Economic and Community Benefits of Local Bus Transit Service

Ann Arbor Transportation Authority bus

The Michigan Department of Transportation commissioned a report that quantified the economic and community benefits of transit service. From the MDOT website:

According to a new study just released by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), it is estimated that transit operations sustained about 9,200 jobs and contributed $1 billion in economic output in Michigan in 2008. The study also found that for every 10 jobs created in the public transit sector, six additional jobs are created in the rest of the economy and the money passengers save by taking the bus added $264.4 million to the Michigan economy. The findings are the result of a new Michigan-based assessment tool created to help MDOT and transit agencies better understand the important role transit plays in stimulating the state's economy and helping communities and their residents. Click here to view the full report.

Note that I often make the point that for cities, transit is one of the only industries many cities have left. You need not just bus and train operators, but a wide ranging infrastructure to support transit, and mechanics of all sorts to keep the system running. In DC, railroad service is also important, as Amtrak is based here, and is a significant contributor to the local economy, providing a number of high paying jobs for locomotive engineers, conductors, and the people who work in the Ivy City Maintenance Yard, keeping the equipment in operation, even though this isn't discussed much except in terms of tourism.

Also, according to this editorial, "Money for transit pays off in economy," from the Detroit Free Press, the report says that by using transit, riders save "nearly $350 million in fuel and other transportation expenses."

Note that for the most part in my life before coming to Washington, I didn't have much experience riding transit. A couple passenger train rides, the subway in Toronto and New York City, some experiences on the Long Island Rail Road, and a few bus rides in Ann Arbor, Michigan on both the public transit system and the University bus system. (And in DC, if my then girlfriend didn't happen to work in a place where the receptionist was a native Washingtonian, and who coached her on using the bus system, I wonder if I would have ever began using the bus otherwise.)