The Economic Merit of Using Public Transportation

1. Faculty of Engineering
Civil Engineering
The Economic Merit of Using
Public Transportation
(Subways)
By: Mohammad W. Al Mohammad

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INTRODUCTION
Public transportation transforms communities and the lives of the people living in them by spurring
economic development, promoting sustainable lifestyles, and providing a higher quality of life.
Every segment of the society – individuals, families, communities, and businesses – benefits from
public transportation.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION CONSISTS OF A VARIETY OF MODES
 Buses
 Light rail
 Subways
 Commuter trains
 Streetcars and trolleys
 Cable cars
 Van pool services
 Paratransit services for senior citizens and people with disabilities
 Ferries and water taxis
 Monorails and tramways
SUBWAYS
Subway, also called underground, tube, or métro, It is a newly invented fast transportation
system, as it uses fast trains to transport a large group of passengers to remote areas, and many
countries seek to have a complete network covering their main cities in order to allow people to
move freely and quickly, and this helps the country to march quickly towards development and
prosperity, Especially the large countries need this fast system for transportation, as their
possession of the metro network, will make a quantum leap in the technological progress and the
country's economy, and the governments are aware of this matter and therefore provide a special
budget to develop the subway network or facilitate the way for private companies to work on
establishing a metro network For the city.
Often the subway network is underground, thus avoiding collisions that can occur with other
vehicles such as cars and trucks running on the streets. Thus, its speed will decrease, but when it

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is underground, there is nothing obstructing its passage, and this is one of the reasons that makes
it very fast in delivering citizens to the places they wish to go down.
SUBWAYS PROVIDE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES
 Every $1 invested in subways generates $4 in economic returns.
 Every $1 billion invested in subways supports and creates more than 50,000 jobs.
 Every $10 million in capital investment in subways yields $30 million in increased business
sales.
 Every $10 million in operating investment yields $32 million in increased business sales.
 71% of public funding for subways flows to the private sector, creating and supporting
hundreds of thousands of jobs.
 Home values in areas located near subway stations performed 42% better than other areas.
 Hotels in cities with direct subway access to airports raise 11% more revenue per room
than hotels in those cities without.
SUBWAY IS A SAFER WAY TO TRAVEL THAN BY AUTOMOBILE
 A person can reduce his or her chance of being in an accident by more than 90% simply by
taking subway as opposed to commuting by car.
 Traveling by subway is 10 times safer per mile than traveling by automobile.
SUBWAYS SAVE MONEY
 The average household spends 16 cents of every dollar on transportation, and 93% of this
goes to buying, maintaining, and operating cars, the largest expenditure after housing
 A household can save nearly $10,000 by taking subway and living with one less car.
SUBWAYS REDUCE GASOLINE CONSUMPTION
Subway’s overall effects save 50 gallons of gasoline per family annually.
SUBWAYS REDUCE CARBON FOOTPRINT
Communities that invest in subways reduce the nation’s carbon emissions by 37 million
metric tons annually.
SUBWAYS ENHANCE PERSONAL OPPORTUNITIES

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 Subways provides personal mobility and freedom for people from every walk of
life.
 A total of 87% of trips on subways have a direct impact on the local economy.
 Of all riders, 71% are employed and 7% are students.
 More than two-thirds of riders walk to their station.
CONCLUSION
Public transportation in general, and subways in particular, has a lot of economic, political,
historical, social. And environmental advantages. However, it has some important disadvantages
too. In many cities, the local public transit system is not efficient, so you can end up wasting a lot
of time and this is not something professionals or people with a tight schedule can afford to do.
Another major issue is that public transport is not always the answer for every needs. For example,
a part from the largest cities, in medium sized ones often there is no service during the night. Or
your needs could be different and you need your own private car, for example if you have to move
from your apartment and have to pack your things, or if you need to take care of an elderly person.
In conclusion, there are clearly both advantages and disadvantages in terms of public versus private
transportation. Even if the current legislation is trying to incentivize the use of public transit, I do
not think that in the near future we will get rid of our private cars.
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