Raising fares is the worst way to fund #publictransit - Todd Litman

Eric Jaffe - The Atlantic Cities: "The lowest-scoring option was raising fares. The revenue potential of a fare hike is fairly strong, with a 10 percent jump creating 5 to 8 percent more revenue in the short term. But fare hikes are regressive, hurting low-income riders more than wealthy ones, and may discourage use. And, as every city official knows, the public hates them."

#Freetransit saves lives and money

The federal requirement concerning medical transportation assurance is based upon recognition from past experience in Medicaid that unless needy individuals can actually get to and from providers of services, the entire goal of a state Medicaid program is compromised. Healthcare costs would escalate rapidly with low-income individuals ending up in high cost emergency rooms via ambulance services at 15 times the cost of routine transportation.

On average, NEMT is utilized by only 10 percent of the total Medicaid population and represents approximately 1 percent of total Medicaid expenditures.1 That said, measuring the benefits of providing access to transportation is far more difficult than measuring its costs. Nonetheless, studies have consistently shown that treatment programs that include transportation to increase attendance at appointments reported positive results, including fewer missed appointments, reduced length of stay, and fewer emergency room visits.2 A study conducted by Florida State University concluded that if only one percent of the medical trips funded resulted in the avoidance of an emergency room hospital visit, the payback to the State would be 1108%, or about $11.08 for each dollar the State invested in its medical transportation program.3

Changing Your Commute Can Drastically Cut Your Costs | Transportation Economics | LiveScience

Changing Your Commute Can Drastically Cut Your Costs | Transportation Economics | LiveScience: "people who use alternative transportation — car pooling or public transit — or who work from home could save, on average, up to $1,800 annually compared to those who drive regularly. "

Want an economically secure home? Find one near #publictransit

Across the study regions, the transit shed outperformed the region as a  whole by 41.6 percent. In all of the regions the drop in average residential sales  prices within the transit shed was smaller than in the region as a whole or the non-transit area.
http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/NewRealEstateMantra.pdf

American Public Transportation Association CO2 Brochure full of info

If you use a car, you are actually spending more to hurt the environment. To read more: click here: http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/greenhouse_brochure.pdf

Affordability As A Transportation Planning Objective | Planetizen

Affordability As A Transportation Planning Objective | Planetizen: "The 2009 National Household Travel Survey asked respondents to rate the importance of six transport problems: traffic safety, congestion, price of travel, availability of public transit, and lack of walkways or sidewalks. Virtually every demographic group rated affordability (“price of travel”) most important, as indicated in the graphs below."

Starving the cities to feed the suburbs | Grist

Starving the cities to feed the suburbs | Grist: "These public dollars, the report argues, collectively create an incentive for suburban sprawl and redistribute income from the poor to the rich.