In:
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, SAGE Publications, Vol. 1571, No. 1 ( 1997-01), p. 142-150
Abstract:
The conventional view of public transit is that it serves the mobility needs primarily of poor, mostly inner-city residents. In 1979 the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) opened rail service connecting inner-city neighborhoods to downtown. By the mid-1990s, rail service had been extended south to Atlanta’s international airport, east and west to Interstate 285 (Atlanta’s perimeter freeway), and north into the region’s affluent, mostly white suburbs. Research into how MARTA’s rail system has influenced travel behavior among affluent “northern-tier” suburbanites is reported. Four major findings are offered. First, in those corridors where rail transit is provided, mode choice among commuters has shifted measurably from the single-occupant vehicle to transit. Second, the opening of rail stations in suburban areas is shown to reduce vehicular traffic on nearby surface streets, further suggesting rail’s influence on travel behavior in the suburbs. Third, rail transit is found to attract affluent, white, male commuters who are willing to ( a) travel longer distances to access rail and ( b) travel longer distances on rail than the general population of rail patrons. Fourth, transit riders appear to be more sensitive to transit service than to fare increases—that is, as the rail system expands, ridership among suburbanites increases regardless of changes in fare. The overall picture that emerges is that affluent suburban communities respond favorably to rail transit. This leads to a set of policy implications that transcend Atlanta’s experience.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0361-1981
,
2169-4052
Language:
English
Publisher:
SAGE Publications
Publication Date:
1997
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2403378-9
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