Figure 3. Unlinked public transit trips by urbanized area in 2013, National Transit Database.
New York’s public transportation system considerably impacts the geography of the City. Due to the people-driven nature of mass transit use, areas with developed transportation systems often facilitate more compact infrastructural projects to conserve and maximize space. Public transportation directly drives this high-density land development, and effectively reduces the distance people need to travel to reach their destinations. More compacted development also leaves land for parks, community gardens, and other green spaces, which mitigates many of the City’s exacerbated environmental impacts, such as the heat island effect or storm-water runoff. …show more content…
No other city has a comparable rate of public transit use, as the geography, regulatory history, and environmental innovation of New York have created a unique culture of energy conservation and efficiency. As indicated in the figure below, New York has the highest rate of public transportation use of any American city, with fifty four percent of workers commuting by this means in 2006 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006.) New York City possesses the longest mean travel time for commuters as well, indicating a local cultural willingness to be environmentally conscious rather than merely efficient. The rate of public transit conversion for the average New Yorker is increasing faster than the rate at which the City’s population is growing, for from 1995 to 2005, ridership on city subways grew by thirty six percent, whereas the population only grew by seven (Lueck, 2006.) Five million people ride the New York rail network every weekday, and the system has become a major venue for entertainment, activism, and commerce as well. The City’s politicians frequently campaign at subway stations, and more than one hundred musicians and ensembles give performances sanctioned by New York City Transit each week. New York’s subways have become crucial centers of both transportation and culture, as …show more content…
New York Transit was one of the first public agencies to launch an alternative-fuels program, which transformed the City bus fleet’s fuel consumption into the most efficient in America. Improvements in low-sulfur and biodiesel fuels reduced greenhouse gas emissions long before federal mandates dictated in New York, and retrofitted diesel particulate filters have been installed on more than three thousand city buses to date (MTA, 2017.) The City’s transit associations are personally investing billions in these radical transportation changes, and receive significant funding for specific projects from the Federal Transit Authority and the New York State government as well. From 2005 on, the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, run by the Federal Transit and Highway Administrations, has supported nearly sixteen thousand transportation projects targeted to reduce congestion and improve air quality across the country (FTA, 2017.) In addition to adopting cleaner fuel sources, New York Transit has changed the design and structure of its bus fleet as well. Innovations in bus paint have been adopted by the City, as its new fleet of buses are coated in a Volatile Organic Compound absorptive paint, which reduces the pollutants used in spray painting by ninety five percent. Numerous bus depots
New York’s public transportation system considerably impacts the geography of the City. Due to the people-driven nature of mass transit use, areas with developed transportation systems often facilitate more compact infrastructural projects to conserve and maximize space. Public transportation directly drives this high-density land development, and effectively reduces the distance people need to travel to reach their destinations. More compacted development also leaves land for parks, community gardens, and other green spaces, which mitigates many of the City’s exacerbated environmental impacts, such as the heat island effect or storm-water runoff. …show more content…
No other city has a comparable rate of public transit use, as the geography, regulatory history, and environmental innovation of New York have created a unique culture of energy conservation and efficiency. As indicated in the figure below, New York has the highest rate of public transportation use of any American city, with fifty four percent of workers commuting by this means in 2006 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006.) New York City possesses the longest mean travel time for commuters as well, indicating a local cultural willingness to be environmentally conscious rather than merely efficient. The rate of public transit conversion for the average New Yorker is increasing faster than the rate at which the City’s population is growing, for from 1995 to 2005, ridership on city subways grew by thirty six percent, whereas the population only grew by seven (Lueck, 2006.) Five million people ride the New York rail network every weekday, and the system has become a major venue for entertainment, activism, and commerce as well. The City’s politicians frequently campaign at subway stations, and more than one hundred musicians and ensembles give performances sanctioned by New York City Transit each week. New York’s subways have become crucial centers of both transportation and culture, as …show more content…
New York Transit was one of the first public agencies to launch an alternative-fuels program, which transformed the City bus fleet’s fuel consumption into the most efficient in America. Improvements in low-sulfur and biodiesel fuels reduced greenhouse gas emissions long before federal mandates dictated in New York, and retrofitted diesel particulate filters have been installed on more than three thousand city buses to date (MTA, 2017.) The City’s transit associations are personally investing billions in these radical transportation changes, and receive significant funding for specific projects from the Federal Transit Authority and the New York State government as well. From 2005 on, the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, run by the Federal Transit and Highway Administrations, has supported nearly sixteen thousand transportation projects targeted to reduce congestion and improve air quality across the country (FTA, 2017.) In addition to adopting cleaner fuel sources, New York Transit has changed the design and structure of its bus fleet as well. Innovations in bus paint have been adopted by the City, as its new fleet of buses are coated in a Volatile Organic Compound absorptive paint, which reduces the pollutants used in spray painting by ninety five percent. Numerous bus depots