How Green are We?

(page 8 of 11)

Transportation

The stats prove what we’ve always known: Rhode Islanders love their cars. While population growth has slowed, car usage has skyrocketed, producing more pollutants that contribute to poor air quality and global warming. And though ridership on RIPTA’s buses and ferries has increased, efforts to promote mass transit have been slowed by tight budgets and an ethos of personal independence.

On the bright side, work began last summer on the ten-year-old plan to link Boston’s commuter rails to T.F. Green Airport. But there’s at least one possible glitch: Amtrak’s commitment to link its service to the
Warwick station is still not finalized.

Damn Traffic Jam

Road rage may be the least of our worries: morevehicles on the road equals more pollution.

Increase in average daily traffic onI-95 RI, 2001 to 2006: 19%
RI population increase, 2001 to 2006: .86%

Public Airways

We’re driving more, but we’re taking the bus more often, too. The result? An ongoing reduction of volatile
organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO), pollutants that cause
disease and contribute to global warming.

26 Percent increase in public transit use between 2003 and 2006.

Source: RI Public Transportation Authority

Air toxin reduction due to public transit use:

VOC and NOx reduced by 194.2 kg/day in 2004 218.4 kg/day in 2005
CO reduced by 1,031.2 kg/day in 2004 1,236.2 kg/day in 2005

Source: RI Public Transportation Authority

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This article appears in the April 2007 issue of Rhode Island Monthly.

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