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. 2010 Dec;100(12):2388-91.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2009.190132. Epub 2010 Oct 21.

Potential health impact of switching from car to public transportation when commuting to work

Alfredo Morabia  1 , Franklin E Mirer, Tashia M Amstislavski, Holger M Eisl, Jordan Werbe-Fuentes, John Gorczynski, Chris Goranson, Mary S Wolff, Steven B Markowitz
Affiliations

Potential health impact of switching from car to public transportation when commuting to work

Alfredo Morabia et al. Am J Public Health. 2010 Dec.

Abstract

We assessed humidity-corrected particulate matter (PM(2.5)) exposure and physical activity (using global positioning system monitors and diaries) among 18 people who commuted by car to Queens College, New York, New York, for 5 days, and then switched to commuting for the next 5 days via public transportation. The PM(2.5) differed little between car and public transportation commutes (1.41 μg/M(3)·min; P = .226). Commuting by public transportation rather than by car increased energy expenditure (+124 kcal/day; P < .001) equivalent to the loss of 1 pound of body fat per 6 weeks.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Boxplots of the logarithm of exposure to particulate matter of a diameter of 2.5 microns or smaller (PM2.5; μg/M3·min) for (a) morning work commutes, (b) evening work commutes, and (c) all day: New York, NY, October 27, 2008–May 29, 2009. Note. Five-day averages of each commute are presented. Boxplots depict the 25th and 75th percentiles (edges of the box), the median (line within the box), and the 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles (whiskers) Circles indicate outliers.
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