Transit’s Dirty Little Secret: Divergence of Public Policy and Transit Use by the Poor

Public investment in U.S. transit systems has increased significantly over the past quarter century. Policy makers, voters, and riders have shown a willingness to allocate substantial and increasing subsidies to transit, a mode for which they collectively have ambitious and lofty goals, such as congestion-reduction, economic development, and environmental sustainability. Accordingly, this paper combines data from three sources to compare the aspirations for, investments in, and use of public transit in the U.S.: a survey of a random sample of 50 U.S. transit operators, analysis of National Transit Database expenditure and performance data, and National Household Transportation Survey data. We find that: (1) relatively few transit operators explicitly identify providing mobility for those without as an organizational goal, (2) over the past decade transit use has been growing more slowly than transit investment, and that (3) public transit patrons tend to have much lower incomes than the general population, and are growing poorer over time – especially bus patrons. Although bus transit can today be properly viewed as primarily a critical social service, most transit managers and public officials appear loathe to publicly mention, let alone embrace, this important purpose, preferring instead to emphasize goals like reducing congestion, improving the environment, and encouraging transit-friendly design. Thus, it would appear that the explicitly stated objectives behind the significant public investment in U.S. transit systems are increasingly at odds with trends in the socioeconomic demographics of transit users. This, apparently, has become transit’s dirty little secret.