7 Charts That Show How Good Mass Transit Can Make a City More Affordable

[thelakelander]

See how Jax ranks with other major cities when transportation costs are factored into livability:

Housing costs are often the first to come to mind when we think about whether or not a city is affordable. If the rent is too damn high, the city is too damn expensive. That's largely true, but transportation costs also have a lot to do with it. HUD actually combines the two numbers into a single "location affordability" index: if those two expenses make up more than 45 percent of your income, the city isn't affordable to you.

Full article: http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/08/7-charts-that-show-how-good-mass-transit-can-make-a-city-more-affordable/379084/

[simms3]

I hate these charts and comparisons, because as the very first commenter says, they are meaningless.

I have lived in both a cheap city and an expensive one now, and if I were firmly in the "middle class" (for my age/household needs), I would struggle MUCH MUCH more in the expensive city.  I had a car in the less expensive and now I don't have a car.  So I've seen it both ways.

Just taking SF.  The average rent now is $3,000/mo (really more, but let's call it that).  The average rent in Jacksonville is not even $1,000, but let's round up.  That $2,000/mo delta is not made up in high transportation costs by Jacksonville residents.  Jax residents aren't spending $24,000 more a year on transportation than San Francisco residents.

Finally, only 32% of SF residents are car-less, and most with a car still have to commute, within the city or to the Peninsula/Valley via car.  Transportation wise, here's what's boatloads more expensive in SF than Jacksonville:

Gas (most expensive in the country)
Insurance
Parking ($300/mo for resi buildings - off-street, $450-600/mo for office buildings)
Car taxes
Car fees (registration, etc)
Car wear and tear (hills, crazy city driving, tight parking spaces, etc)

So for the 68% of city (let alone regional, which would be much higher) households that keep at least one car, their costs to have a car and use it, even occasionally, are much more expensive than those born by Jacksonville residents.

Also, my transit sucks.  I'm not on a subway line.  24 hr bus into the financial district, sure.  But to get cross-town to my favorite bar areas?  No.  I spend $500-1,000/mo on ride services, enough to be a Beta tester for Uber, Lyft, Sidecar, and Flywheel.  I use Curb enough as well to be a preferred customer.  My roommate has a car, so I know the costs.  That is still less expensive than owning here.

Finally, one still has to pay for transit.  Whether that's through much higher taxes (property, either passed through your much higher rent or when you buy a house with a much higher basis and higher rates), or through actual monthly passes ($64 for Muni rising to $67 next month, higher for BART, and *much* higher for Caltrain).

Point is, there's a reason salaries are considerably higher in NYC, SF, Boston, DC, etc.  If everyone could easily and happily go carless and COL was truly balanced out that way, then salaries would not need to be dramatically higher.

Forget about cost of groceries and simple things like haircuts (I took heat for that one on MJ), eating out, gyms, services, etc etc.


Stupid stupid stupid comparison.  All of my friends are buying houses in Jacksonville with salaries that are half of mine, or less.  I have basically nothing in the bank (though likely a much higher 401K and investments at this point because I match at 6% on a much higher salary base), and if I wanted to buy a house in CA, I would need a few hundred grand just to put down.  So then I sacrifice not getting an MBA debt free, which means I likely sacrifice connections and higher salary/opportunities coming out, etc etc.

There are trade offs.  You take a higher salary in NYC and SF, and you arguably have a better quality of life if you like the dramatically faster pace, which can burn people out, but you're likely not getting married (or really even having long term relationships), having kids, buying houses, and joining ritzy country clubs at the age of 24-28 like everyone I seem to know in Jax.  I think that in and of itself proves that this comparison is utter bullshit.