It’s no secret that metro Atlanta’s mass transit network leaves much to be desired, and that the city’s automobile infrastructure regularly leaves cars at a virtual standstill.
Now, a new study by Geotab, a transportation-focused data analytics company, helps quantify just how much it bites to be a commuter in the Greater Atlanta area.
Atlanta is tied for second worst place in the nation, the study found, when it comes to using public transit to get to and from work.
The average commute for a metro Atlantan using a bus or train takes 53 minutes.
That’s trumped only by Los Angeles, where transit users need an average of 54 minutes to commute. (If it’s any consolation, there’s a four-way tie for second place with Detroit, Dallas, and New York City).
Only 10 percent of metro Atlanta residents using public transit can actually get to or from work within a half-hour, per the findings.
For Atlanta’s car commuters, the typical trip lasts 35 minutes, and 43 percent of motorists can get where they need to go within 30 minutes.
The contrast between “how many cities are easily reachable by car versus those that are easily reachable by public transit suggests that there is still some way to go in ensuring that these cities can be accessed in a reasonable amount of time regardless of your mode of transport,” said Maria Sotra, Geotab’s vice president of marketing, in a news release.
And of the 372,455 commuters in Atlanta—using car or public transit—a whopping 6 percent need more than an hour to get to work or back home.
The numbers punctuate the need to study and greatly expand Atlanta’s public transit capabilities.
Obviously, many commuters are coming from cities outside of Atlanta proper, and some metro suburbs, such as Gwinnett and Cobb counties, have proven they’re still resistant to welcoming MARTA.
Geotab’s data also underscores the need to not just expand public transit systems, but the importance of doing so carefully and correctly. Think: dedicated lanes for streetcars and bus rapid transit systems, and rail lines that run far outside the city limits.
The study also illustrates how much more popular driving is than taking mass transit, which, when people look at heavy rail maps, is understandable. And frustrating.
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