Research identifies three categories of benefits provided by public transit: mobility, equity and efficiency.

Mobility benefits result from increased travel options for people who cannot use an automobile. Transit provides mobility to many people who do not have access to other modes of travel due to age, disability or income. The expansion of accessible conventional transit further improves mobility. With an aging population and a greater emphasis on integrating persons with disabilities into the community, transit's accessibility role will become even more important.

Equity comes from removing travel barriers by giving all citizens access to low-cost accessible transit. This provides access to jobs, services and housing throughout the community.

Efficiency benefits result from reduced motor vehicle use. This includes user savings, congestion reduction, parking cost savings, reduced accidents, local economic development, and environmental and social benefits.

Many growing communities throughout BC face major infrastructure and congestion costs such as construction and maintenance costs for expanded roadways and parking facilities, as well as traffic control and enforcement costs associated with rapidly increasing automobile use. By diverting growth in automobile traffic to transit, particularly at peak travel times, significant savings can be realized.

Many communities throughout BC, particularly the larger ones, are in the process of developing new Official Community Plans and Growth Management Strategies. Reduced automobile dependence is a major theme in many of these plans, and transit will play a key role in developing the more pedestrian-friendly communities that the plans envision. Not only does transit provide a travel alternative to the automobile, but it can also be an important tool in shaping land use patterns in the communities it serves.

These benefits are not automatic. An underutilized transit service, often the manifestation of not meeting the needs of the targeted markets — be they seniors, students or commuters — can be an overall disbenefit to a community. Thus, the importance of matching long-range community planning with the transportation needs of the community.