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FYI
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- The Texas Transportation Institute estimates that 95 percent of all urban trips in Texas are
made by car*.
- In 1970 Americans drove one trillion miles in motor vehicles. It has been projected that by
the turn of the century, they will be driving four trillion miles.**
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*(Source: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Fiscal Notes,
February 1994, 3.)
**(Source: Bob Hall and Mary Lee Kerr, 1991-1992 Green Index: A State-by-State Guide to the Nation's Environmental Health [Washington, D.C.:
Island Press, 1991], 21.)
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An alternative way to reduce vehicle emissions is simply to reduce
the number of vehicles driven and the miles they travel. In the 1980s, urban traffic grew more than roadway capacity. The traditional response to traffic congestion has been to build more
highways. But highway expansion also provides an incentive for more people to drive cars.
Texas has more motor vehicles than any state except California,
and in Texas, as in the nation as a whole, the number of cars driven and miles traveled have grown exponentially in recent decades.*
With over 20 million cars registered to Texas drivers, traffic congestion has become a problem in cities all over Texas. Congestion causes travel delays and wastes fuel. It also decreases
fuel efficiency and increases dangerous vehicle emissions. In Houston, traffic grew by 75 percent between 1970 and 1980. In 1990 Houston was among the ten most congested
cities in the United States.* By 1994, however, Houston had improved by reducing cars on the road and other measures and was the thirteenth most congested city.*
Both the 1990 federal Clean Air Act and the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) have
emphasized transportation planning that encourages car-pooling and the use of public transportation. Between 1992
and 1997, funding under ISTEA has provided Texas with more than $6 billion, most of which went into the National Highway System.* Every non-attainment cities' metropolitan planning organizations must certify that its use of federal
funds will result in fewer emissions or better air quality.* Still, between 1994 and 1996, the Texas Department of
Transportation estimates that only five percent of federal, state, and local highway funds was specifically earmarked to mitigate congestion and improve air quality.*
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TEXAS URBAN BUS RIDERSHIP IN 1995 BY CITY
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Source: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Fiscal Notes (June 1997).
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Texas cities have adopted different strategies for reducing the number of vehicles on the road. Both
Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth, for example, have invested heavily in high-occupancy vehicle lanes (open only to vehicles with at least two occupants) on their
major commuter highways to encourage the number of vehicles with more than one occupant. In Houston, METRO, the transportation authority, has opened five
of these restricted lanes, covering 64 highway miles. About 81,000 riders use these each day.*
Bus travel continues to be the main "mass transit" alternative to cars in Texas. In 1995 there were 236
million passenger trips in urban centers, with Houston leading the way.* In addition, several Texas cities have advocated light rail systems. Dallas Area Rapid Transit
(DART) currently operates a light rail system used by an estimated 30,000 passengers each weekday.*
DART also runs a "heavy" rail system linking downtown Dallas with south Irving and the Medical/Market Center area.
Both systems are being expanded. Similarly, Austin and San Antonio have discussed running a commuter rail line
between San Antonio and Austin. These plans are controversial, however, because of their cost and the potential to create noise in local neighborhoods.
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