Waukesha Metro Transit Benefits The Community

Who We Are
Waukesha Metro Transit is a team of 75 employees that are dedicated to providing the citizens of the greater Waukesha area with affordable, convenient, and efficient transit services.

Our Service Helps to Drive the Local Economy

o 41.8% of riders are employed full time.
o 20.9% of riders are employed part time.
o 44.3% trips on Metro are taken for work.
o 14.2% trips on Metro are taken for school.
o 35% trips on Metro are taken for shopping.
o Over 2,500 trips are taken on Metro each weekday.

We Provide a Vital Link Between Our Riders and the Community

o Only 26.9% of riders have access to a vehicle.
o 92.2% of riders use Metro at least once a week.
o 78.7% riders have household incomes under $35,000.

We Have Satisfied Customers

o 83.3% of passengers rate Metro's service as excellent or good.
o 84.7% of passengers rate the Downtown Transit Center as excellent or good.
o 79.9% of passengers have recommended Metro to others.

State of Wisconsin Transit Facts

o 70 million trips a year are taken on Wisconsin Transit Systems.
o 2,900 Transit workers statewide including drivers, mechanics, dispatchers and administrative staff
o Breakdown of Transit Systems in Wisconsin

- 28 Urban and Rural Bus Systems
- 43 Shared-ride Taxi Systems

Benefits of Transit*

o Transit Systems in Wisconsin generate a 3 to 1 return on investment.
o Transit Systems in Wisconsin save consumers more than $730 million a year.
o 95.8% of this benefit is generated within cities with populations of 50,000 or greater, including Waukesha.
o 45.6% of this benefit is generated from work trips.
o Without Transit in Wisconsin, 15 million trips would not be made including:

- 9 million lost work trips
- 3 million lost education trips
- 1 million lost healthcare trips
- 2 million lost retail trips

*Source: "The Socio-Economic Benefits of Transit in Wisconsin" conducted by HLB Decision Economics, Inc in 2003 as commissioned by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

Additional Benefits of Transit

o Public transportation provides personal mobility and freedom.

o Public transportation is an immediate means of helping our environment and conserving energy. If one in ten Americans used public transportation regularly, the U.S. reliance on foreign oil could be cut by more than 40 percent-the amount we import from Saudi Arabia each year.

o Public transportation helps relieve traffic congestion, reducing hours of delay in major travel corridors.

o Every $10 million invested in public transportation capital projects generates 300 jobs, and the same amount invested in transit operations generates 600 jobs.

o In 2001, Americans took 9.5 billion trips using public transportation, an increase of 1.9 percent from the previous year -- the equivalent of more than a million new trips each day.

o An estimated 14 million Americans ride public transportation each weekday and an additional 25 million use it on a less frequent but regular basis.

o In 2000, America's public transportation systems employed 350,000 workers to operate, maintain and manage all modes of transit.

o Public transportation is a key force in moving former welfare recipients into the workforce as permanent wage earners. American Public Transportation Association's 1999 "Access to Work Best Practices Survey" revealed that an estimated 94 percent of welfare recipients attempting to move into the workforce rely on public transportation.

To learn more about public transit and the benefits it provides the community, please go to www.publictransportation.org