Because they have no arguments, the pro-tax side will increasingly reach to invent some. Case in point, the half-page CATS ad the other day in the Uptown paper of record claiming that riding the bus helps clean the air.

CATS claimed, “Public transportation produces 95% less carbon monoxide than driving alone” and “Public transportation produces over 95% less carbon monoxide and about half the carbon dioxide emissions per passenger mile as private vehicles.”

Not so fast.

Here’s noted transit critic Randal O’Toole on CATS’ claim:

These statements are not factually correct, particularly with reference to CATS. Diesel buses typically produce a little less carbon monoxide than gasoline vehicles, but nowhere near 95 percent less. Diesels also typically produce much more nitrogen oxides than automobiles, and nitrogen oxides are precursors to ozone smog — ozone being the pollutant that causes most violations under federal law. (Almost nowhere in the country has a carbon monoxide problem.) Diesels also produce far more particulates, the second-most source of air pollution violations.

I recently compared transit energy consumption and carbon dioxide outputs for all transit agencies and modes of transit. For comparison, a typical passenger car consumes 3,445 BTUs and emits 0.54 pounds of carbon dioxide per passenger mile. That doesn’t include light trucks (pickups, vans, and SUVs), which on average use 4,800 BTUs and emit 0.75 pounds of CO2 per passenger mile. There are about 135 million cars and 93 million light trucks, so the weighted average of these two is about 4,000 BTUs and 0.62 pounds of CO2 per passenger mile.

My analysis of transit agencies is based on fuel consumption data submitted to the Federal Transit Administration. CATS buses consumed more than 5,600 BTUs per passenger mile and emitted 0.90 pounds of CO2 per passenger mile. So they actually do worse than SUVs and other light trucks. …

All my numbers assume 1.6 people per car, which is the national average. But you can see that even if you assume only 1 person per car, as the CATS ad does, CATs is nowhere near 95 percent less or even half of automobiles. Unlike CO2, whose outputs are more-or-less fixed according to fuel, there are no hard-and-fast rules of thumb for CO, but there is no way that CATs buses emit 95 percent less CO than single-occupancy autos.

Much more on the topic of transit and energy use on O’Toole’s blog.

And here’s independent transit analyst Wendell Cox on CATS’ claim:

That would be true of New York, but if the special case of New York is excluded, it turns out there is little difference in the greenhouse gas emissions per passenger mile between private vehicles and transit. Indeed, in Charlotte, transit emits more greenhouse gases per passenger mile than private vehicles. A review of Charlotte Transit’s diesel fuel usage and ridership for 2005 indicates that 50 grams of greenhouse gases were emitted per passenger mile. This compares to the national city average for private vehicles of less than 40. Both figures include the energy used in refining.

Perhaps it should not be surprising that those who missed their cost projections on the Charlotte rail system by 90 percent should have no clue about greenhouse gas emissions.

Incidentally, here is the Los Angeles Times noting that Cox was exactly right about ridership projections for the $650 million Las Vegas Monorail. Back in 2000 Cox projected that there was no way the project would move 54,000 people a day. Instead it does less than half that number.

This matters to Charlotte in two ways. One, back in 2000 Cox also pegged the South line as a $500 million back when CATS was swearing that it would only cost $331 million. Two, the Vegas Monorail is also a client of R&R Partners, the firm just hired by the pro-tax lobby to run its $500,000-plus media campaign.

Bonus Observation: How much carbon and related greenhouse gases has CATS added to the atmosphere during construction of the South line? How much will the North line add? Or doesn’t that matter?

Update: Anyone who feels misled by the ad campaign, here’s the consumer complaint form from the state AG’s office.