Evaluating Public Transportation Health Benefits
This report investigates ways that public transportation affects human health, and ways to incorporate these impacts into transport policy and planning decisions. This research indicates that public transit improvements and more transit oriented development can provide large but often overlooked health benefits. People who live or work in communities with high quality public transportation tend to drive significantly less and rely more on alternative modes (walking, cycling and public transit) than they would in more automobile-oriented areas. This reduces traffic crashes and pollution emissions, increases physical fitness and mental health, and provides access to medical care and healthy food. These impacts are significant in magnitude compared with other planning objectives, but are often overlooked or undervalued in conventional transport planning. Various methods can be used to quantify and monetize (measure in monetary units) these health impacts. This analysis indicates that improving public transit can be one of the most cost effective ways to achieve public health objectives, and public health improvements are among the largest benefits provided by high quality public transit and transit-oriented development.
- Record URL:
- Record URL:
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Supplemental Notes:
- This report is updated periodically while the text remains available at the URL indicated above. The actual date of publication, pagination, and other features may differ from that indicated in this record.
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Corporate Authors:
Victoria Transport Policy Institute
1250 Rudlin Street
Victoria, British Columbia Canada V8V 3R7American Public Transportation Association
1666 K Street, NW, Suite 1100
Washington, DC United States 20006 -
Authors:
- Litman, Todd
- Publication Date: 2015-2-27
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Web
- Features: Figures; References; Tables;
- Pagination: 33p
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Benefits; Bicycling; Health; Improvements; Physical fitness; Public transit; Quality of life; Transit oriented development; Walking
- Subject Areas: Public Transportation; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01165294
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS, ATRI
- Created Date: Aug 19 2010 11:16AM