Facts and Figures

Traffic Impact

• From 1980 to 2000, the number of vehicles increased almost twice as fast as the population growth (DOE, Transportation Energy Data Book).
  
  
• In the United States, three-quarters of all trips made to and from work are in single-passenger vehicles.
  
  
• From 1982 to 2002, the U.S. population has grown 22 percent, but the average amount of time commuters have been delayed by traffic congestion has increased from 16 hours to 62 hours per year (Texas Transportation Institute).
  
  
• A typical household spends 18 percent of its income in driving costs—more than it spends on food (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
  
  
• In 2002 alone, 5.7 billion gallons of fuel were wasted in traffic congestion, over 500 times the amount of oil spilled by the Exxon Valdez (Sources: Texas Transportation Institute, State of Alaska).
  
  
• A typical worker who switches from driving alone to using commuter benefits for mass transit can save more than $1,000 a year in transportation costs, such as gas and wear and tear, and can avoid driving 5,000 miles a year.

Commuter Benefits Mean Savings for Employers

• By offering commuter benefits, a company can save money through reductions in taxes, turnover, parking costs and training for new employees. Calculate your company's savings.

Commuter Benefits Improve Employee Quality of Life

• Eight of 10 U.S. workers believe commuter benefits are valuable to employees (Xylo Survey, 2001).

Commuter Benefits Improve Traffic Flow and the Environment

• On average, an employer with 1,000 employees that qualifies for Best Workplaces for Commuters^SM can take credit for reducing travel by over 1 million miles per year, saving over 50,000 gallons of gasoline per year, and cutting global warming emissions by more than 460 metric tons per year.
  
  
• The American Lung Association reports that even low levels of ground-level ozone, which is produced by automotive tailpipe emissions and is a component of smog, adversely affect nearly one-third of our population.
  
  
• If at least a quarter of all U.S. employees worked for employers offering commuter benefits at the National Standard of Excellence level as encouraged by the Best Workplaces for Commuters^SM program, up to 22 million metric tons of CO₂ (6 million tons of carbon equivalent) from cars would be eliminated annually.

Sources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Commuter Model, Texas Transportation Institute, American Lung Association, Xylo Inc., and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.