Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Benefits of the NYC Free Transit Proposal

  • Universal free transit with less crowding than today.
  • 25 percent less traffic within the Manhattan business district, and 9 percent less citywide.
  • More travel, not less, as growth in transit trips more than offsets the drop in auto trips.
  • Huge gains in recovered productivity from saving over 100 million “vehicle hours” a year that are now wasted in traffic.
  • A revenue infusion of almost half a billion dollars a year for the city’s transit system.
  • Vast new public space in the heart of the city.
  • Impressive environmental and health benefits stemming from decreased driving and increased walking and bicycling.

-- Charles Komanoff - plan team leader - from Downtown Express