Who Rides the Bus?Connecting Transit Demographics and Transit Service

Introduction

The Opportunity Collaborative

•3 rounds of community and grassroots engagement

•Approximately 6,000 people throughout the region, through more than 12 different organizations

•9 community and neighborhood summits across 5 jurisdictions

EmpowerTrans

•Focused on connecting low-income residents with transportation to jobs

•Workshops and focus groups with more than 200 participants in 4 jurisdictions, addressing challenges and solutions

Regional Challenges

•85% of job growth: occurring outside of Baltimore City

•Majority of public transportation, especially high-speed services: located inside of Baltimore City

•Access to suburban job centers, and training / education centers, is limited

Regional Challenges

•Major job sectors for low-income workers: service and retail

•Career pathways sectors: logistics and warehousing, healthcare

•Lack of off-peak services to meet the needs of employees in these sectors

Urban Challenges

•Opportunity Mapping: http://oppmap.facet.com

•Low-income neighborhoods in the city – very high transit scores

•Residents in those communities – do not give the transit very high scores

Urban Challenges

•Lack of frequency and reliability•No access to destinations•Safety concerns, particularly related to

bus stops and to students on the bus

Suburban Challenges

•“Suburbanization of Poverty”•Housing + Transportation Affordability

Index: http://htaindex.cnt.org/•Increased need for public transportation

not only to suburban job centers, but from suburban communities

Suburban Challenges

•Safety was also a major concern for suburban residents

•Significant changes in travel patterns: suburb to suburb and east to west connections

Creating Solutions

•Requires a far more comprehensive solution than just providing more transit

•Leveraging existing transit services currently located near these suburban job centers

•Focus on connections to destinations

Creating Solutions

•Transportation Improvement Zone (TIZ) approach – increasing access to specific major destinations through a set of connected policies

•Multiple stakeholders: employers, developers, workforce training providers, housing agencies

Contact Us•Steve Holt, Director of Community

Engagement – CPHA•E-mail: steve@cphabaltimore.org•Call at (410) 539-1369 x. 114•http://www.cphabaltimore.org

Thank You!