TravelMatters: Mitigating Climate Change with Sustainable Surface Transportation (2005)

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1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), with TransManagement, under the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Project H-21, “Combating Global Warming with Sustainable Surface Transportation Policy,” created a research report and website with information for individuals and transit agencies on the greenhouse gas reduction potential of the public transportation sector. Greenhouse gas reductions must be considered in the context of the Clean Air Act regulations on the “criteria pollutant” emissions of transit agencies. These regulations are aimed at reducing the direct criteria pollutant emissions of transit vehicles themselves and at encouraging transit ridership in place of personal automobiles. Both of these emissions reduction strategies are directly applicable to greenhouse gases. Because greenhouse gases are currently unregulated, they do not often factor into transit agency decisions designed to comply with the Clean Air Act. TCRP Project H-21A, an extension to Project H-21, encourages better decision-making by enabling transit professionals and the public to consider both the greenhouse gas and criteria air pollutant impacts of transit planning decisions. Project H-21A, for which the product, www.TravelMatters.org, can be viewed on-line, is composed of three tasks: 1) a Criteria Pollutant Emissions Calculator for transit fleets; 2) an Emissions Avoided Module for trip planning websites; and 3) a Learning Center for youth and educators. 1) Criteria Pollutant Emissions Calculator for Transit Fleets The TravelMatters Transit Planning calculator, a website created under Project H-21, was expanded under H-21A by adding criteria pollutants to information on transit fleet emissions and the emissions benefits of alternative fuels, advanced transit technologies and increased transit ridership. CNT adapted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) mobile source emissions modeling tool, Mobile 6.2, to generate emissions estimates for volatile organic compounds (VOC), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter (PM2.5). The resulting Transit Planning calculator is a quick and easy tool that can be used to estimate criteria pollutant emissions. The user does not need to input any data to receive useful emissions estimates; CNT has provided default factors to the Mobile 6.2 model for each transit agency’s profile based on its regional climate, elevation, and fuel characteristics. In addition, because so many transit agencies provide train service, CNT has incorporated calculations for diesel locomotive criteria pollutant emissions; locomotives are excluded from USEPA’s model. While CNT’s adaptations to Mobile 6.2 make it easy to use, the modifications mean that the Transit Planning calculator generates estimates only and is not intended for use for regulatory purposes. Please see Appendix A for a screenshot of the TravelMatters homepage.

2 2) Emissions Avoided Module for Trip Planning Websites To help transit agencies make use of data that demonstrates the emissions benefits of transit, CNT developed the TravelMatters Emissions Avoided Module (EAM), which is an Internet-based computer program that can be added to transit trip planning websites and gives individuals an estimate of the emissions avoided by taking transit instead of driving a personal vehicle. The EAM receives data on the length of a transit trip and the type of transit vehicle used and calculates the emissions avoided as compared to a similar personal automobile trip. This program and instructions on how to set it up are available to any interested party at the TravelMatters website. 3) Learning Center for Youth and Educators The Learning Center on the TravelMatters website contains activities and resources for junior high and high school students and educators on the connections between driving, climate change, and local air quality. There are two sections of the Learning Center: “Activities for Students” and “Tools for Teachers.” The resources in the Learning Center are a Travel Log for youth to record their transportation activities and relevant comprehension questions; interactive quizzes on the content in the TravelMatters site; a resource list for further learning; a list of suggested classroom activities to augment the website tools; and a downloadable presentation of the TravelMatters material. CNT concludes this report by identifying a number of additional research opportunities that could help transit agencies as they strive to achieve the goal of sustainable surface transportation. For example, a set of in-depth analyses of the data developed for Projects H-21 and H-21A could provide a better understanding of the emissions trends among transit agencies and could deepen the understanding of the link between transit emissions and successful mitigation methods. Also, study of land use and transit emissions on a national scale, specifically in terms of Transit Oriented Development (TOD), could help further quantify the emissions benefits of transit and identify the best land use configurations for transit to become a vital transportation solution to climate change in every community.