Quality of Life

Introduction
Public transport (or public transportation, public transit or mass transit) comprises passenger transportation services which are available for use by the general public, as opposed to modes for private use such as automobiles or vehicles for hire. Some services are free though most charge some sort of fare.
Public transportation can consist of buses, subways, trolleys and light rail, commuter trains, van pool services, paratransit services for senior citizens and people with disabilities, ferries, water taxis, or monorails.

Public transport is provided by a company or authority that operate a fleet of vehicles. They may or may not be regulated or subsidized by authorities. The infrastructure used may be exclusive, or shared with private vehicles. Higher public transport ridership is generally seen in urban areas, and less in North America and Australia. The environmental impact of public transport is lower than private due to less use of land area and energy, at the same time reducing sprawl. Public transportation systems are also significantly safer than private road systems
Public transport has a very important role in any society in the world. It is an organised passenger service for the general public who do not own their own vehicle or who perhaps prefer to avoid driving or is not accessible to other private transport means.

With increasing public dissatisfaction on public transport performance especially the bus services, the transport planners need to come out with proper strategic planning to improve for public transport. In order to come out with good action plans a prior analysis concerning mode choice needs to be made. Such analysis will indicate the proportion share for each transport modes.

Problems
The fact is, nothing has changed. When urban centers are designed, they are designed not in order to provide people with the best quality of life, but to fill the pockets of the developers, speculators and investors who control the purse strings and the politicians in Congress and state and local government. Mass transit, which is sorely under funded, is also designed this way. Routes and stops are designed primarily to suite the business community, not the workers who use the system.
Inclusive public transport system- is a system for all-any facilities accessible for the People with Disabilities (PWD) is accessible to all. Public transport such as busses and coaches with low floor, handrail, hydraulic ramp, safety features- wheelchairs clamp, safety belt and wide door are useful for all. Proper signage, audio, and video are important features for the PWD. Accessible waiting point (station/stop) with information related to route and time are very helpful. Service provider shoulder have some background of those special users – e.g. Airasia invited the disabled group to train their staff in disabilities issues- Are others service provider willing to follow Airasia footstep?

The Efficiency of Public Transportation: Increase The Quality of Life
Public Transportation Reduces Gasoline Consumption:
1. Each year, public transportation use in the U.S. saves 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline. This represents almost 4 million gallons of gasoline per day.
2. The “leverage effect” of public transportation, supporting transportation efficient land use patterns, saves 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline – more than three times the amount of gasoline refined from the oil we import from Kuwait.
3. Each year, public transportation use saves the equivalent of 34 supertankers of oil, or a supertanker leaving the Middle East every 11 days.
4. Each year, public transportation use save the equivalent of 140,769 service station tanker truck trips clogging our streets each year.
5. Public transportation use saves the equivalent of 300,000 fewer automobile fill-ups every day.
6. The typical public transit rider consumes on average one half of the oil consumed by an automobile rider.
Public Transportation Reduces Greenhouse Gases and Conserves Energy:
1. The “leverage effect” of public transportation reduces the nation’s carbon emissions by 37 million metric tons annually – equivalent to the electricity used by 4.9 million households. To achieve similar reduction in carbon emissions, every household in New York City, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Denver and Los Angeles combined would have to completely stop using electricity.
2. People living in households within one-quarter mile of rail and one-tenth of a mile from a bus stop drive approximately 4,400 fewer miles annually as compared to persons in similar households with no access to public transit. This equates to an individual household reduction of 223 gallons of gasoline a year.
Public Transportation Enhances Personal Opportunities:
1. Public transportation provides personal mobility and freedom for people form every walk of life.
2. Public transportation provides access to job opportunities for million of Americans as well as a transportation option to get to work, go to school, visit friends, or go to a doctor’s office.
Public Transportation Saves Money
1. The average household spends 18 cents on transportation, and 94 percent of this goes to buying, maintaining and operating cars.
2. Public transportation provides an affordable, and for many, necessary alternative to driving.
3. Americans living in areas served by public transportation save $18 billion annually in congestion costs.
4. Transit availability can reduce the need for an additional car, a yearly expense of $6,251 in a household budget.
Public Transportation Provides Economic Opportunity:
1. Every $1 invested in public transportation projects generates approximately $6 in local economic activity.
2. Every $10 million in capital investment in public transportation yields $30 million in increased business sales.
3. Every $10 million in operating investment in public transportation yields $32 million in increased business sales.
4. Real estate -- residential, commercial or business -- that is served by public transportation is valued more highly by the public than similar properties not as well served by transit.
5. Public transportation enhances local rural economic growth in many ways, increasing the local customer base for a range of services -- shopping malls, restaurants, medical facilities and other transportation services.
Public Transportation Eases Traffic Congestion:
1. According to the most recent Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) report on congestion in 2005, public transportation saved travelers 541 million hours in travel time and 340 million gallons of fuel.
2. Without public transportation, congestion costs would have been an additional $10.2 billion.
3. If public transit systems had never existed in American cities and their effects on our urban landscapes were completely erased, American households would drive 102.2 billion more miles per year.
Public Transportation Offers Increased Mobility Options:
1. Largely because of limited transportation options, more than 50 percent of all non-drivers age 65 and older – or 3.6 million Americans – stay at home on any given day partially because they lack transportation options.
2. Compared with older drivers, older non-drivers in the US make 15 percent fewer trips to the doctor, 59 percent fewer shopping trips and visits to restaurants, and 65 percent fewer trips for social, family and religious activities.
3. By 2025, an estimated 20 percent of the population -- one in five persons -- will be over age 65. Providing mobility options is critical for older Americans and for those who care for them.
4. According to a national survey of individuals age 65 or older, conducted by Harris Interactive in November 2005, more than four in five seniors believe public transportation is a better alternative to driving alone, especially at night.
5. 83 percent of older Americans agree that public transit provides easy access to the things that they need in everyday life.
6. At the 2005 White House Conference on Aging, ensuring that older Americans have transportation options to retain their mobility and independence received the third most votes of 73 issues considered, with 1,002 ballots out of a maximum of 1,200.
7. Public transportation systems provide a vital link to the more than 51 million Americans with disabilities.
Public Transportation Creates Community Benefits:
1. Public transportation foster transit orientated development that provides convenient access to public transportation and integration of transit in the community.
2. Public transportation encourages land-use programs that generate synergies and create a range of housing types, from single-family homes to apartments, to accommodate diverse incomes and family structures.
3. Public transportation revitalizes neighborhoods, increases social interaction and pedestrian activity, enhances safety, and helps create a sense of “place” that will help make a community unique and special.
4. Public transportation generates a financial return for communities and businesses as well as individual and collective savings that can be captured and invested in housing or amenities rather than transportation, parking and auto-orientated infrastructure.
5. When commuters ride public transportation or walk, contact with neighbors tends to increase, ultimately helping to bring a community together.
Public Transportation Impacts Urban and Rural Communities:
1. Public transportation encourages economic and social activities and helps create strong neighborhood centers that are economically stable, safe and productive.
2. Approximately 12 percent of public transportation users are en route to schools. Educators and concerned parents rely on expanded public transportation services.
3. Public transportation offers mobility for residents of rural America, particularly for those without cars. From 2002 through 2005, ridership for small urban and rural public transportation systems jumped nearly 20 percent.
4. Two-thirds of rural Americans -- 60 million people -- are almost wholly unserved by public transportation. They live in counties that have either no service or so little service that they can only be characterized as isolated.
Public Transportation Improves Air Quality:
1. Public transportation reduces pollution and helps promote cleaner air.
2. Public transportation produces 95 percent less carbon monoxide (CO), 90 percent less in volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and about half as much carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx), per passenger mile, as private vehicles. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions represent 82 percent of total US human-made greenhouse emissions.
3. By reducing smog-producing pollutants, greenhouse gases and by conserving ecologically sensitive lands and open spaces -- public transportation is helping to meet national air quality standards.
Public Transportation Fosters Healthy Lifestyles:
1. Public transportation fosters a more active lifestyle, encouraging more people to walk, bike and jog to transit stops. An analysis of 2001 National Household Travel Survey data for transit users finds that walking to and from transit helps inactive persons attain a significant portion of the recommended minimum daily exercise they need.
2. Transportation is an integral part of health or social services programs. Operators of these programs rely on public transit to reach the intended target groups, and to assure access and opportunity for all Americans.
Public Transportation Provides Safety and Security:
1. In major evacuations of urban areas, only public transportation has the capacity to move millions of people quickly and to give critical support to first responders by delivering emergency equipment and transporting emergency response personnel. The 9/11 response illustrates public transit's vital role.
2. When Americans face natural or man-made disasters, America’s public transportation systems provide comfort, safety, security and rescue.