Thursday, July 15, 2010
Transit Survey: Metro Atlanta transit riders are employed, students
Posted by Thomas Wheatley @thomaswheatley on Thu, Jul 15, 2010 at 3:38 PM
- CL File/Joeff Davis
- Less than one percent of respondents considered themselves 'pantsless'
The Atlanta Regional Commission polled more than 50,000 transit riders on the metro region's seven different transit systems between October and January to learn more about their travel patterns.
Among the survey's major findings, according to the ARC:
>> Public Transit Usage Is Significant in the Atlanta Area. The results of the survey show the region’s transit system facilitates more than 270,000 one-way trips per day, or more than 1.3 million trips during a typical five-day work week. This means the region’s transit system is having a significant and positive impact on traffic flow and air quality.
>> Public transit is important to the region’s economy. 72.8 percent of respondents are currently employed, and trips to/from work are the most frequent non-home destination for transit users in the region. In fact, 45 percent of all transit trips are between a person’s home and their work place. Without public transit, 64 percent of those surveyed would have difficulties getting to work because they do not have a car or their car is not available.>> Public transit is important to education in the region. 31 percent of respondents are students, making colleges/schools the second most frequent, non-home destination. In fact, one in every 6.2 transit trips involves travel between a person’s home and a school, daycare or college. On a typical weekday, more than 40,000 school-related trips are completed on public transportation in the Atlanta area.
>> Many residents with cars and higher incomes are choosing to use public transit instead of driving. The results of the survey show that 10 percent of all transit users in the region have annual household incomes of $75,000 or more. Among those with annual household incomes of at least $75,000, 73 percent indicate they could have completed their trip by driving a car.
You can read the executive summary and complete survey at the ARC's website.
Comments (5)
Showing 1-5 of 5
How could this be true? I was told by multiple online sources (by which I mean transit-hating, angry-pants blog commenters) that public transit is a waste of money and is basically an overly-expensive welfare system.
Now you tell me that transit serves a considerable amount of employed people and students, some of whom intentionally choose transit over driving. If this is true, it would surely mean that there are multiple levels of benefit to the populace and economy in funding transit.
I don't know what to believe in anymore. Oh, angry-pants transit haters -- why did you deceive me?
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Someone should have told you about going onto Peach Pundit. Hazardous to your health.
Though those survey results aren't anything new.
Just as our continued investment, now via managed lanes, in expanding capacity for single occupancy vehicles while maybe tossing a bus our way (though while cutting 3 buses elsewhere) isn't anything new.
See today's announcement on I75 and the need for public funds and tolls to pay for the "private" investment in I75 managed lanes.
Manage This Mother F... oops sorry .
Is any of this information surprising? If one uses the system, wouldn't one already realize these facts?
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