Public transit creates health

New York City’s public transit system has gotten New Yorkers where they need to go and home again for over a century. For our public transit system to continue to move millions of people and to keep us healthy, it’s important to invest in its capacity, reliability, and accessibility to every New Yorker.

Traffic is a huge part of our environment in New York City. In Manhattan’s central business district, the average car speed is under 7 miles per hour and has been getting slower over time. This traffic imposes a cost on every New Yorker. According to the MTA, traffic makes each New Yorker lose an average of 117 hours and nearly $2,000 in lost productivity and other costs each year. It also affects our quality of life by worsening air quality, increasing noise, and making it less safe to walk, cycle, and get around without a car.

But public transit changes our environment for the better — improving the air we breathe and our overall health.

Public transit is public health

Only 1 out of 4 NYC residents uses a car to commute. Most New Yorkers rely on our public transit system — one of the oldest, largest, and most-used public transit systems in the world. It moves millions of people per day — far more than private vehicles. The public transit system is one of New York City’s crown jewels: its ability to move people around the city powers the economy and makes for a more equitable city.

But transit’s benefits are more than economic:

Public transit is good for your health: Access to transit increases opportunities for healthy regular physical activity, which translates directly to a healthier lifestyle. The City’s Active Design guidelines offer tools and strategies for ways to build opportunities for physical activity and health into our city.

Public transit improves air quality: In NYC, a neighborhood’s air quality is related to its traffic density, building emissions, and density of restaurants and industrial areas. Air quality improves when traffic is reduced, as we’ve seen from a car-free Times Square and during COVID-19. We’ve also seen that the most significant health impacts of poor air quality are felt in NYC’s poorest neighborhoods.

Public transit is good for the climate: Taking the subway or a bus is one of the greenest ways to get around. Greenhouse gas emissions (which we reduce when we use public transit instead of cars) drive climate change, which threatens our city today and in the future. Right now, more New Yorkers die from extreme heat than all other natural disasters combined. And Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Ida showed us how more frequent, intense storms put New Yorkers at risk

Transit is vital for an equitable city: a strong public transit system supports working New Yorkers, especially those with lower incomes. Over 60% of low-income residents in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island rely on public transit to get to work. At a neighborhood level, access to public transit means access to economic opportunity and translates to lower unemployment. Expanding NYC’s transit network can help address long-term disinvestment in some NYC neighborhoods. And an equitable transit system must be accessible to all, since 1 out of every 8 New York City residents has a mobility impairment.

Public transit can save your life

Typically, about twice as many New Yorkers walk or bike for transportation, compared to those who drive cars. That time walking or cycling is associated with decreases in mortality. This is good news for health!

Because so many New Yorkers are walkers and cyclists, many are concerned about traffic-related injuries—a preventable harm that affects too many New Yorkers each year. The way the streets are designed and used can encourage or inhibit behaviors that keep us healthy

Because the streetscape is such a huge part of the fabric of our city, it’s important to build a transportation system for people — one that accommodates healthy movement, keeps people safe, and helps make our city more resilient in the face of a changing climate. Investing in public transit is a vital piece of a strong city and of the work to improve the health of all New Yorkers.