Economic Impact of Public Transit

SUMMARY

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APTA’s Economic Impact of Public Transit resource hub provides data-driven evidence demonstrating how investment in public transportation strengthens communities and fuels economic growth. These resources highlight the role transit plays in supporting jobs, increasing property values, reducing household transportation costs, and expanding access to education, employment, and essential services. Through research reports, case studies, economic analyses, and fact sheets, this collection offers policymakers, industry leaders, advocates, and the public a clear understanding of how transit investment delivers measurable returns—stimulating local economies, enhancing competitiveness, and improving quality of life.

Economic Impact of Public Transportation Investment

Increased investment in public transportation can lead to significant economic growth as a result of both the short-term stimulus impact of public transportation outlays and a longer-term, cumulative impact on economic productivity. Public transportation investment supports American jobs and industry, and provides savings for households and businesses through improvements to the transportation system.

Public Transportation’s Role in the Knowledge Economy

Look at your community as a business. This groundbreaking study shows that planned public transportation investments will yield a 2 to 1 return while helping to generate income for local businesses, its workers and their neighborhoods. In fact, this investment will yield more than $174 billion in business sales in the three cites examined. Our study authors examined the emerging tech sectors in Silicon Beach, CA; Austin, TX; and Durham, NC and looked at public transportation’s emerging role in enhancing access to employees and promoting critical entrepreneurial infrastructure.

Highlighted Resources

Economic Impact of Public Transportation Investment

Increased investment in public transportation can lead to significant economic growth as a result of both the short-term stimulus impact of public transportation outlays and a longer-term, cumulative impact on economic productivity. Public transportation investment supports American jobs and industry, and provides savings for households and businesses through improvements to the transportation system.

Economic Impact Of Public Transportation Investment

Public Transportation’s Role in the Knowledge Economy

Look at your community as a business. This groundbreaking study shows that planned public transportation investments will yield a 2 to 1 return while helping to generate income for local businesses, its workers and their neighborhoods. In fact, this investment will yield more than $174 billion in business sales in the three cites examined. Our study authors examined the emerging tech sectors in Silicon Beach, CA; Austin, TX; and Durham, NC and looked at public transportation’s emerging role in enhancing access to employees and promoting critical entrepreneurial infrastructure.

Public Transportation’s Role in the Knowledge Economy

The Business Case for Investment in Public Transportation

Mobility in the United States is undergoing an evolution, driving new partnerships and challenging the traditional boundary between public and private realms. In fact, much of the innovation in transportation is coming from private sector, venture capital-backed support of smarter cities through technology. Though viewed as a primarily public-sector function, public transportation is proving to be the backbone of the multimodal, on-demand economy that private sector innovation is driving today.

The Business Case for Investment in Public Transportation

A New Partnership: Rail Transit and Convention Growth

This joint report produced with the U.S. Travel Association examines how cities with rail stations connected directly to airport terminals can realize increases in hotel performance. The report compares six cities with direct rail access from their airport terminal to five cities without. The analysis found that from 2006-2013, hotels in the cities with direct rail access brought in 10.9% more revenue per room than hotels in those cities without.

A New Partnership: Rail Transit and Convention Growth

My Economic Impact Tool

APTA members can now access a powerful new tool for making the case for public transportation. The My Economic Impact tool uses your agency’s budget data to calculate the economic impact of your transit service.

Calculate your Economic Impact