Transit-Accessible Venues Have a Big
Advantage
Public transit can actually be less expensive
and more convenient than private transportation. When opportunity costs are
taken into consideration, one of the most important variables is the amount of
time required on public transit versus private transportation. Favorable transit
design and heavy traffic congestion can make transit the better economic choice
and can make venues located near transit systems more attractive.
Figure 1 Public vs.
Private Transportation Cost Depends on Relative Travel Time (Global Climate
Change Coalition)
Location Offers Undeveloped Economic,
Social, and Environmental Benefits
"Location, location, location" has long been a
real estate mantra, and transportation—from rivers to sea ports to roads to
railroads to airports—have been key to development. As we become increasingly
concerned about our continued reliance on fossil fuels, location will become
even more important than ever before to our overall well being. We need to
reduce our fossil fuel use for a number of reasons:
- because
fossil fuels are a finite resource;
- because
payment for imported oil subsidizes many hostile regimes and makes us vulnerable
to external events;
- because
continued spending on fossil fuels detracts from our ability to migrate to a new
sustainable economy;
- because of
the detrimental environmental impact of our continued use of fossil
fuels.
Transit Accessibility Index™
(TAI)
The Transit Accessibility Index is a measure of
the accessibility of a particular location to public transit. While nothing
beats being situated on top of a public transit station, other factors come into
play that make some locations more accessible than others. The Transit
Accessibility Index helps evaluate and compare different
locations.