(Denver, CO) Today consumer, environmental, economic development and transit groups celebrate Transportation Freedom Day in the Greater Denver area; the date a typical area household has earned enough to cover its transportation costs for the year.
Americans on average spend an astounding 20 percent of their annual income on transportation, more than they pay for food or even health care. New findings released by CoPIRG, the Colorado Public Interest Research Group, show that a typical family in the greater Denver area shells out the equivalent of just over two months of its annual salary to pay for transportation costs. In many car-dependent communities in the Denver area, households spend the equivalent of about three months of income just to get around.
“The cost of getting from place to place shouldn’t take such a huge slice of our pay check, especially in these tough times,” said Danny Katz at CoPIRG. “People may not recognize how much they pay for transportation, because they do so in increments. But when gas prices tip over $4 a gallon again, transportation will likely become households’ biggest expense.”
The study found that access to high-quality public transportation is a primary factor in how much of Denver-area residents’ income will be spent on transportation. Better access to buses and rail reduces the amount of time that would have to pass before households can cover their transportation expenses, leading to an earlier Transportation Freedom Day. Areas that are more automobile-dependent will celebrate a later Transportation Freedom Day.
Transportation Freedom Days in the area ranged from an early March 3rd for the cities of Denver, Boulder and Sheridan (i.e., 17% of income), where access to public transit is relatively better, compared to a late March 26th in auto-dependent Evergreen (i.e., 23%).
The American Public Transportation Association calculates that a driver in Denver could save $8,800 annually just by switching to public transportation. For APTA data for 19 other major cities, see: http://www.rtachicago.com/CMS400Min/uploadedFiles/TopTwentyCitiesTransitSavings.pdf
CoPIRG pointed out that if transit systems are in place, Americans will use them. Last year, public transit ridership hit a 50-year high and has continued to grow even as volatile gas prices fell from their summer peak. Meanwhile, auto miles per driver decreased last year for the first time since the oil crisis of the 1970s. In Greater Denver transit ridership continued to increase 12.35% in the 3rd quarter, despite falling gas prices. Other local ridership can be found at http://www.apta.com/research/stats/ridership/riderep/documents/08q3rep.pdf
“Despite falling gas prices, most transit agencies in Colorado maintained double digit increases in ridership” said Ann Rajewski, Executive Director of Colorado Association of Transit Agencies. “Unfortunately, sales tax decreases and local funding cuts have made it difficult for transit agencies to continue to provide services.”
The City of Denver celebrates Transportation Freedom Day earlier than other communities in the region. Not far behind are Englewood, Lakewood, Aurora, Westminster, Wheat Ridge, and Northglenn, also well-served by transit, who can celebrate Transportation Freedom Day March 6th-9th. The data show that relatively walkable suburbs and those served by light-rail also save residents money. For example, 68 days must pass before the income from an average household living in Littleton, with access to new light-rail would cover their annual transportation bill. Meanwhile, a typical household that would live in car-dependent Parker or Castle Rock could expect to wait 77 or 80 days respectively before their income covered expected annual transportation costs.
For a list of list of sample Transportation Freedom Days around Greater Denver and comparisons between metropolitan areas across the U.S., see: http://www.uspirg.org/TFD-Metros
The groups celebrating Transportation Freedom Day included CoPIRG, FRESC: Good Jobs, Strong Communities, CASTA, Environment Colorado, SWEEP, Colorado Environment Coalition, Sonoran Institute, and Transit Alliance.
“Public transportation is good for regular working families,” stated Robin Kniech, Program Director for FRESC, “because it delivers people to their jobs and economic opportunity and it creates economic opportunity through construction and permanent jobs.”
As local, state and national leaders decide how to spend the stimulus funds and money from FASTER, the groups are urging them to prioritize public transportation and investments that make access to public transportation easier. “Shortchanging public transportation is a classic case of being pennywise and pound foolish,” added Katz. “Now more than ever, public officials must make transit a top tier pocketbook issue.”
Colorado will receive $102,715,664 in designated funding for transit from the Recovery Act, but can spend virtually all of the $403,924,130 in flexible “Surface Transportation Program” funding on public transit as it chooses. Contrary to widespread misconceptions, the STP, which has been falsely labeled the “highway” program, is designed to provide funding for road, bridge, transit, intercity rail, bicycle and pedestrian projects. CoPIRG recommends that STP funding prioritize energy-saving transit, bicycle and pedestrian projects with the remainder allocated to road and bridge repair and preventive maintenance rather than new or wider highways.
Transportation Freedom Day data comes from the Center for Neighborhood Technology in Chicago, which is a leader in statistically based analysis of transportation and housing. Transportation costs are controlled for differences of income, family size, and number of working individuals in a household. Costs are calculated based on detailed census data on household expenses, including car ownership, maintenance, gas, parking and transit fares. A detailed description of cost methodology can be found at: http://htaindex.cnt.org/model_summary .
