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Looking at the transit maps across the region, you would think that Tampa Bay residents have easy transit access to jobs. After all, there are bus stops everywhere, right?
Sure there are, but look at the schedules. HART’s Carrollwood/Citrus Park express to downtown leaves the Carrollwood Park-n-ride at 6:45 a.m., and leaves downtown back north at 5:15 p.m. Are either of those times convenient?
PSTA’s route 19 extends from Tarpon Springs to the southern tip of Pinellas County along US 19. A rider who needs to get to downtown St. Pete by 9 a.m from Countryside needs to catch the bus by 7:05 a.m. What happens when that rider also has to get their child to school at 7 a.m. ?
The Brookings Institution had the same conclusion in their “Transit Access and Zero Vehicle Households” study: our area transit systems are not effective enough in getting people to work. They found that only 18.5 percent of Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater residents can access their jobs within 90 minutes with the use of transit. Among the top metros,Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is the 7th worst for jobs access. In Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, 26.5 percent of residents could reach their jobs in 90 minutes with the use of transit. Lakeland-Winter Haven falls between the two at 23 percent.
By not having an efficient transit system, Tampa Bay hurts our own residents. For those who cannot drive, due to health or income, transit is the only way to get to a job. Without transit, that person doesn’t work and won’t improve our regional economy.
If we want to have a vibrant economy in Tampa Bay, we must continue building our transportation system. This will create investments in the community, but also provide for a way for our residents to get to work.
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