Stranded at the Station:The Impact of the Financial Crisis in Public Transportation
August, 2009
Introduction:
Demand for public transportation is at a historic high for the united states. In 2008, Americans took 10.7 billion trips on public transportation, the highest since 1956—the year the Interstate highway system was approved.
since 1995, transit ridership has been growing at nearly triple the rate of the population and almost twice as fast as the number of miles driven. In 2008, transit ridership rose four percent, while the total number of miles driven fell by 3.6 percent.