Study: Mass Transit saves Marylanders $346M in gas

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Johanna Neumann, of the Maryland Public Interest Research Group, speaks outside of Penn Station in Baltimore on Thursday. – Chris Ammann/Examiner

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Mass transit provides a big benefit to the environment and keeps millions of dollars in the pockets of its users, according to a new study released Thursday by the Maryland Public Interest Research Group.

Transit options save Marylanders $346.3 million each year at the pump, save 132.3 million gallons of oil, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 960,400 metric tons, according to the report. The state ranks sixth in the nation in the amount consumers save on gas through mass transit.

“These data illustrate the concrete reasons why rail and other forms of public transportation should be a greater focus,” Johanna Neumann, state director for the Maryland Public Interest Research Group, said at a news conference at Penn Station in Baltimore. “But the larger issue is that America’s transportation is not leading us toward the future because it has lacked a real purpose for decades.”

The Maryland Transit Administration ranked 14th among the top 50 transit agencies for oil savings, sparing 35.7 million gallons of oil annually and saving consumers $93.4 million each year. Baltimore ranked 10th among the top 25 metropolitan areas for oil savings.

In releasing the report, Neumann and other local transit advocates urged state and federal lawmakers to increase funding for new mass transit options such as Baltimore’s planned Red Line.

Doing so, they said, would stop the building of far-flung communities requiring gas-guzzling commutes and boost smart-growth and mixed-use projects.

“We’re not building those types of communities fast enough to meet demand,” said Douglas Stewart, director of public transportation advocate group 1000 Friends of Maryland. “Poorly planned, scattered developments are a major reason we don’t have better transit options.”

But Neumann said federal funding is parsed out based on the state’s previous-year gas consumption the amount of roadways in the state, and miles traveled on those roads — all car-based measurements dating to the 1950s expansion of the nation’s highway system.

“We once had a vision of our nation for highways,” said Otis Rolley III, president and chief executive officer of the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance. “We believe it is time to have a vision again.”

acahall@baltimoreexaminer.com

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