The Who, What, Where and Why of Transit in the Atlanta Region (Snellville: insurance, condo)

[arjay57]

Here's some excellent infromation from ARC.

I knew the young folks loved transit but I didn't realize they made up quite so large a percentage of riders. 52% of riders are between the ages of 18 and 34.

The Who, What, Where and Why of Transit in the Atlanta Region

[ATLTJL]

The majority of transit riders are young, black, and make less than $40,000.

No new information there.

Okay, I'm cracking wise, the picture is a lot larger than that, and there is a percentage of riders than make over $100k. A small percentage, but not as small as I thought.

I think what would be more telling than this individual snapshot would be if we could see how it has changed over time. Maybe they will do another one in a few years and we will be able to see just that.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, let's not forget that this survey is using self-reported data. That means the income is artificially skewed up. Every time I fill out a survey, even when I was making peanuts, I always check the $100k+ box. Most people lie about their incomes on surveys.

[cqholt]

Looks like the premium transit areas have the highest percentage of bachelors degrees, a high rate of home ownership, abut the highest concentration of poverty. So this research is telling us what several post of this board has said. Younger generations, 18-24 drive less and take transit more and young professionals want to live near transit.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Looks like the premium transit areas have the highest percentage of bachelors degrees, a high rate of home ownership, abut the highest concentration of poverty. So this research is telling us what several post of this board has said. Younger generations, 18-24 drive less and take transit more and young professionals want to live near transit.

It makes sense. I didn't have a car until my last year in college, for example, though my parents provided us with an old one growing up if we needed it as long as we paid for gas and insurance.

[residinghere2007]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Looks like the premium transit areas have the highest percentage of bachelors degrees, a high rate of home ownership, abut the highest concentration of poverty. So this research is telling us what several post of this board has said. Younger generations, 18-24 drive less and take transit more and young professionals want to live near transit.

I agree with this. I also didn't have a car for many years living in metro Atlanta. I used MARTA everyday until I got a car after my son was born and even then I still regularly rode MARTA.

[arjay57]

Looks like the numbers drop off significantly once people hit 35. I was surprised to see the percentage for senior riders so low -- only 2%.

Is it just because it's harder to ride once you get past your mid 30's?

[cqholt]

Looks like the numbers drop off significantly once people hit 35. I was surprised to see the percentage for senior riders so low -- only 2%

Majority either live in the suburbs, live in retirement communities that have transportation, or us Mobility.

Is it just because it's harder to ride once you get past your mid 30's?

That generation followed their parents into the suburbs. Some stayed intown, but many fled to better schools in the suburbs.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Looks like the numbers drop off significantly once people hit 35. I was surprised to see the percentage for senior riders so low -- only 2%.

Is it just because it's harder to ride once you get past your mid 30's?

Maybe more people that age and older can afford not to ride?

[Mishap]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Looks like the numbers drop off significantly once people hit 35. I was surprised to see the percentage for senior riders so low -- only 2%.

Is it just because it's harder to ride once you get past your mid 30's?

Maybe the sight of a broken escalator at Peachtree Center is enough to get people to stop riding? More likely it's the bimodal distribution of age of people living in the city. Young people flock to the city, families leave for schools, and the elderly return for access to services. There are quite a few octogenarians living in retirement homes around town but most of them are at the point where they aren't driving anymore or traveling very far. I'm guessing most people living in the burbs live there as long as their able to be independent and if they could afford car culture, they'll continue as long as the can.

My mom loved riding when she was working downtown. She'd drive to Kensington from Snellville and ride the rest of the way in w/ a good book. Then again she's not the best driver.

Personally, I've been waiting for the push to switch to Marta more often. My client is 2 stops from Midtown and my office is 3 stops in the opposite direction. Otherwise I'm traveling for work so I could take car service or Marta to the airport. Now that the client is paying for the monthly Marta pass and my condo is upping its parking costs (rent a spot for my g/f's car), I may send my car to my parents house for the short term. Longer term, I'll probably swap to a nicer car for us to share (needs to be auto as well) but that depends if the annual review gods have smiled up on me.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Maybe more people that age and older can afford not to ride?

Or maybe it's just too hard to get to transit and do the walking, standing and climbing that goes along with it.

I'd guess that at least 1/3 of the city of Atlanta's population is 45 or older, so they are not spring chickens.