Public Transit Is Worth Way More to a City Than You Think

[Bridges]

From The Atlantic Cities

Planning scholar Daniel Chatman of the University of California at Berkeley has been thinking a lot lately about "agglomeration." Don't let the technical word throw you. All it really means is more people in the same place. As more people collect in a city center, more jobs cluster there too, boosting both wages and economic productivity over time. And the key to it all, he believes, may be public transportation.

"To me it's fascinating," says Chatman. "It's all about how people interact with each other. This is what could be happening by virtue of this densification near transit stops, which could happen from investments that draw people to use transit."

In a new paper set for publication in Urban Studies, Chatman and fellow planner Robert Noland of Rutgers University use concrete numbers to make the case that transit produces agglomeration. They report that this hidden economic value of transit could be worth anywhere from $1.5 million to $1.8 billion a year, depending on the size of the city. And the bigger the city, they find, the bigger the agglomeration benefit of expanding transit.

Every time a metro area added about 4 seats to rails and buses per 1,000 residents, the central city ended up with 320 more employees per square mile — an increase of 19 percent. Adding 85 rail miles delivered a 7 percent increase. A 10 percent expansion in transit service (by adding either rail and bus seats or rail miles) produced a wage increase between $53 and $194 per worker per year in the city center. The gross metropolitan product rose between 1 and 2 percent, too.

On average, across all the metro areas in the study, expanding transit service produced an economic benefit via agglomeration of roughly $45 million a year — with that figure ranging between $1.5 million and $1.8 billion based on the size of the city. Big cities stand to benefit more simply because they have more people sharing the transit infrastructure. They also tend to have more of the traffic that cripples agglomeration in the absence of transit.

If the findings do hold true, they mean that cities and transit agencies are underestimating the true benefits of public transportation.

full article: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2013/08/public-transit-worth-way-more-city-you-think/6532/

[JayBird]

Another study proving what those who've used public trans in other cities already know, yet JTA refuses to acknowledge. However, I don't see change coming soon because in my opinion the only way Jax will improve would be to split Road/Highway Structure and Mass Transit into two agencies, and someone on one of the boards informed me that doing so would take legislation from the State. That is a lot of T's to be crossed and I's to be dotted.

But I will remain ever optimistic that one day I will be able to board JaxRail to Jacksonville Terminal and then take the Skyway to a Suns game or a trolley car over to King Street.

[Lunican]

It seems like we struggle to understand the stuff people knew a hundred years ago.

[Cheshire Cat]

It seems like we struggle to understand the stuff people knew a hundred years ago.

Yes, it sure seems that way doesn't it?  I wonder what the real reason is?  I think we need to look to politics for at least a portion of that answer.  I wonder will things improve under the new leadership in JTA?

[thelakelander]

^Politics is the main reason. Find a way for some people to make money off building and operating mass transit and you'll have lines all over the place.

[Cheshire Cat]

^Politics is the main reason. Find a way for some people to make money off building and operating mass transit and you'll have lines all over the place.

Ennis, do not the cities currently succeeding with transport make money?  I honestly don't know, but something must be happening that has them understanding and embracing a good transport system. 

[JayBird]

I think even at its best, mass transit still gets a bad rap. Take NYC. Just this spring they upped the fees to ride subway/local buses. Instead of paying $109/month I now pay $112/month. That entitles me to ride unlimited throughout the system across all five boroughs. And yet, ppl still complained. It didn't turn it into a profit making venture, I don't think there is a mass transit system that makes money. It is just an easy thing to complain about, and everyone is going to have a bad experience at least once with a late bus/train or mechanical failure.

Of course, AAF/FECI could end up shifting that entire current reality if they succeed.

[thelakelander]

^Politics is the main reason. Find a way for some people to make money off building and operating mass transit and you'll have lines all over the place.

Ennis, do not the cities currently succeeding with transport make money?  I honestly don't know, but something must be happening that has them understanding and embracing a good transport system. 

Transportation infrastructure, whether in the form of mass transit or roads, is typically a direct money loser for the public entity funding it.  Benefits for the public entity come in the form of QOL for residents and stimulating private sector economic development to bolster the tax rolls.

When discussing transportation infrastructure, I think you have to consider local history and political influence of many in the local community as well.  It's no coincidence that in the early 20th century, Detroit was the home of the auto industry and one of the early cities to have freeways slicing through all of it.  It's also no coincidence that cities, which never eliminated all forms of fixed transit (ex. NYC, San Francisco, New Orleans, Chicago, Cleveland, etc.) tend to be denser and more compact than those that didn't.

When looking at Jax's situation, it's not unlike many cities spread throughout the Sunbelt.  In the last 60 years, we've morphed our local economic structure to rely on growth around highway construction.  We are home to several major employers, land speculators, and development firms that have made their living off that model.  Many of their leaders are very influential when it comes to local politics. We've also developed into a community that is resistant to change.  Concepts like TOD, density, mixed-use and their impact on private sector are still foreign to us. From what I can tell, we're currently in a situation where we're being forced to change because of national trends and a disappearing public budget. Yet, there's still some local hope that the 1980s style trends of ponzi style sprawling growth will return. This was clearly evident in the mobility fee moratorium debate a few months back.

With that said, I do believe Jacksonville is changing for the better, in terms of it's views on the economic and QOL benefits of public transportation.  The local conversation on this topic is completely different now, than what it was when were still in our MetJax days.  Even JTA's attitude has changed for the better. However, the reality is, this stuff takes time (years) to go from concept to real life.  Also, because we are roughly a decade or two behind many of our peers in embracing various urban concepts, we're currently where other Sunbelt cities like Orlando, Charlotte, and San Diego were in the 1990s.

[Cheshire Cat]

I think you have this analyzed correctly Ennis.  I truly hope that the JTA turnover at all levels will turn out to be a positive for us.   I have a rather big question that I don't expect you to answer right away and I am sure has likely been at the core of several other board discussions so here goes.  Considering the change in conversation on this topic locally, what do you think would be the best first step forward for the JTA to take?  I guess, do you and others on the board have a concept in mind or a city we might emulate in this regard? 

[thelakelander]

To be honest? The best first step would be to get the bus system working right. Everything else fails without that.

[Cheshire Cat]

Thanks for the direct answer.  Is it your sense that there is currently a viable plan to do that being considered by the JTA?  I know I am way behind the curve on these issues but I am guessing others who read the forum may be as well.  What is most lacking with the current JTA bus service as you see it?  I ask in order that those of us who know change is necessary may better know what to support in regard to transportation issues and what to avoid.