Press Release For Immediate Release Monday, November 20, 2017
Transit Improvements Increase Access to Jobs
RECENT TRANSIT INVESTMENTS IN THE GREATER HARTFORD REGION ARE IMPROVING ACCESS FOR JOB SEEKERS
Hartford, Connecticut – A report by the Accessibility Observatory at the University of Minnesota, “Access Across America: Transit 2016”, lists Hartford as one of the ten fastest growing regions in terms of the number of jobs accessible by public transportation. Of the 49 largest metropolitan areas in the country, Hartford showed the ninth greatest improvement in accessible jobs, increasing by 6.44% between 2015 and 2016. The report defines a job as accessible if it can be reached by transit and walking within 60 minutes. Based on these results an additional 6,208 jobs were accessible by transit. The report notes that approximately 61,000 jobs in the greater Hartford area are now within a 60 minute commute via transit.
Regional leaders attribute much of this improvement to recent transit investments like CTfastrak. The service, which began in March of 2015, has already led to increased ridership and investment in the corridor. As of October 2017, CTfastrak buses have provided 7.5 million rides. In October an average of 11,518 rides were taken on CTfastrak buses every weekday. Compared to two years ago, that is an increase of 20%. When local and express buses are also taken into consideration, around 12.5 million rides have been taken in the corridor as of October 2017.
The CTfastrak corridor has also seen new development since the service started. Developments such as 616 New Park in West Hartford and Columbus Commons in New Britain are bringing new residents and jobs to the corridor, while revitalizing neighborhoods. Closer proximity to transit can reduce travel times and expand that range of jobs that are accessible.
Lyle Wray, Executive Director of the Capitol Region Council of Governments noted that, “What this report shows is that smart investments in transit can improve people’s lives. As more and more people live closer and closer to high-frequency transit, they gain greater access to employment opportunities. At the same time, businesses have access to a larger pool of potential employees.”
The “Access Across America: Transit 2016” report can be found at: http://access.umn.edu/research/america/transit/2016/
More information on CTfastrak ridership data can be found at: http://crcog.org/ctfastrak-ridership/
Contact:
Tim Malone
Capitol Region Council of Governments
Phone: (860) 522-2217 ext.4221
