How prevalent is public transportation in the lives of Americans?

Every day, Americans take advantage of public transportation to get to school, work or many other important destinations. Public transportation offers a variety of benefits. It is affordable and available to a large percentage of the population. What’s more, public transportation provides an amazing return on its investment. For every one dollar put into public transit, communities get back around four dollars in generated economic returns.

Add all this to the fact that public transit also helps cut fuel consumption and traffic congestion and it is easy to see why buses and trains are such vital parts of so many areas. But have you ever wondered how many people across the United States are directly impacted by public transportation? Well, here are a few eye-popping statistics:

• There are 35 million public transportation boardings every weekday.
• 2013 saw 10.7 billion trips taken utilizing public transportation. This figure represented a 57-year high.
• Ridership of public transportation increased by more than 37 percent between 1995 and 2013.
• In the U.S., there are over 7,100 entities that provide public transportation services and almost 400,000 people are employed by the public transportation industry.

These statistics are extremely telling. First, they bear out how public transportation positively affects both individuals and communities. It also appears that moving forward, we will see even more ridership.

We can also assume that many cities will be expanding their systems to accommodate the demand. This means even more buses and trains traveling in proximity to pedestrians and automobiles. The only downside is that there will likely be more accidents involving these very large vehicles.

Public transit passengers, occupants of other vehicles and pedestrians are all vulnerable to being involved in bus or train accidents. The severity of injuries caused by such accidents can range from minor to fatal. Accident victims will likely need some form of recompense to cover their medical or other expenses. If you are injured in a public transit accident, you may wish to get in touch with an attorney who offers services related to securing compensation.