More People Are Riding Public Transit.

What does that mean for fleet owners?

Provided by GPS Tracking Canada

A new report from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) states that public transit usage in the United States grew 1.1 percent in 2013 to 10.7 billion passenger trips. APTA credits the rise in usage to an improving economy, as more people have jobs to which they must commute during the day.

Overall, transit usage has grown 37.3 percent since 1995, and is at its highest level since the 1950’s. For comparison’s sake, the country’s population grew 20.1 percent. The report says that 12.1 percent of commuters overall are using public transportation.

“There’s a fundamental shift going on,” Michael Melaniphy, APTA president and CEO, said in a press release. “This isn’t a one-year blip. More and more people are deciding that public transportation is a good option.”

In some ways this is good news for fleet managers who transport goods over long haul routes. With more commuters using buses and trains, freeways should see reductions in congestion and traffic jams, which will help with fuel efficiency and delivery times.

However, it’s difficult to anticipate the areas where these trends will have the greatest impact, and it’s certainly not the case that congestion is coming to an end. It’s no secret that many metropolitan areas still deal with horrendous traffic, which takes a toll on transportation company’s bottom line in the form of higher maintenance costs and lower efficiency.

Your company can mitigate these effects by investing in a GPS tracking solutions from GPS Tracking Canada. These systems can help you reroute trucks around highly congested areas, avoid road closures and accidents, conserve fuel and help stranded drivers.