Mass+Transit

==== According to dictionary.reference.com, **mass transit** is a system of large-scale public transportation in a given metropolitan area, typically comprising buses, subways, and elevated trains. Other types of mass transit include boats, ships, ferries, streetcars, taxis, and airplanes. Mass transit has become an increasingly popular way to travel within the last two decades because it is affordable and convenient. The amount of people in the United States who use some form of mass transit daily has almost doubled since the 1990s. Mass transit creates a link between work, home, and play for many Americans. By connecting urban areas to suburban areas, mass transit is an option for almost any transportation need today. Whether one needs to be taken from work to the airport or be taken from their home in a rural area to a city, mass transit has made itself available to people who live all over the United States, not just to those who live in major cities. ==== ==== Mass transit is "the way to go" for multiple reasons. First, it provides access and mobility to a variety of places, and in a variety of forms. Whether one needs a bus to take them to the train, or a train to take them to the city, mass transit provides a way for people all over the United States to get to where they need to go. Mass transit systems are also safe, reliable, and affordable. Whether one is taking a bus, ferry, or train, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has made great improvements in keeping the systems clean, safe, and efficient. ==== ==== There are cities all over the United States that have instilled mass transit systems that are clean, affordable, and efficient in order to attract as many people to use them as possible. Two examples of cities that have efficient mass transit systems are **Chicago and New York.** The factors that make these transit systems so effective are that they operate 24 hours every day, they allow families to "survive" without a car, they are affordable, they get to the destination quickly and promptly, and they take people from the city to surrounding suburbs and from the surrounding suburbs to the city. ==== ==== Not only is mass transit a quick and proficient way of transporting people where they need to go, it is also an environmentally-friendly option that is greatly reducing the emission of harmful pollutants that enters the air via automobiles and trucks. ====

==== There are cities all over the world that have made it their goal and vision for the future to make the environment a healthier place. Those cities include: Portland, Oregon, Salt Lake City, Utah, Dallas, Texas, Chicago, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In **Portland, Oregon**, the three most common forms of transportation are mass transit, bicycling, and walking. The city has established a 33-mile rail system that connects the downtown to multiple surrounding suburbs. This has had a direct reduction on air pollution in Portland for over 10 years. As one will notice, automobiles are not in the top three. There are more people in this city who do not own a car because they travel by mass transit everyday. ==== ==== In **Salt Lake City, Utah**, the city established a TRAX system that has helped the downtown area prosper. Salt Lake City is a great example of a city where the benefits of mass transit are felt by not only the travelers of the systems, but the businesses in the downtown area as well. With increased access to the city, empty buildings are now filled with booming businesses. The TRAX system in Salt Lake City has been the main source for reducing hazardous air pollution and minimizing traffic congestion. ==== ==== **Dallas, Texas** has a mass transit system referred to as DART, Dallas Area Rapid Transit. Recently, a program was implemented to increase the current railroad system, which is 20 miles long. Along with the DART system, there are 1,500 bus routes that have encouraged riders to use them by promoting cheap prices ($49 for one year pass). Along with cheap prices, the bus attracts riders by running 24/7. While the air pollution in Dallas is still a problem, the creation of DART has proved that with an increase in people choosing mass transit as an option, the air pollution in Dallas will continue to be reduced with less automobile traffic entering and leaving the city each day. ==== ==== **Chicago, Illinois** is a city that has chosen to reduce traffic in the city and improve the overall health of the atmosphere by utilizing smart land opportunities and transportation forms. Mass transit in Chicago has aimed to improve the areas around 14 developing neighborhoods in the city. By connecting the developed part of the city to undeveloped areas in surrounding neighborhoods, Chicago has set out to rejuvinate its poorer neighborhoods via mass transit. ==== ==== **Milwaukee, Wisconsin** has aimed to reduce the construction of new highways by reusing the land for the surrounding communities. Instead of putting a new highway system in, the city has focused on improving the area by renovating homes and shops. A focus on improving the aesthetics of the area instead of implementing a new highway system will greatly help to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases emitted by automobiles. ==== ==== The Federal Transit Administration has taken it upon themselves to create a mass transit system that functions all over the United States that is appealing and convenient to people with all different needs. Now, it is up to those people to make it their goal to use mass transit whenever possible. The advantages of using mass transit far outweigh the disadvantages. If people continue using mass transit for transportation, the harmful greenhouse gas emissions will begin to reduce, which is one step in leading to a healthy environment in the future. ====

** The bullet points below depict some of the benefits of public transportation: **
====**Benefits of Public Transportation Spending ** ==== ====Clean transportation choices and quality public transit offer many benefits beyond cleaner air to a community. Some of the benefits of public transportation spending include: ====

(This list was taken from:[])
==== This picture below shows that just by increasing the use of mass transit by a small margin, a region's emission of carbon can be greatly reduced. It only takes a small change to produce large affects. ====

==== The picture below shows the train systems in the cities of New York, Chicago, Washington, San Francisco, and Massachusetts. The top number on each "track" shows how many people take the train each day in those cities. The second number shows the average miles per trip. The third number from the top is the average speed. The bottom number is the largest percent of how many trains operate at one time. ====



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5. mass transit. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved November 11, 2010, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mass transit