Cost savings related to having more people walking and biking:

A school district in WashingtonState reports an annual savings of $220,000 in transportation costs due to increased involvement in the district’s Safe Routes to School programs. See the case study report on Auburn, Washington, created by the National Center for Safe Routes to School (www.saferoutesinfo.org/washington). Here is a quote from the report:

At Pioneer Elementary School, bus use has decreased from six buses to one, and 85 percent of the children walk or bicycle to school. A new school in an upper class neighborhood was designed to provide the opportunity for 95 percent of the children to walk or bicycle to school. The developer built sidewalks and worked with the City of Auburn and the school district to form a cooperative agreement to build a “walking school.” The City of Auburn requires installation of sidewalks by new developers and charges impact fees.