3.26.2008 7:33 AM

Public Transit Saves 3.4 B Gallons of Oil

Hey Equador, We Don't Need That Oil After All

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Photo: Max McLeod / Istock

By Dan Shapley

The public transportation system in the United States saves 3.4 billion gallons of oil a year, eliminates 541 million hours of traffic delays and cuts greenhouse gas emissions by 26 million tons, according to the Illinois Public Research Group.

That works out to nearly 222,000 barrels a day, which sounds like a lot, but is still amounts to slightly less than 2% of the total oil imported daily, according to Energy Information Administration statistics for 2007. It's more than the U.S. imports from Equador, but less than it imports from the United Kingdom.

Still, it's 220,000 barrels per day that the U.S. didn't have to import, didn't have to burn and didn't transform into pollution. The statistic shows that smart transportation strategies that get individuals out of their cars (or at least into a car pool) can save significant amounts of oil, and contribute toward the goal of becoming more energy independent.

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