[PRCo] Re: pat__service__cuts__2007.01.23-changed to 2/1/07

[John Swindler]

The national averages will be skewed towards auto assembly plants in rural 
Ohio, where everyone must drive to get to work.  Transit is not an option.  
That's why the term "peer group" might give a better picture.   
Unfortunately, that will be  a lot more difficult to develope.  National 
average is meaningless to individual situations.

And besides, if you stop for a lottery ticket at the convenience store on 
way home, is that one auto trip or two trips?  And how are the transit trips 
being counted?  Person trips or boarding passengers?  Doesn't mean much in 
Pittsburgh, but a significantly different number in grid pattern cities like 
Chicago, Los Angeles, etc.  And do you count teachers driving to school as a 
auto work trip, but what about the students on the school bus?  Are they in 
the transit count?  And if not, why not?  Could it be to skew the numbers 
towards auto?

John


>From: Joshua Dunfield <joshuad at cs.cmu.edu>
>Reply-To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>Subject: [PRCo] Re: pat__service__cuts__2007.01.23-changed to 2/1/07 Date: 
>Sun, 04 Feb 2007 21:47:53 -0500
>
>Fred Schneider wrote:
> > In this country 1
> > percent used public transit and 99 percent uses private
> > automobiles. [for the journey to work]
>
>The numbers are bad enough that there's no need to exaggerate.  From
>the 2000 census:
>
>   Car, truck, van, or motorcycle    91.0%
>   Public transportation              4.9%
>   Walked                             3.0%
>   Bicycle                            0.4%
>   Other                              0.7%
>
>The Pittsburgh "MSA" isn't much different:
>
>   Car, truck, van, or motorcycle    89.2%
>   Public transportation              6.4%
>   Walked                             3.7%
>   Bicycle                            0.1%
>   Other                              0.6%
>
>The Pittsburgh "urbanized area" is a little better -- 8.2%
>used public transportation and 4.0% walked.
>
>-j.
>

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