The Costs of Commuting

Brookings just came out with three new studies on transportation and the cost of living. One of the studies in particular caught my eye.

Commuting to Opportunity found that, compared with other workers:

• The working poor spend a much higher portion of their income on commuting. The cost burden of commuting for the working poor is 6.1 percent compared with 3.8 percent for other workers. The working poor who drive to work spend the most: 8.4 percent.

• The combined costs of commuting and housing make up a larger portion of the household budgets of the working poor than other households. For working-poor homeowners, nearly 25 percent of their household income is consumed by housing and commuting expenses compared with just 15.3 percent for other households. For those who rent, the disparities between the working poor (32.4 percent) and other households (19.7 percent) are even greater.

• The Cost burden of commuting for the working poor is greater than the national median in eight of the 12 largest metropolitan areas. Six of these—Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.—also have a higher cost burden of housing than the national median for the working poor.

How do we alieviate some of these costs of living and working in this region? What efforts are there out there that are working to make transportation costs more affordable? As our community changes and costs of housing drive more people away from the city, how do we ensure that the balance between housing and transportation costs remains manageable?

Photos by Steven Erat and Micky P