Analysis of Public Transportation Health Impacts and Benefits

Public transportation provides a variety of health benefits to its passengers and to other residents and visitors in the communities it serves. Several key benefits include: (1) Increased physical activity and better emotional well-being.  (2) Improved air quality and reduced noise.  (3) More affordable, better mobility, and greater independence.  Public transportation agencies and their partners throughout the United States need better framing and more effective communication tools regarding the health benefits of public transportation. Better information will help residents make healthier travel choices and will also help communities in urban, suburban, and rural areas plan and invest in travel options to improve their health and well-being.   The objective of this research is to develop an evidence-informed resource for public transportation agencies and their partners that focuses on the health benefits of public transportation. The resource, while acknowledging the possible adverse health effects of public transportation should (1) present best available research on the health benefits of public transportation in urban, suburban, and rural areas; (2) address equity considerations and barriers regarding the health benefits of public transportation for all communities and for current and potential transit riders; (3) identify improvements that public transportation agencies and their partners can implement to further increase health benefits and mitigate the adverse health effects of public transportation; (4) identify data, methods, and potential metrics that can be used to measure and track the health benefits of public transportation; and (5) provide actionable communication tools for use by public transportation agencies and their partners.

• Record URL:
  http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5260
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $124998
• Contract Numbers:

  Project J-11, Task 43

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Transit Cooperative Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC    20001

  Federal Transit Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Schwager, Dianne

• Performing Organizations:

  Steer Davies Gleave

  Washington, District of Columbia  United States 
• Principal Investigators:

  Bridges, Kate

• Start Date: 20221102
• Expected Completion Date: 20241201
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Environmental impacts; Health; Health care; Physical fitness; Public transit; Social impacts
• Subject Areas: Environment; Public Transportation; Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01789442
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project J-11, Task 43
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Nov 25 2021 1:17PM