Post by nickchu

A quick look at some of the things that make your city’s transit system work (or not)

Transit and Fuel Efficiency:

Train in Indian. Most likely the world's most fuel efficient transport mode on a per passenger mile basis.

Barrels of petroleum used per day by cars in US in 2008: 4,663,900

By bus transit: 45,200

By rail transit: 700

BTU (average energy use) per passenger mile for private automobiles: 3437 *

BTU per passenger mile for Bus Transit: 4348

BTU per passenger mile (weighted average) for Light Rail: 6436

Fuel economy of a Hybrid Bus in New York City: 4 miles per gallon

For a Prius: 48 miles per gallon

Weight of a bus: 40,000 lbs

Of a Prius: 3000lbs

Fuel economy  of a Diesel Bus in New York City: 2.75 miles per gallon

Percentage fuel savings in New York: 30%

Driving conditions: Stop-and-go city traffic

Percentage fuel savings forecasted by TTC hybrid buses: 20%

Actual: 10%

Driving conditions: Suburban streets

Anticipated fuel savings claimed by Hybrid Bus vendor in Seattle: 60%

Actual: 20%

Fuel economy of 1989 Breda buses: 3.8 miles per gallon

New hybrid buses: 3.75 miles per gallon

Driving environment: Hills and tunnels

CO2 emissions of clean diesel bus operating in downtown area: 2000 grams per mile

Hybrid buses: 1400 grams per mile

Streetcars: 0

Number of metric tons of carbon emissions reduced because of transit: 37 million

Percentage carbon emission reduction if 1 in 5 Americans took public transit: 20%

*As quoted from the US Department of Energy: “Great care should be taken when comparing modal energy intensity data among modes. Because of the inherent differences among the transportation modes in the nature of services, routes available, and many additional factors, it is not possible to obtain truly comparable national energy intensities among modes.”