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Public Transportation
What You Can Do to Help
JANUARY 2012
VTA Combating Climate Change
Taking public transportation instead of
VTA is Committed to Protecting the Environment
your car is one of the most effective actions
an individual can take to reduce their
VTA is committed to proactively reducing the
consumption of natural resources, minimizing the
creation of greenhouse gases to help protect the
environment for future generations, and reducing
the generation of pollution in delivering transportation solutions that meet the evolving mobility needs
of Santa Clara County. Strategies implemented to
achieve these goals include:
carbon footprint and energy consumption
without reducing mobility.
The benefits of switching to public
transportation greatly exceed those from
other household energy saving measures,
such as switching to energy efficient light
•Promoting the environmental benefits of public
bulbs, replacing inefficient appliances,
or adjusting thermostats. A solo driver,
transit as the most cost effective solution for
protecting the environment.
commuting by car 20 miles round-trip •Promoting urban-friendly and TOD that targets
new growth in existing transit corridors and
station areas through the Community Design and
Transportation Program.
daily that switches to public transportation, can reduce his/her annual CO2
•Promoting the network of bicycle and pedestrian
emissions by 2.4 tons per year. This is
facilities throughout the county and improving
infrastructure, such as adding bike lockers and
racks to Park & Ride lots and transit centers, to
enable more people to accomplish daily activities
by foot, bike or transit in equal comfort to doing
so by car.
equivalent to a 10% reduction in all
greenhouse gases produced by a typical
two-adult, two-car family.
Commuting by public transportation–
one of the most significant actions to reduce
household carbon emissions.*
•Replacing gasoline and diesel-fuel vehicles with
Taking transit to work
Printed on Recycled Paper
Adjusting thermostat &
winterizing your home
Replacing lightbulbs
Replacing old refrigerator
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
Pounds of CO 2 saved per year
By taking existing public transportation instead of driving a car,
a single person saves 2.4 tons (4,800 pounds) of CO2 per year.
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hybrids. VTA has added 90 new diesel electric
hybrid buses to replace older buses that have
exceeded their useful life span, reducing particulate matter by 90% when compared to the 1998
generation of diesel buses. VTA has also placed
over 80 Prius hybrid vehicles into paratransit
service and 10 Ford Escape hybrids into nonrevenue service.
•Encouraging VTA employees to conserve
resources, turn off the lights, and recycle at work.
Department representatives meet regularly as
part of a “green team” to evaluate sustainability
initiatives.
•Conducting inventory reports and summarizing actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
as a voluntary signatory to the American Public
Transportation Association’s Sustainability
Commitment and partner with Sustainable
Silicon Valley.
•Participating in Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s
Public Sector Climate Task Force to develop
strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions
in our region.
•Installing solar panels and investigating the feasibility of renewable and clean energy alternatives
to reduce operating costs and greenhouse gas
emissions. A combined 2.1 megawatts of solar
panels are installed at three bus operating and
maintenance facilities. The clean electricity generated by these solar panels will offset more than
2,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year,
which is equivalent to removing over 450 cars
from the road each year.
•Converting carpool lanes to express lanes allows
congestion pricing to increase efficiency of
existing roadways through the encouragement
of transit and carpools, and allowing solo drivers
to pay a fee to access the lanes. Express lanes
provide a fast, reliable travel option in the toll
lane, and reinvest revenue in the corridor including potential transit improvements.
S A N T A
Climate change is the result of human activities that
emit greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon
dioxide (CO2). The concentrations of greenhouse
gases are currently higher than any other time in the
past 650,000 years. These greenhouse gases stay in
the atmosphere and act like a warm blanket by holding in heat on the Earth’s surface — hence the term
“global warming.”
Climate change is a serious threat to our health, our
environment, and our economy. The dangers of
climate change include, but are not limited to, rising
sea levels and shrinking snowpack, extreme drought
and increased wildfires, extreme temperatures,
catastrophic weather, species loss, increased disease,
reduced growing seasons, threatened cultures, changing forests and loss of biodiversity.
C L A R A
Valley Transportation Authority
3331 North First Street
San Jose, CA 95134 -1927
408.321.2300
TTY only 408.321.2330
www.vta.org
From 1990 to 2009, greenhouse gas emissions in the
United States have grown by about 0.04% per year. Of
U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, 87% are related to energy consumption. The U.S. accounts for about 20%
of the world’s total energy-related CO2 emissions.
By reducing the
growth in vehicle
miles of travel, easing congestion and supporting
more efficient land use patterns, public transportation can reduce harmful CO2 emissions by 37 million
metric tons annually. In addition, public transportation
reduces energy consumption by the equivalent of
4.2 billion gallons of gasoline each year, the equivalent of 320 million cars filling up—almost 900,000
times a day.
Those who choose to ride public transportation reduce
their carbon footprint and conserve energy by eliminating travel that would have otherwise been made in
a private vehicle. The result is fewer vehicle miles of
travel and reduced emissions. These savings represent
the beginning of public transportation’s potential
contribution to national efforts to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions and promote energy conservation.
“By 2025, the new federal fuel standards will save an estimated 12 billion barrels of oil and reduce carbon dioxide pollution by over 6 billion metric tons.”
By eliminating one car and taking public
Climate Change Legislation
In the U.S., several legislative efforts aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions have recently
been enacted or are being considered at the federal, state or local levels. In addition, the State of
California and local communities in Santa Clara County have also been implementing environmental
best practices to combat climate change.
Federal Efforts
In an effort to combat climate change, the federal
government has enacted fuel-efficiency standards for
new vehicles built in 2012 through 2018. Cars and
light-duty trucks received new standards first, for
model years 2012 through 2016 and big rigs, heavyduty pick-up trucks and vans, as well as vocational
vehicles, such as transit buses, garbage trucks and
delivery trucks have since also received the standards,
for model years 2014 through 2018.
For heavy-duty pick-up trucks and vans, there are
separate standards for gasoline-powered and diesel
vehicles. They would be required to achieve up to a
15% reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse
gas emissions by model year 2018. Vocational vehicles would need to achieve a reduction of about 10%
by model year 2018, and big rigs would need to cut
greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption by
20% by model year 2018.
• The California Global Warming Solutions Act of
2006 (AB32) establishes an economy-wide cap on
California greenhouse gas emissions at 1990 levels
by no later than 2020. This is an aggressive goal that
represents approximately an 11% reduction from
2
on climate change, Assembly Bill 118 created the
Energy Commission’s Alternative and Renewable
Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program. The program
transportation for all trips instead of
is intended to increase the use of alternative and
renewable fuels and innovative technologies to help
attain the state’s climate change policies.
driving, a savings of up to 30% of CO2
emissions can be realized. It is estimated
that the same two-adult, two-car household
Local Efforts
could save an average of $6,251 every year
Local governments within Santa Clara County are
doing their part as well by conducting inventories of
emissions from publicly owned buildings, vehicles,
waste treatment plants and other facilities and setting goals and targets for reducing emissions. Some
examples of local measures to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions include:
public transportation instead of one of their
even more as the price of fuel rises-by using
automobiles.
The private vehicle is the largest contributor to
a household’s carbon footprint–using public
transportation reduces household carbon emissions.*
• Incorporating Transit-Oriented Design (TOD)
Light-duty vehicles would need to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 26% by model year 2016, and
improve fuel economy by 29% by model year 2016.
The next phase of the program will cover cars and
light trucks for model years up to 2025, requiring
performance equivalent to 54.5 mpg. Taken together,
these standards will save families money, reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, and protect public health.
State Efforts
Approximately 25% of California’s greenhouse gas
emissions are attributable to electricity generation while
38% are attributed to the transportation sector. California
leads the nation in electricity generation from renewable
energy sources like geothermal power, wind power, landfill gas, and solar power. California’s climate programs
include the following primary initiatives:
• Addressing the impacts of the transportation sector
into land-use decisions by requiring higher densities for development projects located near existing
or planned transit systems.
• Encouraging residents to bring their own bag and
establishing city wide ordinances banning plastic
carry out bags.
• Certifying a number of new and existing facilities
under the nationally recognized U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Rating System.
• Replacing gasoline-fueled vehicles with hybrid or
current emissions levels and nearly a 30% reduction
from projected business-as-usual levels in 2020.
• The Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008 (SB 375) enhances California’s
ability to reach its AB 32 goals by promoting good
planning with the goal of more sustainable
communities. SB 375 requires California Air
Resources Board (ARB) to develop regional greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for passenger
vehicles. ARB is also responsible for establishing
targets for 2020 and 2035 for each region covered
by one of the state’s 18 metropolitan planning
organizations.
alternative fueled vehicles, such as Clean Natural
Gas (CNG), biodiesel or plug-in electric.
• Implementing Intelligent Transportation System
(ITS) features including but not limited to: ramp
metering, traffic signal coordination, and transit
signal priority to help reduce congestion and
vehicle emissions. ITS also provides valuable data
that assists in planning for congestion management improvements, both freeway and arterial.
Potential Savings
30%
Electricity
Electricity
25%
25%
• Providing audits and rebate programs for residents
and businesses to retrofit appliances like lighting
fixtures toilets, showers, and washing machines.
Private
Vehicles
55%
• Replacing existing streetlights with “smart” LEDs
equipped with dimmable and monitoring control
systems.
Current household emissions
in typical 2-car household
• Promoting tree planting to provide shade, reduce
Private
Vehicles
25%
Natural
Gas
20%
Potential 30% savings from
eliminating one car and taking
public transportation
*Source: “Public Transportation’s Contribution to U.S. Greenhouse
Gas Reduction”, Science Applications International Corporation,
Sept. 2007.
energy costs, and capture greenhouse gases.
• Collaborating with local industry to reduce
imported water, expand recycled water infrasture,
and utilize local water supplies.
Give Public Transit a Try!
• Procuring environmental preferable products and
Next time you’re
services that reduce waste and maximize recycled
content.
going to the
• Recoginizing local businesses who meet regional
ballpark, the
standards to conserve resources, prevent pollution,
and minimize waste through Gren Business Program certification.
airport, or to work,
wouldn’t it be nice
• Encouraging installation of solar panels by
to sit back and
providing clean energy technology tours and other
resources, such as the Silicon Valley Energy Map
and Clean Energy Showcase.
“AB 32 requires California to lower greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020,
the equivalent of taking approximately 28 million cars off the road.”
Natural
Gas
20%
enjoy the ride! Or ride a bike! Or
walk! Connect with VTA today!
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