The Cost of Automobiles
• Amount of Oregon’s carbon emissions that come from transportation: 53 percent
• Average time U.S. parents spend behind the wheel every day: 72 minutes
• Average time spent with their children daily: less than 35 minutes
• Average number of hours Portlanders spent stuck in traffic in 2005: 38
• Average number of hours Portlanders would spend stuck in traffic if transit service were discontinued: 46
• Average cost of owning a car in the U.S. per year: $7,823
• Average cost of one lane-mile of new urban highway: $300 million
• Cost of one lane-mile of bicycle infrastructure: $2,000
• Average price of a new car sold in the United States: $28,400
• Cost of one fully built Yuba Mundo utility bicycle with fenders and a Hebie bi-pod kickstand: $975
• Number of people killed in motor vehicle related crashes in the U.S. every year: 42,000
• Odds of death due to being in a traffic crash as a pedestrian: 1:63
• Odds of death due to being in a traffic crash as a cyclist: 1:41
• Odds of death due to being in a traffic crash in a motor vehicle: 1:26
• Frequency of pedestrian deaths in the U.S.: every 110 minutes
• Frequency of pedestrian injuries: every 9 minutes
• Children raised within this distance of a freeway have increased chances of severe lung problems: 0.3 miles
• Rate of childhood asthma in the U.S.: 7 percent
• Rate of childhood asthma among kids living in Portland’s I-5 corridor: 13 percent
• Amount by which motor vehicle emissions can be reduced by eliminating 1 percent of automobile trips: 4 percent
• Amount by which allowing commuters to exchange their free parking for cash has been shown to reduce automobile trips: 13 percent
Sources: Towards Carfree Cities; Texas Transportation Institute; Sightline Institute; The Lancet; Victoria Transport Policy Institute; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; American Road and Transportation Builders Association; ODOT; AAA; National Safety Council; National Automobile Dealers Association; Coalition for a Livable Future