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In our second installment, we're examining the local implications of the Brookings Institution's new study on the accessibility of jobs by transit. Job access plays an important role not only in driving transit ridership, but also in unemployment, especially in in lower income communities. Workers in disadvantaged neighborhoods lacking quality transit access are more likely to be unemployed (Korsu, Emre and Wenglenski, 2010).
At the national level, Brookings found that while 70% of residents in the 100 largest metro areas live within 3/4 mile of a transit stop, a typical resident can only access 30% of the jobs in their area via transit within 90 minutes. This mismatch highlights a number of issues, including the lack of transit connectivity to employment centers highlighted earlier this week. Other issues are more local in scope, such as the quality and frequency of transit service.
Here in Tampa Bay, our poor scores should surprise no one. Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice preformed the best in the region with an overall ranking of 57 out of the top 100. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater came in next at a less than impressive 77. Last in the region is Lakeland-Winter Haven at 85.
For a region facing double-digit unemployment, we have to do better. Across the board, our low scores were driven by below average job access and longer than average wait time for service. Lakeland-Winter Haven came in at the bottom thanks to extremely poor transit coverage, with only 44% of working age residents living within 3/4 mile of a bus stop (the national average is 69%).
By undertaking the enormous task of analyzing 100 metro areas, the report's methodology understandably misses some of the fine local details. Unfortunately for Tampa Bay, this doesn't make the picture any less bleak. The biggest sticking point (in our opinion) is the assumption that 3/4 of a mile is walking distance for bus transit. For starters, most professionals use a 1/4 mile radius in analyzing a walking zone. Presumably, this study assumed that if you had to, you'd be willing to walk farther. In FL, however, and in Tampa Bay in particular, 3/4 mile is quite a bit to expect. For most of the year, our weather is not really conducive to long walks to the bus. More importantly, we are one of the most dangerous places in the nation for pedestrians, which further discourages walking in the majority of our metro areas.
Quality of transit is also missed in this analysis. Tampa Bay is lacking in "premium" transit options (high quality bus, bus rapid transit, or rail), which makes it difficult to compare us to areas that have these amenities (and would drop us even farther down the list if it was taken into account). Frequency is also an issue. The report considers frequency, but only at peak travel times. This misses the fact that during off-peak hours, when a greater share of lower wage workers are commuting, service is less frequent or may not be available at all. This poor quality, infrequent service further isolates workers, exacerbating the unemployment problem.
Most if not all of these issues can be traced back to resources. Our cash-strapped transit agencies are simply unable to provide the level of service that would move them up in these rankings. Improving accessibility requires expanded coverage and improved frequencies - a near impossible task for agencies with declining revenues (most agencies rely on property taxes, which have declined dramatically with falling home values).
Here is the detailed breakdown for the metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in our region:
Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice MSA
69% - Share of working-age residents living 3/4 mile from a transit stop
21.0 - Median wait time (minutes) for any rush hour transit vehicle
24% - Share of all jobs reachable via transit in 90 minutes
Combined access rank - 57 (rank out of 100 metros)
Lakeland-Winter Haven MSA
44% - Share of working-age residents living 3/4 mile from a transit stop
27.2 - Median wait time (minutes) for any rush hour transit vehicle
20% - Share of all jobs reachable via transit in 90 minutes
Combined access rank - 85 (rank out of 100 metros)
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater MSA
68% - Share of working-age residents living 3/4 mile from a transit stop
12.9 - Median wait time (minutes) for any rush hour transit vehicle
16% - Share of all jobs reachable via transit in 90 minutes
Combined access rank - 77 (rank out of 100 metros)
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