ABSTRACT
It is widely accepted that the combustion from passenger vehicle tailpipes is a leading cause of environmental pollution and emerging life-cycle approaches present an opportunity to better understand how transit investments reduce transportation impacts. In California, automobile travel is responsible for 38% of statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other pollutants have been linked to significant health impacts [1, 2]. California’s Assembly Bill 32 calls for the reduction of statewide GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. To achieve this, a suite of strategies will be deployed, including Senate Bill 375 which requires regional transportation
plans to achieve GHG emissions targets from the transportation system and may induce cities to deploy new public transit systems.
