Appraising the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Produced by Individuals Using Public and Shared Transportation as Opposed to Private Transportation in California

Abstract

This study presents a California-focused comprehensive GHG emissions analysis, at an individual level and within the context of the transportation sector, by comparing public and shared means of transportation with private transportation. The main objective is to identify the threshold in which the number of passengers in a public mode of transportation, such as bus or rail, results in a lower GHG emissions per person than private transportation users. Since the number of emissions varies by location depending on multiple factors, such as population size, economic, industrial activity, etc., this study delineated the state of California as the area to be observed. Also, by using GHG emissions per person while using private transportation over one year, the corresponding thresholds in which public transportation becomes more efficient, in terms of fewer emissions, can be found. Generally, there’s always the perception that public transportation, in general, can result in lower GHG emissions. However, following the data analysis, this study has concluded that, for a bus ride to have a better GHG emissions than a passenger car, the minimum number of passengers needs to be, at least, six. For rail transportation, in turn, the minimum amount needs to be 13 passengers per ride. In this scenario, a person using a bus emits 43% less GHGs than a person using a car, and rail users emit 61% less than car drivers.