From Robert Puentes at Brookings, “On the Map: America’s Shifting Commuting Choices,” has wonderful news:
The recently conducted State of the Metropolitan America report shows that “the share of Americans that commute by transit actually increased from 2000 to 2008. That’s the first time that’s happened in 40 years.” Superb, however “the map shows that part of the increase is due to big gains metropolitan areas with large transit systems and extensive rail networks such as New York and Washington.” Good news for urban areas with already existing networks. What about the rest of America? The report shows that “increases were also seen in metros that opened new transit lines and expanded transit service in the last eight years,” such as Charlotte, NC and Colorado Springs, CO.
