The Importance of Having Public Transportation in Your Community

Public transportation benefits those who choose to ride, as well as those who have no other choice. Over 90 percent of individuals in our community who are public assistance recipients do not own a car and must rely on public transportation. Our transit system provides basic mobility service to these individuals and to all others without access to a car. Public transit will also allow these individuals opportunities that they may not have had otherwise. It improves access to education, employment and everything a person needs to be independent. 

Public transit brings communities together by promoting positive interactions between neighbors. It creates the opportunity for the entire community to be one-both people with disabilities and not. The transit system gives access to the entire community.  Transit system also improves our air quality, there is less land consumption than an auto-dependent transportation system, lower energy requirements, and lower accident costs.  Our transit system provides a community with a way to move potentially large numbers of people while consuming fewer resources.  Some single buses, if full, can carry an estimated 50 passengers and a car normally operates with 2 to 4 occupants. 

Buses require less street space, equivalent to 2 or 3 vehicles, and when the bus is full it requires much less energy to move each person. A successful transit system also reduces the need for downtown parking making land available for more productive uses. In addition, communities that have high public transit movement are proven to have better overall security and reduced crime rates. 

The transit system is basically designed to make life easier. From improved community health to affordability. Public transit creates the foundation on which cities become more livable and prosperous in a variety of ways. Let’s support our city by using our local transit system The M.