{"id":13150,"date":"2016-04-07T07:00:58","date_gmt":"2016-04-07T12:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/who-relies-on-public-transit-in-the-u-s\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T03:19:02","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T08:19:02","slug":"who-relies-on-public-transit-in-the-u-s","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2016\/04\/07\/who-relies-on-public-transit-in-the-u-s\/","title":{"rendered":"Who relies on public transit in the U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: left;\">America\u2019s love affair with the car is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.citylab.com\/commute\/2015\/08\/americas-continuing-love-affair-with-the-car\/401474\/\">well-documented<\/a>, but many U.S. adults also rely on a bus, train or subway to get around. One-in-ten Americans (11%) say they take public transportation on a daily or weekly basis, according to a new Pew Research Center survey conducted in late 2015, but <em>who<\/em> is taking public transit varies substantially by region, nativity, and race and ethnicity.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2016\/04\/07\/who-relies-on-public-transit-in-the-u-s\/ft_16-04-06_pubtrans_metro\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-279149\"><img data-dominant-color=\"eff0f1\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #eff0f1;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"310\" height=\"470\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/04\/FT_16.04.06_pubTrans_metro.png?resize=310,470 310w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" class=\"wp-image-24464 not-transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/04\/FT_16.04.06_pubTrans_metro.png\" alt=\"New York leads U.S. in public transit use\" ><\/a><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Northeast, home to several of the most traveled transit systems in the country, has the largest share of adults by region (25%) who use public transportation on a regular basis (daily or weekly). City dwellers are also more frequent users of mass transit. Some 21% of urban residents use public transit on a regular basis, compared with 6% of suburban residents and just 3% of rural residents.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Recent headlines on public transit haven\u2019t been flattering. Last week, Washington D.C., <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/local\/trafficandcommuting\/2016\/03\/30\/fba8ae0a-f688-11e5-9804-537defcc3cf6_story.html\">transit officials<\/a> warned that repairs to its subway system \u2013 which is one of the most used in the nation \u2013 could close entire rail lines for up to six months. This statement came two weeks after the city\u2019s metro rail service was <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wusa9.com\/news\/local\/report-metro-to-shut-down-for-at-least-29-hours\/83845727\">suspended<\/a> for 29 hours for emergency inspections.\u00a0<!--more--><\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2016\/04\/07\/who-relies-on-public-transit-in-the-u-s\/ft_16-04-06_pubtrans_demographic\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-279148\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e4e7ea\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e4e7ea;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"710\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/04\/FT_16.04.06_pubTrans_demographic.png?resize=200,710 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" class=\"wp-image-24462 not-transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/04\/FT_16.04.06_pubTrans_demographic.png\" alt=\"Public transit use varies by demographic group\" ><\/a><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The nation\u2019s capital is not the only city facing public transit issues and changes. A 2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fta.dot.gov\/regulations-and-guidance\/asset-management\/state-good-repair\/national-state-good-repair-assessment\">Federal Transit Administration<\/a> report estimated that \u201cmore than 40% of buses and 25% of rail transit around the U.S. are in marginal or poor condition.\u201d Besides infrastructure concerns, other cities are looking for ways to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/2015\/08\/17\/432619146\/to-boost-ridership-houston-revamps-public-transit-system\">grow ridership<\/a>, increase <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2015\/03\/02\/390279518\/seattle-cuts-public-transportation-fares-for-low-income-commuters\">affordability<\/a> and modernize how commuters <a href=\"http:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/the-mta-has-a-450-million-plan-to-replace-the-metrocard-with-contactless-payments-2015-1\">pay<\/a> for fares.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Americans who are lower-income, black or Hispanic, immigrants or under 50 are especially likely to use public transportation on a regular basis, Pew Research Center data show.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While there are few racial and ethnic differences in public transit use among non-urban residents, there are substantial differences when looking at only those living in urban areas. Among urban residents, 34% of blacks and 27% of Hispanics report taking public transit daily or weekly, compared with only 14% of whites. Foreign-born urban residents are more likely than urban dwellers born in the U.S. to regularly use public transportation (38% vs. 18%).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One possible reason that blacks, Hispanics and immigrants might be bigger users of public transit is because they are more likely than Americans overall to live in large metropolitan areas, where there tend to be more public transit options. They are also less likely to have access to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fhwa.dot.gov\/policy\/2010cpr\/chap1.cfm\">automobile<\/a> than other groups and are more likely to use public transit for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/prod\/2011pubs\/acs-15.pdf\">commuting to work<\/a>. Blacks and Hispanics also tend to live <a href=\"http:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/~\/media\/research\/files\/reports\/2015\/03\/24-job-proximity\/srvy_jobsproximity.pdf\">farther away<\/a> from their jobs, which could make walking or biking to work less common.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Note: Read the full methodology and topline results <a href=\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2016\/04\/FT_160406_PublicTransit_MethodologyTopline.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here (PDF).<\/a><\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>America\u2019s love affair with the car is well-documented, but many U.S. adults also rely on a bus, train or subway to get around. One-in-ten Americans (11%) say they take public transportation on a daily or weekly basis, according to a new Pew Research Center survey conducted in late 2015, but who is taking public transit [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"sub_headline":null,"sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"apple_news_api_pending":"1713063758","relatedPosts":[],"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0},"categories":[234,264,2428],"bylines":[940],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[467],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[515],"research-teams":[526],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-13150","short-read","type-short-read","status-publish","hentry","category-business-workplace","category-climate-energy-environment","category-transportation","bylines-monica-anderson","formats-short-read","regions-countries-united-states","research-teams-internet"],"label":"Short 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