Transit With Benefits

Can riding SEPTA help improve the wellness of yourself and others? Sure can! The advantages of public transportation are endless, benefiting those who ride and those who reside in the areas served.

So, how exactly does public transit improve your health? Studies show that public transportation users are generally more active, safer, spend less on transportation, and help better the environment and economy. These factors improve the well-being of riders and those who surround them.

Taking public transportation has many health advantages, whether its improving your fitness, making you safer, saving you money, helping the environment, or improving your city. So, consider riding SEPTA instead of driving and experience the benefits for yourself!

For Your Safety

Transit travel tends to have a lower fatality rate per passenger-mile than automobile travel under the same conditions.

Public transit has only about 1/20 the passenger fatality rate as automobile travel.

People who live or work in transit oriented communities drive fewer annual miles, drive at lower speeds, and have better travel options that allow them to avoid high risk driving, such as after drinking alcohol or when ill.

Total per capita traffic fatalities (including transit and automobile occupants, and pedestrians) decline significantly as transit ridership increases in a community.

For Your Wallet

Using public transportation is the easiest way to avoid high gas prices and parking costs.

A two-person household can save, on the average, more than $9,394 a year by downsizing to one car.

And don't forget the Perks!

For the Economy

Every $1 invested in public transportation generates approximately $4 in economic returns.

Every $1 billion invested in public transportation supports and creates more than 50,000 jobs.

For the Environment

Public transportation use in the United States reduces our nation’s carbon emissions by 37 million metric tons annually. This is equivalent to Washington, DC; New York City; Atlanta; Denver; and Los Angeles combined stopping using electricity.

A single commuter switching his or her commute to public transportation can reduce a household’s carbon emissions by 10 percent and up to 30 percent if he or she eliminates a second car.

One person with a 20-mile round trip commute who switches from driving to public transit can reduce his or her daily carbon emissions by 20 pounds, or more than 4,800 pounds in a year.

For Your City

Riding SEPTA helps to improve Philadelphia and the people in it. Whether you commute from the suburbs or live within city limits, taking SEPTA takes cars off the road and makes Philly a less congested, less polluted, and overall more pleasant place. Check out some of these facts about how ditching your car for SEPTA helps our city:

One car on the Broad Street Line holds 65 people. That's 41 fewer cars on the road.

One car on the Market-Frankford Line has seating for 49 people. That's 31 fewer cars on the road.

One 60' Hybrid Articulated SEPTA Bus seats 59 passengers. Taking 37 cars off the road.

One 40' Hybrid SEPTA Bus seats 39 passengers. Taking 24 cars off the road.

One SEPTA Trolley car seats 51 passengers. Taking 32 cars off the road.

If all transit commuters to Center City drove instead of riding SEPTA, we would need 28 Comcast Centers worth of parking (923 acres).

For Your Waistline

Public transportation users take 30% more steps per day than people who rely on cars.

Public transportation users get over three times the amount of physical activity per day of those who don’t.

Individuals who use public transportation get an average of 19 minutes of physical activity per day.

Train commuters are 4 times more likely to achieve 10,000 daily steps than car commuters.

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