Transit Information 

Of course, all Athens Transit employees know that transit is important, but these factoids developed by the Center for Transportation Excellence show how what we do has important impacts far beyond just driving a route. 

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Every dollar that U.S. taxpayers invest in public transportation generates $6 or more in economic returns.
• 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.
• 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 the amount of all emissions from the entire chemical manufacturing industry and all metal processing plants in the U.S.
• In the last five years, transit use has increased faster than any other mode of transportation.
• In 2000, there were 41,945 traffic 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 1 million new trips each day.
• 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 serves as operators or conductors.
• 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.
• The annual cost of driving a single-occupant vehicle is between $4,826 (for a small car) to $9,685 (for a large car). The annual average cost for public transportation for one adult ranges from $200 to $2,000, depending on services used.
• The National Safety Council estimates that riding the bus is over 170 times safer than automobile travel.
• Three-quarters of Americans support the use of public funds for the expansion and improvement of public transportation.

FY08-FY14 Funding History - Performance Measures (Excel Spreadsheet)

Transit Department Update and System Review - ACC Mayor and Commission (.pdf).