Brookings Institution on Transit and Jobs in Metropolitan America

Public transit is a critical part of the economic and social fabric of metropolitan areas in New England and throughout the rest of the U.S. Nearly 30 million trips are made every day using public transit. Almost all of these trips occur in the nation’s 100 largest metro areas, which account for over 95 percent of all transit passenger miles traveled. People take transit for a variety of reasons, but one of the most common is to get to work.

The Metropolitan Policy Program of the Brookings Institution recently took an in-depth look at how effectively transit connects people and jobs within and across these metropolitan areas (which include the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH; Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT; Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT; New Haven-Milford, CT; Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, ME; Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA; Springfield, MA; and Worcester, MA metropolitan areas).

Key findings of this study include:

• nearly 70 percent of large metropolitan residents live in neighborhoods with access to transit service of some kind;
• in neighborhoods covered by transit, morning rush hour service occurs about once every 10 minutes for the typical metropolitan commuter
• the typical metropolitan resident can reach about 30 percent of jobs in their metropolitan area via transit in 90 minutes
• about one-quarter of jobs in low- and middle-skill industries are accessible via transit within 90 minutes for the typical metropolitan commuter, compared to one-third of jobs in high-skill industries; and
• fifteen of the twenty metro areas that rank highest on a combined score of transit coverage and job access are in the West (none are in New England).

For more information, please visit:

Brookings: Missed Opportunity: Transit and Jobs in Metropolitan America (12 MAY 11)

Brookings: Move It: How the U.S. Can Improve Transportation Policy (23 MAY 11)

Brookings: Explaining the Findings of Transit Accessibility Research (23 MAY 11)

Brookings: Metropolitan Transit Access: Coverage (interactive mapping application)

New England Metropolitan Transit Accessibility Profiles:

Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH Metro Area

Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT Metro Area

Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT Metro Area

New Haven-Milford, CT Metro Area

Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, ME Metro Area

Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA Metro Area

Springfield, MA Metro Area

Worcester, MA Metro Area

Full report:

Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings: Missed Opportunity: Transit and Jobs in Metropolitan America (May 2011)

Background information:

The Brookings Institution