Being a college student often means living away from home. Like most of my fellow peers, it did not take long after moving onto Penn State’s campus for my home sickness to set in. I wanted to go home — the question was, how?

I grew up in a suburb, both of my parent’s had cars. I sometimes took the bus home from school for convenience, but, like almost all of my friends, my primary form of transportation was by car. I was probably about six when the idea of using public transportation as a means of reducing mass carbon emission was first introduced to me. You know the drill – “turn the lights off when you leave the room, recycle, turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth, and ride the bus”. I heard it time and again. I understood it: doing these things would help the planet. Nonetheless the message didn’t necessarily strike me as one that pertained to me. I had a car, and no one I knew used public transportation, so why would I worry about it?

That brings us back to Penn State. I wanted to go home, and for the first time in my life I didn’t have a car readily accessible to take me. It was then that I first delved into the world of public transportation. To my surprise the process of deciphering public transportation was far more complicated than I’d anticipated. Do I take a train, or bus? What company? What day? Am I going to have to miss class? What’s the best destination to take the bus to?

The questions were endlessly circling in my mind. There’s not exactly a lot of options when it comes to our nation’s public transportation. According to statistics from 2019 by the American Public Transportation Association, about 45% of Americans have no access to public transportation at all. Keep in mind that the United States is a massive country, with a massive population. 45% is large quantity of people, people without access to public transportation.

Have you ever looked at a map of public transportation systems in the United States? This is a map that includes both the Amtrak and bus routes across the nation. Keep in mind, they don’t even run 24/7:

Besides an obvious lack of overall transportation, what may also strike you about this map is that the transportation that is available, is concentrated in coastal and metropolitan areas. A large portion of the Mid-west is without public transportation entirely.

So, perhaps it’s safe to say that the reason I was never truly confronted with having to utilize public transportation is because it’s not necessarily an easy animal to confront.

There are clearly alternative ways to help the environment besides using public transportation. The problem, however, is that it would be a largely effective tool to address the problem, with multiple benefits, but it’s not currently feasible.

We sit generations of elementary school students down on the rugs in their classrooms and tell them that if they take the bus, they can help save the planet. Then, they grow up, and we have no buses to offer them.

The problem is not only apparent on the national scale, but can also be seen within State College itself. If you live off campus, how easy is it to get to class without a car? If you need to get to a store that can’t be found downtown, how are you getting there? What about getting to the bus stop, when you are able to scrounge up a bus? Most commonly the answer is an Uber. Besides the issue of affordability, from an environmentalist standpoint this solution glosses over a potential opportunity to reduce carbon emissions. Accessible public transportation could mean that large quantities of students, all commuting to class in separate Ubers, could instead travel as one. Only one vehicle, means only one source of carbon emissions.

Currently one of the primary forms of public transportation in State College is the CATA bus service.  It sounds like a great solution to our problem, right? Not entirely. While the CATA bus service is a great resource, and certainly a step in the right direction, it only circulates through Penn State’s Campus and downtown. So what about those who live elsewhere? What about traveling further from campus? Where a bus could be useful, and is even needed, there is none offered.

The minimal long distance transportation options that are offered by Penn State include having near by Megabus stops. The only non-stop services offered, however, are to New York City, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia. Even to get to Ohio or Michigan you have to take a continuing service. Never-mind getting anywhere else. Thinking of taking the train instead? Sorry. There is no train station in State College, and in fact the closest one is in Lewistown, PA. Not only does that make it inaccessible, but to reach the train station would be about a 45 minute journey, likely by car, minimizing the positive environmental impact being pursed by Public Transit in the first place.

Unfortunately, as we know, this is a problem that is much bigger than just State College. In the entire state of Pennsylvania PennDOT only currently offers 13 intercity bus routes, and fixed-route transit services in only 22 rural areas. In the whole state. Additionally Pennsylvania’s federal funding for public transportation is waning, and expected to reach $19 billion dollars in budget shortfall every year.

It is no secret that the lack of Public Transportation in the United States is a problem. It’s an issue with many sides to it, helping the environment being just one of them. The reality is, however, that compared to many other countries, we are massively lacking in Public Transit accessibility. One of the many consequences of this is that an opportunity to greatly reduce nationwide carbon emissions is going completely missed.

What would happen if the 45% of Americans without access to public transportation were able to find some? Think about the kind of impact that could have on our environment. How many cars could be retired of their long sustained work of emitting carbon? Think about all the kids in their elementary school classrooms that could put what they’re learning into action. They could ride the bus. They could save the planet!

 

Resources

American Public Transportation Association. “Public Transportation Facts.” American Public Transportation Association, American Public Transportation Association, 2019, https://www.apta.com/news-publications/public-transportation-facts/#:~:text=In%202019%2C%20Americans%20took%209.9,weekday%2C%20people%20board%20public%20transportation.

Dai, Ziyu, et al. “Mobility, Accessibility, and Connectivity: Assessments and Recommendations Concerning Rural Transportation Equity in Pennsylvania.” Carnegie Mellon University, 2020.

FlowingData. “Map: US Bus and Amtrak Routes.” FlowingData, FlowingData, 6 Feb. 2014, https://flowingdata.com/2014/02/06/map-us-bus-and-amtrak-routes/.

The Great American Stations. “Lewistown, PA.” The Great American Stations, Amtrak, 2023, https://www.greatamericanstations.com/stations/lewistown-pa-lew/.