314 jobs are created for each $10 million invested in transit capital funding and more than 570 jobs are created for each $10 million invested in shorter projects.

85% of all transportation costs in the U.S. are related to private automobiles.

A $10 million investment in public transportation results in a $30 million gain in sales for local businesses (3 times the public sector investment in transit capital).

A recent study by the University of North Texas found that the new DART system in the Dallas region has already generated over $800 million in development, and that the full system is projected to generate $3.7 billion in economic activity upon build out.

A recent survey by Jones Lang LaSalle in its Property Futures publication found that 77 per cent of New Economy companies rated access to mass transit as an extremely important factor in selecting corporate locations.

A regular rush-hour driver wastes an average of 99 gallons of gasoline a year due to traffic. The average cost of the time lost in rush hour traffic is $1,160 per person.

A study conducted before, during and after the 1996 Olympics in Altanta examined the effect of concerted efforts to improve traffic conditions to accommodate the wave of spectators and its effect on asthma attacks. The city made 24-hour transportation available, added buses, closed streets to cars and implemented flexible work schedules. The study showed the result of these efforts was a remarkable decline in ground-level ozone and other air pollutants, which reduced the number of emergency rooms visits for asthma during and shortly after the games.

A study on U.S. government spending and its impact on worker productivity estimated that a 10-year $100 billion increase in public transport spending would boost worker output by $521 billion, compared with $237 billion for the same spending on highways.

AAA members who rely almost exclusively on automobiles for their daily transportation needs, would still opt to spend more money on public transit than on new roads, according to a recent survey.

Alcohol-related traffic deaths are on the rise. In 2000, 16,653 people were killed in accidents involving alcohol, representing 40% of the 41,821 people killed in all traffic crashes (according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). Public transportation helps to keep dangerous drivers off the road by providing a needed transportation choice.

Almost half of all Fortune 500 companies, representing over $2 trillion in annual revenue, are headquartered in America’s transit-intensive metropolitan areas.

America’s families spend more than 19 cents out of every dollar earned on transportation, an expense second only to housing and greater than food and health care combined.

American families spend 18% of their household budgets on transportation, making it the second largest household expenditure after housing.

Americans living in transit-intensive areas save $22 billion each year by using public transportation.

An assessment of the economic benefits of the services provided by the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) found a benefit-to-cost ratio of more than 13 to 1 when both direct and indirect benefits were considered.

An estimated 14 million Americans ride public transportation each weekday and an additional 25 million use it on a less frequent but regular basis.

An estimated 94% of welfare recipients attempting to move into the workforce do not own cars and rely on public transportation.

Around Washington D.C. 40% of new building space in the 1980s, worth $3 billion, was built within walking distance of a Metro stop.

As of 1999, WMATA’s 24 joint development projects were generating nearly $6 million in annual revenue.

Between 1997 and 1999, an estimated 4,500 housing units and some 9 million square feet of commercial-office floorspace were added within walking distance of the Tasman West LRT corridor.

Building more roads isn't always the answer to this growing problem. Each of the cities in the TTI study would require an average of 37 more lane miles to keep pace with just one year of increased traffic demand.

Business output is positively affected by transit investment. A sustained program of transit capital investment will generate an increase of $2 million in business output. After 20 years, these benefits increase to $31 million.

Danbury, Connecticut: a study conducted for the Housatonic Area Regional Transit District (HART) showed that every dollar spent on HART’s system of services returns $9.10 to the local economy.

Drivers in one-third of U.S. cities spend more than 40 hours a year (an entire work week) in traffic that is not moving.

Every dollar that U.S. taxpayers invest in public transportation generates $6 or more in economic returns.

Federal transportation grants for State and local governments totaled $4.4 billion for transit or 14% of all transportation grants in 2000. Federal transportation grants to State and local governments amounted to $26 billion or 80% of the total in 2000.

For every passenger mile traveled, public transportation is twice as fuel-efficient as private automobiles, sport-utility vehicles, and light trucks.

Four in five Americans believe that increased investment in public transportation strengthens the economy, creates jobs, reduces traffic congestion and air pollution, and saves energy.

From 1985 to 2001, the percentage of people driving to work alone increased by 5.8% to represent 78.2% of all means of commuting. In the same time period, carpooling declined by 4.4%, public transporation by 0.4% and the percentage of people working at home declined by 0.2%.

From 1995 to 2000 transit passenger miles increased by 16% while passenger car miles increased by 11%.

Given the task of doling out the money for transportation improvements, AAA members said they would spend $100 in the following manner: $19.97 - new roads; $39.74 - maintenance and/or expansion of existing roads; $28.76 - Public transit (bus, train, light rail, park & ride) and $11.54 - bicycle and pedestrian projects.

If one in 10 Americans regularly used transit, U.S. reliance on foreign oil could decline by more than 40%, or nearly the amount of oil imported from Saudi Arabia each year.

If one in five Americans used public transportation daily, carbon monoxide pollution would decrease by more than all the emissions from the entire chemical manufacturing industry and all metal processing plants in the U.S.

In 1999, public transportation vehicles used 856 million gallons of fossil fuels and 5.2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity - which is less than 1% of all energy consumed in the U.S.

In 2000 there were 41,945 highway fatalities and 295 transit related fatalities.

In 2000, Americans took 9.4 billion trips using public transportation, an increase of 3.5% from the previous year - the equivalent of more than one million new trips each day.

In 2000, Americans took 9.4 billion trips using public transportation, an increase of 3.5% from the previous year - the equivalent of more than one million new trips each day. During the same year, ridership grew twice as fast as the U.S. population and outpaced growth in other travel modes.

In 2000, America's public transportation systems employed 350,000 workers to operate, maintain and manage all modes of transit. A full 50% of this workforce serve as operators or conductors.

In 2000, total federal spending on transit was $5.3 billion or 11% of all transportation spending.

In comparison with private vehicles, public transportation generates 95% less carbon monoxide, 92% less in volatile organic compounds, and about half as much carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide per passenger mile.

In Los Angeles, .80 of every $1.00 spent on public transport gets recirculated in the region, translating into $3.80 in goods and services. Conversely, .85 of every $1.00 spent on gas leaves the region.

In suburban Philadelphia, the total increase in residential real estate value in neighborhoods with train service is estimated to be over $1.45 billion.

In the last five years, transit use has increased faster than any other mode of transportation.

In the past two decades, government spending on transportation has increased threefold. The state and local share of government spending has increased by 15% in that same period. In 1999, State and local governments covered 85% of transit spending, compared to 75% of highway spending.

Indeed the states of California and Maryland, recognizing the value of access to transit to low-income families have acted to give priority to projects near transit in allocating their share of Low Income Housing Tax Credits.

New Jersey now has 600,000 more registered vehicles than drivers.

New urban expressways cost up to $100 million per mile while rail and bike facilities cost on average $15 million and $.1 million, respectively.

Of the nation's top 50 metropolitan areas, all but two were planning a New Start project, adding to a existing system or have a new system under construction.

On average, a typical state/local government could realize a 4%-16% gain in revenues due to the increases in income and employment generated by investments in transit.

On-road vehicles are responsible for 44% of all CO2 emissions in the US, one-third of all NOx emissions and one-quarter of all VOC emissions.

Our nation’s poorest families spend more than 40 percent of their take home pay just to get around, an expenditure that that has risen 33 percent since 1992.

People ages 65 and older represent 7 percent of transit riders; 10 percent of riders are 18 years and younger; 52 percent are women; 45 percent are White; 31 percent are African-American; 18 percent are Hispanic and 6 percent are Asian and Native American.

Public transportation customers are diverse: People age 65 or older represent 7% of riders; 18 years and younger , 10%; women, 52%; White, 45%; African-American, 31%; Hispanic, 18%; and Asian and Native American, 6%.

Public transportation generates 95% less carbon monoxide, 92% less in volatile organic compounds, and about half as much carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide per passenger mile than passenger vehicles.

Public transportation is a $32 billion industry that employs more than 350,000 people.

Public transportation ridership has increased 22% in the last six years.

Public transportation saves more than 855 million gallons of gasoline, or 45 million barrels of oil a year - a level equivalent to the energy used to heat, cool, and operate one-fourth of all American homes annually.

Since 1980, three subway systems, sixteen light rail systems and 1240 bus systems have been added to U.S. communities.

The adjusted cost of congestion in the 75 areas studied by the Texas Transportation Institute has tripled in the past twenty years to $68 billion in 2000.

The American Economics Group determined that the Greater Richmond Transit Company annually produces about $43 million in direct and indirect economic activity and 700 jobs in the Richmond region.

The amount of fuel wasted in traffic annually in the 75 major urban areas studied in TTI's Urban Mobility Study would fill 114 supertankers.

The annual cost of driving a single-occupant vehicle is between $4,826 (for a small car) and $9,685 (for a large car), depending upon mileage. The annual average cost for public transportation for one adult ranges from $200 to $2,000, depending upon services used.

The average annual income of rail commuters is more than $50,000 and most own two cars.

The National Safety Council estimates that riding the bus is over 170 times safer than automobile travel.

The poorest quintile of American households spend 36% of their budgets on transportation, while the richest fifth spend only 14%.

The top ten metro areas where transportation takes the biggest bite out of household budgets are: Tampa, Phoenix, Dallas-Ft-Worth, San Diego, Cleveland, Houston, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis.

The value per square foot of commercial space near Metrorail stations in Northern Virginia has jumped more than 600 percent since the first station opened in 1977.

Three-quarters of Americans support the use of public funds for the expansion and improvement of public transportation.

While local agencies nationwide only have direct access to less than 10 per cent of total Title I funding, they account for more than 80 per cent of all funds flexed to transit.