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Executive Summary New Jersey is in possession of a valuable resource: one of the most extensive public transportation systems in the country, an artifact of a transportation past that pre-dates the Interstate Highway System and the om­nipresence of the automobile. The legacy bequeathed by this resource is a rate of transit commuting that is second highest among the 50 states. Transit ridership creates many societal, economic, and personal benefits: for example, reducing congestion on the state’s roads; alleviating the emission of pollutants and greenhouse gases; reducing the need for vehicle ownership; and freeing up commuters’ time for other uses (reading, sleeping, etc.) rather than having to pay attention to the road. In general, transit creates efficiencies and reduces the per-capita impact of the transportation sys­tem by allowing multiple travelers to share the ride. If increasing transit ridership is a desirable goal, then an intermediate goal must be to improve access to…

Findings An analysis of data from 371 transit providers in the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas reveals that: Over three-quarters of all jobs in the 100 largest metropolitan areas are in neighborhoods with transit service. Western metro areas like Los Angeles and Seattle exhibit the highest coverage rates, while rates are lowest in Southern metro areas like Atlanta and Greenville. Regardless of region, city jobs across every metro area and industry category have better access to transit than their suburban counterparts. The typical job is accessible to only about 27 percent of its metropolitan workforce by transit in 90 minutes or less. Labor access varies considerably from a high of 64 percent in metropolitan Salt Lake City to a low of 6 percent in metropolitan Palm Bay, reflecting differences in both transit provision, job concentration, and land use patterns. City jobs are consistently accessible to larger shares of metropolitan labor pools than suburban jobs, reinforcing…

Executive Summary INTRODUCTION There is a growing body of evidence, including earlier Mineta Transportation Institute-sponsored research, showing that multi-destination transit systems are far more effective in attracting passengers and more efficient in use of resources to carry each passenger than central business district (CBD)-focused systems. At the same time, however, evidence is beginning to show that multi-destination transit systems appeal largely to transit-dependent riders (also called captive riders), whose demand for transit service appears to be highly elastic with respect to the shortening of transit travel time between origin and destination. Given the interest in using transit investments to lure people from their automobiles in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce congestion, it is imperative that the appeal of such systems to choice riders (also called discretionary riders) also be understood. However, this issue remains as yet relatively unexplored.

High unemployment rates and slow employment growth continue to threaten our economy. Once-successful sectors are in decline. Even the workplace itself is in transition. New technologies and ways of working have disrupted everything from the speed of a typical product cycle to the amount of real estate a company needs.

Executive Summary Around the country, rail projects are increasingly being planned and constructed to fulfill both important trans­portation and economic development goals. Recent research has shown the potential to leverage rail infrastruc­ture investments to help grow economically vital and livable communities. This research, funded through the Gulf Coast Research Center for Evacuation and Transportation Resiliency, investigates two case studies of rail projects in Louisiana. The two cases, a potential intercity rail connection project between New Orleans and Baton Rouge and a streetcar project in downtown New Orleans, show both the significant promise of rail as a recovery tool and the logistical and political barriers to successful implementation. Research on intercity rail indicates that two key ingredients to date have been lacking in the proposed New Orleans – Baton Rouge passenger rail service: 1) effective leadership championing the project; 2) creative solutions to…

Findings Findings  An analysis of data from 371 transit providers in the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas  reveals that:  n Nearly 70 percent of large metropolitan residents live in neighborhoods with access to transit service of some kind. Transit coverage is highest in Western metro areas such as Honolulu and Los Angeles, and lowest in Southern metro areas such as Chattanooga and Greenville. Regardless of region, residents of cities and lower-income neighborhoods have  better access to transit than residents of suburbs and middle/higher-income neighborhoods.  n In neighborhoods covered by transit, morning rush hour service occurs about once every 10 minutes for the typical metropolitan commuter. In less than one quarter of large metro areas (23), however, is this typical service frequency, or “headway,” under 10 minutes. These include very large metro areas such as New york, Los Angeles, Houston, and Washington. Transit services city residents on average almost…

Introduction In many regions throughout the country, the fastest growing employment centers are now located in auto-oriented suburban communities at the edge of metropolitan regions.1 From a public transportation perspective, dispersed and low-density employment centers are very difficult to serve through fixed-guideway transit.2 The location of new jobs at the edge also has important equity implications, as low-income residents have difficulty accessing jobs in auto-oriented suburbs from their inner city, urban, or rural neighborhoods. This can result in a significant cost to households and individuals as they spend more time and money commuting to work.

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