Study: Phoenix climbs ranks of metro cities with better access to jobs
Nov 17, 2017, 4:21 AM
(Valley Metro Facebook)
PHOENIX — Phoenix has climbed the ranks of large metropolitan cities that give its residents better access to more jobs, according to a new study.
The study, published by Center for Transportation Studies from the University of Minnesota, said Phoenix has improved its access to jobs by transit by nearly 8 percent from 2015 to 2016.
The study looked at the number of jobs and where they are located, the availability of transit service, and population size, density, and location.
Transit times are calculated for a two-hour period, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. during the work week.
Phoenix beat out Riverside, California, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the sixth-best improvement from year to year.
According to the 167-page study, Phoenix had nearly 102,100 jobs accessible within an hour time period. By contrast, the city of Houston had about 110,000 accessible jobs in the same time period.
Coordination of transit service in relation to jobs and housing factored into Phoenix’s year-to-year improvement. Overall, Phoenix ranked 13th for employment in 49 of the 50 metro cities researched.
“This new data makes it possible to see the change from year to year in how well a metro area is facilitating access to jobs by transit,” said Andrew Owen, the director of the study.
“Transit is an essential transportation service for many Americans, and we directly compare the accessibility performance of America’s largest metropolitan areas.”