US, October 7, 2014: A research conducted by the Accessibility Observatory at the University of Minnesota has ranked 46 of the 50 largest (by population) metropolitan areas in the United States for accessibility to jobs by transit.
The new rankings, part of the Access Across America study series that was initiated in 2013, measures accessibility to jobs via various modes of transportation in major metropolitan areas across the United States. Accessibility measures how many destinations, such as jobs, can be reached in a given time.
The report—Access Across America: Transit 2014—presents detailed accessibility values for each of the 46 metropolitan areas, as well as detailed block-level colour maps that illustrate the spatial patterns of accessibility within each area. In addition, time-lapse map videos for each area are forthcoming and new analysis of the data from the accessibility to jobs by transit rankings will be published periodically.
State departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, and transit agencies can apply the evaluations to performance goals related to congestion, reliability, and sustainability. In addition, detailed accessibility evaluation can help in selecting between project alternatives and prioritizing investments.
Upcoming reports in the Access Across America series will explore more detailed aspects of transit accessibility to jobs, including accessibility to jobs of different wage levels and a comparison with accessibility by car.
Source: University of Minnesota
