Transit Benefits

Public transportation yields a better quality of life for the communities that embrace it. There is often the misconception that public transportation only benefits the elderly, poor and those with special needs, but transit is an essential part of the solution to the nation’s economic, energy and environmental challenges.

Transit Powers Header

MoneyEconomic competitiveness

  • Investing in transit creates a more desirable city for individuals and business owners
  • Transit supports a city’s tourism industry by offering visitors a safe, cost-effective travel option to many local attractions. In general, communities that invest in public transportation attract more visitors and shoppers, public events, commercial businesses and employers.
  • Every $1 billion invested in public transportation capital and operations creates and supports an average of 36,000 jobs.
  • These 36,000 jobs result in roughly $3.6 billion in business sales and generate nearly $500 million in federal, state, and local tax revenues.

    • ServerAccess to jobs, education, healthcare

    • IndyGo provides between 8 and 9 million rides per year to schools and universities, hospitals and employment centers.
    • Public transportation is a $55 billion industry that employs more than 400,000 people.

    HouseUrban redevelopment

    • Transit spurs urban renewal. Mixed-use, walkable development happens on or near transit lines.
    • Focusing development in existing urban areas uses land more efficiently, reduces the need for costly new public facilities and prevents unnecessary conversion of farmland and natural areas to urban use.

    WheelchairMobility independence

    • For individuals with disabilities, a robust transit system is a lifeline to independence and opportunity.

    LeafSustainable living and technology

    • The average household in which at least one member uses public transportation on a given day drives 16 fewer miles per day compared to a household that does not use public transportation.
    • Expanded public transit strategies coordinated with combining travel activity, land use development, and operational efficiencies can reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) by 24 percent. The annual savings in vehicle costs to consumers will exceed the cost of enacting these strategies by as much as $112 billion.
    • If an individual switches a 20-mile round-trip commute to public transportation, his or her annual CO2 emissions will decrease by 4,800 pounds per year, equal to a 10 percent reduction in a two-car household's carbon footprint
    • Indiana is becoming a leader in attracting the hybrid electric battery business. Investing in more green transportation options like hybrid buses will create new demand for alternative-fuel vehicles and components

    To learn about the plans for increased transit funding in central Indiana, visit Indy Connect and the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership.

    You can also learn more about transit planning and IndyGo's blueprint for growth.

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