I often hear folks on the right describe public transit as an “expensive boondoggle”, job killing big government, etc. But the reality is anything but. Public transportation is a fantastic investment for a city to make if it wants people to have jobs. Yglesias, for example, wrote this post about a company cancelling plans to hire 150 people after Pittsburgh reduced bus service.
The mechanism here is really, really simple. The transit agency has to hire people. Drivers, mechanics, engineers, office staff, etc. So that creates jobs directly. But more importantly, it allows people to have greater access to jobs. Don’t have a car and can’t afford one? Your job search is limited to your neighborhood. Good luck. But if you can take public transportation somewhere, then your opportunities increase significantly. Additionally, a thriving transit system necesarily involves large numbers of people passing through certain places, often in the morning. Those people will buy magazines and coffee and sandwiches and so opportunities will exist for transit oriented small business near stations. Property values will rise as housing and office space within walking distance of a station is desirable.
People often say things along the lines of “ill never use it so why should I pay taxes to support it?” Well, that’s why. It’s broadly beneficial to a city’s economy. And you shouldn’t be so sure about not using it. A recent study showed that when gas prices rise significantly, transit ridership goes up. Not surprising. But when gas prices drop again, ridership decreases less than it increased. In other words, some people made the switch, then realized that hey, this is actually pretty convenient, and so they stick with it.
520 Chestnut 
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