The nation’s public transit systems are rated on everything from cleanliness to on-time performance.    A unique report issued by the Brookings Institution seeks to add a new and potentially useful metric — their ability to get passengers to jobs.

Getting passengers to their employers may seem like it’s a no-brainer for operators of mass transit systems, but the reality is far more complex.  One of Brookings’ findings was that 70% of residents of the 100 largest metropolitan areas that were surveyed had access to public transportation of some kind.  The bad news is that they were only able to access 30% of their jobs within 90 minutes of their homes.

• Read The Ten Cities With The Best Public Transportation
• Read The Ten Cities With The Worst Public Transportation

Researchers found a huge difference in the ability of people to access jobs in their regions, ranging from 60% in Honolulu, where jobs are concentrated, to 7%  in Palm Bay, Florida, where jobs are far more spread out.   So-called job sprawl is one of the factors that separates the top performers from the bottom performers in 24/7 Wall St.’s list of the most effective and least effective regions for public transportation. Fifteen out of the top 20 performers were in the West and many of the bottom finishers were in the South.

Good geography and smart policy decisions separated the creme of the crop from the rest.   Many such as Honolulu,  Denver and Salt Lake City have undertaken bold expansion plans over the past few years fueled by dedicated local funding sources.   The research by Brookings is designed to serve as guide for policy decisions about transportation and regional planning.

In an interview, Elizabeth Kneebone, one of the report’s authors, argued that access to jobs is inextricably linked to poverty, which rose 37% in the suburbs between 2000 and 2009.  That’s a rate that was five times higher than in the cities.  One reason for this disparity is the lack of access to jobs through public transportation.

“As economies and opportunity decentralize, a`spatial mismatch’ has arisen between jobs and people in metropolitan America,” the report says. “In some metro areas, inner-city workers are cut off from suburban labor market opportunities. In others, low- and-income suburban residents spend large shares of their incomes owning and operating cars.”

Policymakers have promoted various ways to encourage local governments to make jobs more accessible through incentives.  While these efforts have met with some success, clearly more work needs to be done, according to the report.

The Center for Transportation Excellence notes that poor families spend more than 40% of their take home pay on transportation, a figure which was increased by 33% since 1992.  Indeed, the issue is becoming more pressing as gas prices continue to rise past $4 gallon in most communities, making commuting for many increasingly unaffordable.  This is a huge problem in the suburbs.

“Often the suburban poor are not living in jobs-rich neighborhoods,” she says, adding that experts are trying to encourage more sensible  development so that jobs are more “sensibly” in areas accessible to public  transportation.  “Those are exactly the types of communities where we find public transportation is lacking.”

Though poor people need access to jobs, it’s not a sure thing that public transportation can create them.  For instance, Las Vegas finished 8th on the 24/7 Wall St. list.  Its unemployment rate is 13.1%., one of the highest in the country due to the decimation of the casino industry caused by the recession.  Modesto, Calif., with its 18.1% unemployment, rated 10th.  Conversely, regions with low unemployment such as Atlanta, Knoxville, Tenn. and Poughkeepsie, New York, fared poorly.

Researchers at Brookings point out that even the best public transit networks can not overcome huge macroeconomic changes.   Private companies take this issue seriously.  In high-congestion areas such as Northern Virginia, companies report that perspective employees are turned off by the prospect of long commute times.  Google and Microsoft ferry their employees in private shuttles to and from work.

Indeed, critics of public transportation argue that it’s not economical without massive government subsidies and that taxpayer dollars would be better spent on improving the nation’s crumbling roadways.  Many transit systems wound up getting in hot water by expanding into areas where demand for their services was weak.

“While transit’s main market is in the dense inner cities, agencies began running buses and, in many cases, building rail lines to relatively wealthy low-density suburbs that have three cars in every garage,” writes Randal O’Toole of the Libertarian Cato Institute in a post published last year, who advocates that agencies should be privatized. “The result of overbuying and extended service was lots of nearly empty buses and railcars: the average transit vehicle load is only about one-sixth of capacity, so if you are the sole occupant of a five-passenger SUV, you can be smugly proud that the car are driving has a higher occupancy rate than public transit.”

The nation’s subways, buses and light rail systems are filled to capacity as increasing numbers of commuters look to escape high gas prices.  At the same time, transit systems are unable to escape the budgetary axe falling in state capitals.  Even President Obama slashed grant money for public transit agencies in his budget.

Ever since the recession began, ridership on mass transit systems has soared.  The American Public Transportation Association estimates that ridership increased by 38% between 1995 and 2008.   Though more current figures were not available, it is likely that they have continued to rise given the rise in gas prices.

The Brookings study is being released at a time when many public transit agencies are under increasing amounts of financial stress at a time when ridership is soaring because of high gas prices and government aid is declining.  For instance, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo slashed $100 million from the budget of the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority, the nation’s largest transit system.  MTA also is selling its headquarters in a move that should yield about $150 million that will go toward capital improvement projects.  Officials in Washington, D.C., are considering cutting some weekend service to help close a $66 million budget gap, according to the Washington Post.  Lower revenue and higher operating expenses forced The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to restructure $67.9 million in principal payments in a cost-cutting move.  Last year, Atlanta’s MARTA system was so deep in the red — $120 million that it was forced to cut one-quarter of its service.

But as the Brookings Report notes, public transport is not the solution to joblessness but it is certainly part of it.

Here are the The Cities With Best And Worst Public Transportation Systems.

The Best Public Transportation Systems

population (Census – 2009)
median income (Census – 2009)
unemployment (BLS – March 2011)
share of jobs reachable (Brookings)
unlinked passenger trips (APTA 2009)

1 Honolulu, HI
> Population: 307,574
> Median Income: $67,744
> Unemployment: 5.1%
> Coverage:  97%
> Share of Jobs Reachable in 90 Minutes: 59.8%
> Unlinked Passenger Trips:  78,940.2

Hawaii’s best-in-class public transit system may only get better under the proposed $5.3 billion Honolulu Rail Transit Project. The project will connect East Kapolei with Ala Moana Center and includes 21 stations along the rail line within the island’s most congested urban corridor.  “So many people depend on transit now and will depend on it in the future,” says Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle.  The project, though, has generated controversy.

2 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
> Population: 1,839,700
> Median Income: $84,483
> Unemployment: 10.6%
> Coverage:   95.6%
> Share of Jobs Reachable in 90 Minutes: 58.4%
>  Unlinked Passenger Trips: 46,599.7

Officials in the Santa Clara Transportation Authority cemented their standings last through the introduction of new light-rail service between Santa Teresa and Baypointe.  The VTA trains travel up to 45 miles per hour and are proving to be quite popular.  “….it’s currently adding ridership to our system; in addition, due to the well-received wi-fi on the express light rail, we are beginning to place wi-fi equipment on all VTA light rail vehicles (they are not all in yet, we are in the process of placing them in),” says spokeswoman Jennie Hwang Loft in an email.

3 Salt Lake City, UT
> Population: 1,130,239
> Median Income: $57,138
> Unemployment: 7.3%
> Coverage:   89%
> Share of Jobs Reachable in 90 Minutes: 58.9%
>  Unlinked Passenger Trips: 37,219.0.

Utah is definitely a state where public transportation is a serious need. Its population in 2010 was approximately 3 million. By 2030 it is projected to be 4.4 million and by 2060, 6.8 million.  According to the Deseret News, the average commute time from Salt Lake City to Provo and vice versa, is about 42 minutes.  Fueled by a dedicated sales tax approved by voters, the Utah Transportation Authority is working on what it has dubbed the FrontLine. The FrontLines 2015 program is a group of five UTA rail projects that will all be in operation by the year 2015 and will add 70 miles to UTA’s existing 64-mile rail network.

4 Tucson, AZ
> Population: 1,020,200
> Median Income: $43,137
> Unemployment: 8.5%
> Coverage:  73.1%
> Share of Jobs Reachable in 90 Minutes: 58.2%
>  Unlinked Passenger Trips: 2,044.3

Efforts by a member of the Tuscon City Council to cut the amount of money going to transportation went nowhere.  Councilman Steve Kozachik is quoted in the Arizona Daily Star accusing his colleagues of showing undue favoritism to public transit, a charge they deny.  In fact, bus fares will increase 22 to 33%.  Sun Tran, the public transit agency, is planning to further expand service.

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5 Fresno, CA
> Population: 315,267
> Median Income: $45,661
> Unemployment: 18.4%
>  Coverage:  71.5%
> Share of Jobs Reachable in 90 Minutes: 57.0%
>  Unlinked Passenger Trips: 14,296.4

Officials in the Fresno region expect a huge increase in the demand for public transportation in the coming years.  A study conducted by Fast Track Fresno County — an association of local governments — found  “52% of new growth would be centered in populated transit corridors as opposed to 38% under current strategies,” according to the Business Journal.  California officials are planning an 800-mile  rail line between San Diego and Los Angeles to Sacramento and San Francisco through Fresno.  (Updates to remove erroneous reference to the line being “light rail.”)  The project is not without its critics, however, as the Fresno Bee noted state officials claim that its backers are relying on unrealistic economic assumptions.

6 Denver-Aurora, CO
> Population: 2,552,195
> Median Income: $59,007
> Unemployment: 9.3%
>  Coverage:  83.7%
> Share of Jobs Reachable in 90 Minutes: 47.5%
>  Unlinked Passenger Trips: 98,356.4

Denver officials decided that discretion was the better part of valor.   The Regional Transportation District of Denver decided last month not to seek a sales tax increase to fund the multi-billion dollar FasTracks Expansion plan.  FasTracks is one of the biggest transit expansions in the country, and seeks to build 122 miles of commuter rail and light rail, 18 miles of bus rapid transit service, add 21,000 new parking spaces, redevelop Denver Union Station and redirect bus service to better connect the eight-county region.  “The RTD Board realizes that while economic conditions are slowly but steadily improving in the Denver Metro area, the timing is not right for a 2011 ballot initiative,” said RTD Board Chair Lee Kemp in a press release. “We remain committed to continuing to work with our regional partners to complete FasTracks sooner rather than later.”

7 Albuquerque, NM
> Population: 857,903
> Median Income: $46,824
> Unemployment: 7.7%
>  Coverage:  73.1%
> Share of Jobs Reachable in 90 Minutes: 52.9%
>  Unlinked Passenger Trips:  12,040.9

Former Gov. Bill Richardson (D) helped set up Road Runner rail service between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.   The $400 million train was paid for by local sales tax increases approved by voters.  Now, some in New Mexico are calling for the service to be privatized.

8 Las Vegas-Paradise, NV
> Population: 1,902,834
> Median Income: $53,505
> Unemployment: 13.3%
>  Coverage:  85.5%
> Share of Jobs Reachable in 90 Minutes: 44.0%
>  Unlinked Passenger Trips: 67,126.4

With its throngs of tourists and one of the fastest-growing populations in the U.S., Las Vegas transportation officials have their hands full.  The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Southern Nevada recently commemorated the beginning of construction of the  $33.4 million new Sahara Express rapid transit project. “We are committed to creating a rapid transit system in Southern Nevada that provides enhanced connecaround the Las Vegas Valley faster and with greater ease,” said RTC General Manager Jacob Snow.

9 Provo-Orem, UT
> Population: 555,551
> Median Income: $57,476
> Unemployment: 7.6%
>  Coverage:  73.1 %
> Share of Jobs Reachable in 90 Minutes: 48.3%
>  Unlinked Passenger Trips: n/a

The Utah Transportation Authority also provides services to Provo.  The Provo-Orem Bus Rapid Transit project is part of the UTA’s expansion plans.  Bus rapid transit allows buses to operate with the efficiency of rail. As with other states, transportation is a big deal in Utah.  Lawmakers have scheduled a vote to overturn Gov. Gary Herbert’s veto of a bill that dedicates a portion of the state sales tax to transportation, the Associated Press says.

10 Modesto, CA
> Population: 510,385
> Median Income: $48,716
> Unemployment: 18.4%
> Coverage: 90.4%
> Share of Jobs Reachable in 90 Minutes: 48.3%
>  Unlinked Passenger Trips:  n/a

Modesto is slated to have a station on the proposed California light-rail network.  The city, which has been hard hit by the recession, is currently served by the bus service of the Modesto Area Express.  It offers connections to the BART network that serves the San Francisco area.

The Worst Public Transportation Systems

10 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA
> Population: 5,475,213
> Median Income: $55,464
> Unemployment: 9.8%
> Coverage: 37.8%
> Share of Jobs Reachable in 90 Minutes: 21.7%
>  Unlinked Passenger Trips:  156,542.4

One word explains the Atlanta area’s poor performance on the list: cost-cutting.  Last year, Atlanta’s MARTA system approved an austerity budget that required what officials described was “difficult but necessary action” including the elimination of some service.  “MARTA’s FY 2011 budget includes a number of internal cost containment measures; a 10.2 percent reduction in bus service (131 routes to 91 routes), a 14.2 percent reduction in rail service, an increase in weekly, monthly and Mobility pass prices; closure of two RideStores; reduced customer service call center hours; a reduction in the number of Station Agents assigned throughout the system, and designation of public restrooms at nine major transfer points and end-of-line stations,” the system said.

9 Richmond, VA
> Population: 539,154
> Median Income: $55,609
> Unemployment: 7.0%
> Coverage: 30.8%
> Share of Jobs Reachable in 90 Minutes: 26.5%
>  Unlinked Passenger Trips: 14,404.2

Like other transit systems,  Richmond’s GTRC Transit System has been hit by the recession.  Last year, it raised fares and cut some service.  In 2008, GRTC was named the number one system in North America of its size by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).  Brookings researchers say they use different criteria than APTA and that both rankings are valid.

8 Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC
> Population: 179,315
> Median Income: $43,283
> Unemployment: 8.0%
> Coverage: 27.7%
> Share of Jobs Reachable in 90 Minutes: 29.4%
>  Unlinked Passenger Trips: n/a

The Greenville region has a big incentive to improve its transit system.  South Carolina Gov. Nicki Haley just announced that organic food company Amy’s Kitchen plans to open a new plant in the city that will employ 700.   Meanwhile, officials are studying transforming I-85, a major highway, into a toll road which should reduce congestion further.

7 Birmingham-Hoover, AL
> Population: 1,131,700
> Median Income: $44,868
> Unemployment: 8.4%
> Coverage: 32.1%
> Share of Jobs Reachable in 90 Minutes: 23.3%
>  Unlinked Passenger Trips: 106

Birmingham’s public transit system, Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority, has struggled for years.  Last year, Mayor William Bell paid the bus system $10 million it owed, negating the need for major service cuts. The system’s long-term funding solutions still need to be solved.

6 Knoxville, TN
> Population: 699,247
> Median Income: $45,156
> Unemployment: 7.5%
> Coverage: 27.9%
> Share of Jobs Reachable in 90 Minutes: 25.4%
>  Unlinked Passenger Trips: n/a

Knoxville’s inclusion on the list appears to be a function of its small size.  Officials have plans on the drawing board for $6.6 billion dollars in transportation projects over 25 years. One reason for these grand plans may be air quality, a problem that has plagued Tennessee for year.

5 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
> Population: 4,143,113
> Median Income: $53,185
> Unemployment: 13.9%
> Coverage: 77.3%
> Share of Jobs Reachable in 90 Minutes: 7.9%
>  Unlinked Passenger Trips: n/a

Nowhere in the Brookings study is the problem of public transit illustrated so starkly.  Less than 8% of jobs are reachable in the Riverside region. That’s probably because most people drive to work on Southern California’s congested highways.   Cost cutting has also been an issue.

4 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA
> Population: 562,963
> Median Income: $40,920
> Unemployment: 9.9%
> Coverage: 36.3%
> Share of Jobs Reachable in 90 Minutes: 14.2%
>  Unlinked Passenger Trips: n/a

The Western Reserve Transportation Authority says on its website that it serves all of Mahoning County.   Brookings’ data would beg to differ.  Its coverage is a measly 36.2% and its jobs reach is a paltry 14.2%.

3 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC
> Population: 121,090
> Median Income: $42,146
> Unemployment: 8.4%
> Coverage: 30.2%
> Share of Jobs Reachable in 90 Minutes: 16.4%
>  Unlinked Passenger Trips: n/a.

Like other poor performers, cost is an issue in the Augusta region.  City officials are considering hiring a private company to operate its transit system, a move the local press says could save $400,000 annually.  “Commissioners have said they want to privatize the bus system to improve service, which has been criticized by riders as inadequate,” the Augusta Chronicle says.

2 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL
> Population: 536,357
> Median Income: $45,391
> Unemployment: 11.1%
> Coverage: 64%
> Share of Jobs Reachable in 90 Minutes: 7.4%
>  Unlinked Passenger Trips: n/a.

Palm Bay is another example of poorly deployed transit resources.   A region of its size needs to do a better job in transporting people.   Congestion is a huge problem in that part of Florida.   The region’s Space Coast Area Transit has faced budgetary pressures for years.

1 Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY
> Population: 677,094
> Median Income: $69,148
> Unemployment: 7.7%
> Coverage: 46.8%
> Share of Jobs Reachable in 90 Minutes: 8.2%
>  Unlinked Passenger Trips: n/a.

Kealy Saloman, Dutchess County Planning & Development, had the following reaction when asked about the report:

Without more time to look at information used by the Brookings Institution I cannot tell whether the researchers used our current route system, or the one in place in 2008 or 2009.  Until the report is released I will not be able to tell if they accurately represented our system schedule in their model:

Dutchess County revised its route system in mid-2010 to focus bus service on major corridors.  We provided more frequent service in some areas and later service to accommodate work locations at major retail and hotel/restaurant establishments.

–Jonathan Berr

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