2008 was a record-setting year for transit agencies around the country and in the tri-state region. That’s a trend that state and federal decisionmakers should try to sustain. According to a new Environment America report, in that year transit saved nearly 1.7 billion gallons of gasoline in the tri-state area. That’s the equivalent of keeping 2.9 million cars off of the roads and 15 million tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

In New Jersey, the Tri-State Campaign co-released the report with Environment NJ. At a press conference in Tenafly yesterday, the organizations joined Rep. Steve Rothman (D-Bergen County), Tenafly Councilman Michael Latiff, and the Sierra Club in asking Congress to increase funding for transit projects like the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail extension and to ensure that federal climate legislation (the “ACES” bill) includes money for greening transportation.

For the country as a whole, transit saved over 4 billion gallons of gasoline, the equivalent of taking 7.2 million cars off the road. The report recommends that states “flex” more of their federal transportation money from road projects to transit, and has several recommendations for federal lawmakers. Chief among them are setting performance goals for the nation’s transportation network that include cutting oil consumption and pollution.  Congress will take up new federal transportation legislation anywhere between three months and a year and a half from now.