GOAL 16: Percentage of employment accessible by bus or rail transit
INDICATOR: Percentage of employment accessible by bus or rail transit
Why is this important?
If more people used public transit to get to work, the region would have far less vehicle traffic, resulting in less air pollution. People are more likely to use transit to commute to work if it is accessible and convenient to their jobs.
How are we doing?
In 2003 (the latest figures available), about 52 percent of all employed residents in the 10-county region worked at locations less than a half-mile from public transit. However, only 31.4 percent of regional residents lived within walking distance of public transit - meaning that many workers have to use automobiles to get from their homes to bus stops or train stations.
In a recent analysis pairing transit accessibility with household incomes and popular residential areas in the 13-county metro region, ARC researchers found that some 41 percent of households within incomes under $20,000 a year had ready access to public transit, compared to only 19 percent of households with incomes over $100,000. While some areas had more than 100,000 households within 40 minutes of public transit by foot or automobile, other parts of the region had very limited access. There are 122,975 households within a 40 minute travel time to Perimeter center. Surprisingly, more Perimeter Mall area (DeKalb County) households had 40-minute transit access than did households in the close-in Buckhead area of Atlanta and Fulton County. In areas served by transit systems other than MARTA (i.e., counties and municipalities outside Fulton and DeKalb), transit access was significantly lower.
Air Quality & Transportation
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