to her suburban job site. She can use the bus and MetroLink for a lengthy reverse commute, by carefully navigating bus stops in hostile environments near major arterial roads.

I would say I would say we easily save the $6,200 per year cited in the report. What it requires is that you use public transit, walk more, and are ready to shell out $50 or $60 a day to rent a car on occassion. This also suggests that to adopt this strategy that you choose to live in a place that is well served by public transit, is walkable and preferably is mixed-use, things advocated on this site as well as other sites such as Steve Patterson's excellent blog Urban Review St. Louis.

I live within walking distance of a grocery store and am not sure living with only one car would work as well if this were not the case.

The bottom line, is APTA and others hope the new Congress will up funding of public transit as a critical part of an energy strategy, new foreign policy initiative not to leave out the need to address global warming.

Ridership for November

Ridership on MetroLink continues to be impressive with the addition of the Cross County extension in August. For November ridership was up almost 41 percent with a 1.5 million riders in November. Average weekday ridership was 57,557 on MetroLink. (Remember Thanksgiving Week cuts into ridership in November and the December Holidays also curtail average weekday ridership as people take time off from work.)

Smart City

The radio show Smart City has an interesting discussion on Transit on last week's show.

Smart City can be heard on public radio stations across the U.S. and in Canada and on the web. Click here for a complete listing of show times and stations.

Missed last week's Smart City with Rob Puentes and Katherine Perez? You may download an MP3 of the show by clicking here.

Both Puentes and Perez were speakers at Rail~Volution in Chicago last November.

CMT to Sponsor TOD Seminar

Readers are invited to an important seminar on Transit Oriented Development that will feature G. B. Arrington, Principal Practice Leader for PB PlaceMaking and an international authority on TOD. This informative seminar is a must for planners, architects, elected officials, developers, municipal officials, real estate professionals, transit advocates and anyone interested in a better St. Louis.

The Seminar will be held January 23, 2007 beginning at 4 p.m. at the Des Lee Auditorium of the Missouri Historical Society on Lindell at DeBaliviere. The cost for the event is $20 for CMT members and $25 for non members. To make a reservation go online at www.cmt-stl.org or send your name, address, phone number, email address and a check to CMT, 911 Washington, Suite 200, St. Louis, MO 63101.

Also, at the Seminar there will be update on a TOD Charette that was held in Shrewsbury in June that was an outgrowth of the TOD event that CMT sponsored last February. Also, representatives of the City of Clayton will discuss changes in their zoning code that has facilitated TOD projects adjacent to the Forsythe Station. There will be an opportunity to discuss how the St. Louis region can maximize the land use around MetroLink.

The seminar will conclude at 6 p.m. and will be followed by a reception. Make your reservation today.

More about Arrington:

GB Arrington is the Principal Practice Leader for PB PlaceMaking. In his role he is responsible for providing strategic direction and leading PB’s global transit-oriented development (TOD) practice. He is internationally recognized as a leader in TOD and for his skills in linking transit and land use to create livable communities of lasting value.

Mr. Arrington specializes in policy, research, planning and design services that assist public and private sector clients in solving politically and technically complex land use and transportation challenges. His work has taken him across the United States, to China, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai and the Caribbean.

Mr. Arrington’s career has been defined by a commitment to continuous innovation to reinvent how cities grow while enhancing their quality of life. Before joining PB, he charted a new, award-winning direction for Portland Oregon’s transit agency. His innovative planning and community involvement strategies changed the face of transit and land use in the Portland region and received awards from the White House and the Federal Transit Administration.

Mr. Arrington is one of the founders of the Rail~Volution conference, he is an active New Urbanist and chairs the Task Forces for the Congress for the New Urbanism.