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For those of you who are still unable to astral project or don’t have access to that transporter you see in Star Trek, you have to get around somehow. Welcome to ILG’s comprehensive-as-possible guide to eco-transportation. Send additional suggestions for alternative modes of travel to us at jpoyser@indianalivinggreen.com. Happy travels!
Indiana is 36,418 square miles, including over 95,000 total miles of road, 1,100 miles of interstate highways, placing us sixth in the nation for total road density and ninth for interstate highway density. (Source: INDOT Major Moves)
Metric Tons of CO2 from transportation per capita:
• U.S. average 6.9 tons
• Indiana average 8.6 tons
(Source: http://t4america.org/statefacts/indiana/)
One person switching to public transit can reduce daily carbon emissions by 20 pounds, or more than 4,800 pounds in a year.
Public transit means less driving and decreased air pollution. Substandard air quality means possible restrictions on economic growth and puts federal transportation funding at risk. About 60 percent of central Indiana’s ozone pollution comes from motor vehicles. (Source: Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization)
Over 5 percent of the metro Indianapolis area households do not have an automobile. (Source: Brookings Institution)
Transportation is the second largest household expense — after housing — for Midwest U.S. residents who spend over 16 cents of every dollar on
transportation. (Source: Consumer Expenditure Survey, US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
FY 2012 Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) expenditures:
• 97 percent of Indiana transportation funds spent on roads
• 3 percent spent on public transit, rail, intermodal operating
• $20,000 for passenger rail and high speed rail (State of Illinois
spends 1,400 times this amount — $28 million)
(Source: Hoosier Environmental Council)
An economic study done for the Midwest Regional Rail System found that investment in high speed passenger rail in Indiana would create over
4,500 new jobs, and provide $86 million in extra household income. Total user benefits for Indiana are estimated to be $2.3 billion to $3.5 billion. (Source: INDOT)
Transit saves money — a two-person household can save as much as $10,000 a year by using transit. (Source: American Public Transportation Association)
Current U.S. public transit usage reduces gasoline consumption by 4.2 billion gallons a year. (Source: American Public Transportation Association)
Forty-two percent of U.S. oil imports come from OPEC countries, many of whom are unfriendly to the U.S. (Source: U.S. Department of Energy)
