Job Access and Reverse Commute Plan Summary
Regional Job Access and Reverse Commute Transportation Plan
October 2001
Executive Summary
The movement of jobs from Baltimore City to outlying suburbs, in conjunction with recent federal welfare reform measures mandating increased participation in the workforce, have created new demands for job access and reverse commute transportation services in the Baltimore region.
Since 1997, the Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC) has convened stakeholders to address transportation issues and needs as they relate to welfare reform. Participants include transit service providers, human service providers, employment development organizations, and employers across the Baltimore region.
Since 1997, the Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC) has convened stakeholders to address transportation issues and needs as they relate to welfare reform. Participants include transit service providers, human service providers, employment development organizations, and employers across the Baltimore region.
The goal of this effort is to develop a comprehensive area-wide approach to providing transportation services to welfare recipients and low-income people regardless of jurisdictional boundaries. As a result, the Regional Job Access and Reverse Commute Transportation Plan for the Baltimore region was prepared upon the request of the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board (BRTB) to help guide funding recommendations and long-term service planning.
This plan is not meant to supersede, but to build upon existing area welfare to work transportation planning activities. The plan’s contents follow the outline prescribed by the Federal Transit Administration in its Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) grant program.
This plan is not meant to supersede, but to build upon existing area welfare to work transportation planning activities. The plan’s contents follow the outline prescribed by the Federal Transit Administration in its Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) grant program.
The plan provides information about geographic distributions of welfare recipients, employment centers with high potential for low-income jobs, employment-related activities, and transportation services in the Baltimore region. In the Baltimore region, there are about 20,000 households receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) welfare benefits, and the majority of these are in Baltimore City. There were 19 employment centers identified as having 10,000 or more total jobs and 1,000 low wage jobs paying $12.00 per hour or less that would be appropriate for low skilled workers to obtain. Employment centers were identified by Regional Planning District (RPD) in order to facilitate planning activities at the regional scale.
In the attempt to identify spatial mismatches and gaps in transportation, the BMC created a geographic information system (GIS) of TANF households and destinations that welfare recipients need to access. Locations of employment centers, fixed route transit services, occupational training programs, and child care centers in the region were mapped to determine how many welfare recipients had convenient access to these facilities, based on the distance between their homes, transit stops, and potential employers.
Transit services on Saturdays, Sundays and overnight were compared. Access to employment-related activities, occupational training programs, and child care centers was also determined by this method. Gaps in transportation service are considered to be where convenient access is limited.
Transit services on Saturdays, Sundays and overnight were compared. Access to employment-related activities, occupational training programs, and child care centers was also determined by this method. Gaps in transportation service are considered to be where convenient access is limited.
Convenient access was determined using a quarter-mile buffer around local bus routes, commuter bus stops, and train stations. This size buffer simulates a five-minute walking distance, and is referred to as a walk access buffer. The GIS analysis determined that about 92 percent of TANF cases are within walking distance of a bus route or train station, and 88 percent of the cases are located in Baltimore City.
The maps show the Annapolis RPD has adequate transit service coverage within that employment center every day, but not during overnight hours. The Columbia RPD has a good amount of coverage, except on Sunday and overnight. Other employment centers have some transit service Monday through Friday daytime hours, but little or none on weekends or overnight. Saturday transit service is not available in four of the 19 employment centers, Sunday transit service is not available in seven, and overnight transit service is not available in 13 employment centers.
Projects and strategies recommended to fill the gaps were developed based on the GIS analysis and issues expressed by stakeholders. These issues include:
- Work schedules that require late night or weekend commuting;
- Difficulties of balancing multiple destinations for child care and employment;
- Long travel times because of multiple transfers;
- Concerns about safety walking to or waiting at train stations or bus stops; and
- Difficulties obtaining or understanding information about transportation services.
Because most welfare recipients and low-income people in the Baltimore region live in dense urban areas served by transit, filling the gaps in transportation will primarily focus on employment centers. The 19 employment centers were ranked from highest priority to lowest, based on transit need first, and potential number of low wage jobs second. According to the ranking, a project proposed to serve Westminster, Bel Air-Fallston, Ellicott City, Edgewood-Joppa, Aberdeen-Havre de Grace, and Perry Hall-White Marsh would be weighted more heavily than a project proposed to serve Owings Mills, Security, or Eastpoint-Dundalk.
Since transit access is adequate in Baltimore City, and the majority of TANF cases are in Baltimore City, service improvements should be focused on reverse commute from there to suburban areas. The priorities for types of service from highest to lowest are as follows:
- Reverse commute service from Baltimore City to priority suburban employment centers;
- Smaller urban areas, like Annapolis, to suburban areas where the highest concentration of TANF cases and jobs exist;
- Suburb-to-suburb connections, in areas where the highest concentration of TANF cases and jobs exist;
- Circulators within employment centers where the highest concentration of TANF cases and jobs exist;
- Additional major job sites, such as Arundel Mills Mall, identified as having a concentration of low wage jobs will also be considered for transit services.
To enhance the overall quality of transit services for access to jobs in the Baltimore region, the following recommendations involve implementing new or expanded transportation service, and improving customer service and operating efficiency. All of these transit service improvements would be eligible for JARC funding, and include:
- Maintain and expand successful JARC grant-funded transit service where need is demonstrated;
- Incorporate successful services funded through JARC with other transit funding sources to guarantee sustainability;
- Shorten trip time by providing more express service, more frequent service, and more convenient transfer points between service providers;
- Increase weekend, late night, and overnight transit service where need is demonstrated;
- Create transit centers at major fixed route and demand response service transfer points to improve connectivity, and provide schedules of all systems at all transit centers and other transfer points; and
- Encourage employer-sponsored transportation services.
In addition, transportation coordination projects such as creating Transportation Management Associations with coordinated efforts to assist low-income commuters and improving pedestrian access to, and safety at, transit stops are also recommended projects that directly affect transportation services, but do not provide the actual transportation services. Implementation of these projects requires coordination efforts and joint investments, and may not entirely be eligible for funding through the JARC grant program.
Other strategies relate to child care, health care, land use and housing, and affect job access transportation services indirectly. Although these types of strategies would not be eligible for funding through the JARC grant program, they are included in this plan since they would improve overall access to jobs.
Other strategies relate to child care, health care, land use and housing, and affect job access transportation services indirectly. Although these types of strategies would not be eligible for funding through the JARC grant program, they are included in this plan since they would improve overall access to jobs.
Improving access to jobs will only be successful and sustainable if employers are active partners in the effort. Therefore, it is essential to work with employers to educate them about transportation problems, potential solutions, and what they can do to help, and help them take advantage of federal and state employer tax credits by providing information and streamlining the process. Other ways to involve employers in the process are listed in the plan, along with opportunities for funding the recommended projects.
This plan is intended to help guide the development of future project proposals. As projects develop, specific goals and objectives will be identified, and cost will be determined with the assistance of the Maryland Transit Administration. Projects submitted to BRTB for funding consideration will be prioritized for funding and implementation primarily based upon the recommendations set forth in this plan.
This plan is intended to help guide the development of future project proposals. As projects develop, specific goals and objectives will be identified, and cost will be determined with the assistance of the Maryland Transit Administration. Projects submitted to BRTB for funding consideration will be prioritized for funding and implementation primarily based upon the recommendations set forth in this plan.
Links within this web site:
Job Access and Reverse Commute Plan
Other BMC publications
Last Updated on Thursday, 18 December 2008 05:22