One of the most powerful traffic safety tools a city can employ to eliminate deaths and injuries due to road traffic crashes is its public transit system. It takes just a modest increase in public transit use to result in a dramatic decrease in traffic fatalities.

The problem of traffic deaths due to automobile and light truck crashes has been well documented. According to the latest data on tracking road traffic deaths, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (NHTSA) reports that there were 37,113 deaths in 2017.

Furthermore, NHTSA’s data show that the economic toll of road traffic deaths and injuries cost the nation $871 billion per year.

As we look toward solutions, an analysis recently released by the American Public Transportation and the Vision Zero Network shows that public transportation is an effective, and we believe, essential, solution to helping cities move toward the goal of zero deaths and injuries on our roadways.

Let’s first discuss the impact that a strong public transit system can have on cities’ roadway traffic safety. Metro areas that invest in public transportation — such as heavy rail, light rail, frequent bus service and commuter rail — can cut their traffic fatality rate by half.

Specifically, metro areas with higher public transit use — more than 40 annual transit trips per person — have half the traffic fatality rates of areas with fewer than 20 annual transit trips per person. When a metro area increases the annual number of transit trips per person from 20 trips to 40, it translates to people taking just two additional public transit trips per month. Yet this relatively small percentage change in ridership provides a disproportionally larger traffic safety benefit.

Simply put, a small increase in public transit use can result in a dramatic decrease in traffic fatalities. A city with a strong public transit system creates a safer environment for our cities — garnering these great safety benefits is something we can do; and we can do it today.

Now, let’s look at the traffic safety impacts that a robust public transportation system can have on individual travel. This analysis shows that for individuals, public transportation is 10 times safer per mile than traveling by car, with less than a tenth the per-mile death rate as compared to automobile travel.

Public transit modes that serve longer trips can help reduce vehicle miles traveled, as well as provide significant safety benefits to users. For instance, traveling by commuter and intercity rail is 18 times safer for passengers than traveling by auto. This is because commuter and intercity rail passengers have one-eighteenth the fatality risk as people traveling by auto.

Equally as significant, a city’s public transit system provides a safe alternative for high-risk and vulnerable road users. It is important for senior mobility, and it takes inexperienced teen, distracted and drunk drivers off the roads.

Safety of all road users dramatically improves when elected city leaders, developers and planners utilize public transit to create compact development, also known as transit-oriented development, which provides for lower and safer traffic speeds.

Public transit even benefits people who do not use it and are otherwise safe drivers, because it helps reduce the risk of being the victim of other drivers’ mistakes. It is essential our elected leaders on all levels continue to provide support and strong investments in public transportation because of transit’s extensive traffic safety benefits.

APTA and the Vision Zero Network are partnering to encourage increased collaboration among city leaders, public transit and traffic safety professionals.

Given that traditional traffic safety programs generally overlook public transportation as a potential safety strategy, the new and transformative approach of Vision Zero offers a prime opportunity to promote and expand the use of public transportation as a proven effective tool to help move our communities toward zero deaths and injuries on our roadways.