dfwcre8tive Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 America's Most Expensive CommutesMatt Woolsey, 08.08.07, 11:45 AM EThttp://www.forbes.com/realestate/2007/08/0...realestate.htmlIt's often said that the trip to work can kill you. But if you live in Houston, what really takes a beating is your wallet.There, the average commuter spends 20.9% of his annual household costs on getting to work.He's not alone. Cleveland, Detroit, Tampa, Fla., Kansas City, Mo., and Cincinnati also landed on our list of the country's biggest cities where transportation eats up a fifth or more of household costs, according to a study by the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership (STPP), a nonprofit research firm, which draws on 2003 Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the most recent available. The study looked at annual transit costs such as gas and tolls, and public transit fare, as well as money spent on car payments and maintenance.Robert Puentes, a metropolitan policy fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., says, "In Houston, the cost of transportation is the No. 1 household expense, above shelter."But that's in part because Houstonians spend a lower than average proportion of their take-home pay on housing.And that's the trade-off.The percent of household income Houstonians spend on transportation may be the highest in the country, but when combined with the amount residents spend on housing expenses, Houston's aggregate cost ranks them 14th, with the composite cost equaling 52% of household income.Transit costs are high because Houston has few policies hindering sprawl, which in turn allows for cheaper housing. In San Francisco, which is much more dense and has more prohibitive zoning laws than Houston, residents rank 22nd in commute costs but fifth in the combination of housing and transportation....The study also found a very high correlation between cities that had extensive train systems and those in which households spent the least on transportation costs. Four of the five cheapest commutes were rated as having large or extensive rail systems, and of the five most expensive commutes, only Cleveland was rated above having a small or non-existent rail system, according to STPP.Besides saving commuters money on parking, tolls and gas, rail systems are often seen as a way to manage sprawl as train stations create central and desirable points for living and working....That's what's happening in Dallas. It and Houston have 15% of the country's fastest-growing suburbs between them. Dallas is investing $4.86 billion in expanding its commuter rail system, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), which services area suburbs and neighboring Fort Worth. The job is expected to be completed in 2013 and local economists say the city should reap $8.1 billion in increased economic activity over the life of the project. Houston, on the other hand, has mainly focused on road construction and expansion, which isn't expected to pay off as well."To say DART Rail's impact has been substantial for the Dallas region's economy would be an understatement," says Bernard Weinstein an economist at the University of North Texas Center for Economic Development. "It's a trend that's impossible to miss; the local business community certainly hasn't." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Besides saving commuters money on parking, tolls and gas, rail systems are often seen as a way to manage sprawl as train stations create central and desirable points for living and working....That's what's happening in Dallas. It and Houston have 15% of the country's fastest-growing suburbs between them. Dallas is investing $4.86 billion in expanding its commuter rail system, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), which services area suburbs and neighboring Fort Worth. The job is expected to be completed in 2013 and local economists say the city should reap $8.1 billion in increased economic activity over the life of the project. Houston, on the other hand, has mainly focused on road construction and expansion, which isn't expected to pay off as well."To say DART Rail's impact has been substantial for the Dallas region's economy would be an understatement," says Bernard Weinstein an economist at the University of North Texas Center for Economic Development. "It's a trend that's impossible to miss; the local business community certainly hasn't."The UNT studies of economic impact are actually measuring FISCAL impact, and fail even to measure the opportunity costs of the funds spent on rail, much less the true ECONOMIC impacts associated with congestion mitigation, increased access/mobility, or saved out-of-pocket costs per trip. Considering how much press it gets, I am amazed at its relative meaninglessness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 It's often said that the trip to work can kill you. But if you live in Houston, what really takes a beating is your wallet.They opened by saying: If you live in Houston, you will pay a whole lot for transportation costs. THIS STATEMENT IS FALSE.If they had said that the average household in Houston pays more for transportation costs as a share of their income than any other metropolitan area, that would have been accurate. The moment that they simplify it to 'Houston costs you money', they got it wrong. The truth is that our very low housing and land prices give nearly all of us the option to incur an extreme commute if we so desire. Many people can choose to live in the inner city and not have very much at all in the way of transportation costs. Those that prefer it can afford to live out in the countryside; they have an option. Other cities, not so much. So when more of our citizens avail themselves of that option, our transportation costs should be expected to be higher, but only because that fraction of our populous has achieved a higher quality of life--and their actions do not reflect our urbanites in any way shape or form. We all have choice....there is more to life than minimizing trip cost, after all. Right? And no, I'm not referring to an innate compulsion to control other people's wants and desires, egomaniacally molding them to be more like ourselves, as seems to be the case among a certain fraction of transit nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 That's what's happening in Dallas. It and Houston have 15% of the country's fastest-growing suburbs between them. Dallas is investing $4.86 billion in expanding its commuter rail system, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), which services area suburbs and neighboring Fort Worth. The job is expected to be completed in 2013 and local economists say the city should reap $8.1 billion in increased economic activity over the life of the project. Houston, on the other hand, has mainly focused on road construction and expansion, which isn't expected to pay off as well."To say DART Rail's impact has been substantial for the Dallas region's economy would be an understatement," says Bernard Weinstein an economist at the University of North Texas Center for Economic Development. "It's a trend that's impossible to miss; the local business community certainly hasn't."....it gives Dallas such a great sounding writeup but their residents are spending 19.7% of their salary.the ones who did the study are... The Surface Transportation Policy Project is a diverse, nationwide coalition working to ensure safer communities and smarter transportation choices . just a little biased. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 I have to agree that it is rather biased. It doesn't mention the fact that we're also increasing our rail and density.If they had mentioned TWO things, I would have bought this article:Our Higher Auto-insurance rates.Our Metrorail system. If you're going to be biased, be biased on a consistent basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovernorAggie Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Show me a study that's NOT biased. They all are--or at least there will always be someone who thinks that one is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Show me a study that's NOT biased. They all are--or at least there will always be someone who thinks that one is.a pro rail group doing a study on most expensive commutes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Show me a study that's NOT biased. They all are--or at least there will always be someone who thinks that one is.It isn't hard to show an unbiased study if the study is looking at something simple enough. For instance, what happens to transit ridership if fares are cycled from free to expensive every other day for a month? The problem is that that kind of question doesn't take you very far.Unforunately, our system for transportation planning, funding, and construction is irrevocably ____ed up. Even honest mistakes in trying to correct for it by policy studies will be interpreted as bias even if there was none meant. Additionally, some policy planners like to start with a blank slate and try to come up with the best entire system, while others tend to be realists and assume that many of the basic mechanisms for doing things just aren't going to change. Neither are necessarily biased; one may just be an unbiased purist and the other a unbiased realist, but their conclusions are very easy to criticize one way or the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovernorAggie Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Unforunately, our system for transportation planning, funding, and construction is irrevocably ____ed up. Even honest mistakes in trying to correct for it by policy studies will be interpreted as bias even if there was none meant. Additionally, some policy planners like to start with a blank slate and try to come up with the best entire system, while others tend to be realists and assume that many of the basic mechanisms for doing things just aren't going to change. Neither are necessarily biased; one may just be an unbiased purist and the other a unbiased realist, but their conclusions are very easy to criticize one way or the other.Agreed. I sincerely think that pure intentions are criticized all the time. Such is life in our skeptical world today. For example, I'm sure that someone somewhere thinks that the latest news about fruits and vegetables being good for your body was paid for by the fruit industry--denying the fact that it just may be true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
713 To 214 Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Anyone aware of anything being done at City Hall to address this verifiable problem in the Nation's energy (oil) capital? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Anyone aware of anything being done at City Hall to address this verifiable problem in the Nation's energy (oil) capital?What problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 What problem?Don't feed the trolls Niche. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 So Houston pays 20% for transportation, just like other regions pay more for housing than Houston does.And the point is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 houstonians (or outlying houstonians, rather) would rather spend more (proportionally) on getting home than actually being home...right?what's the wonder, though...houston is entirely too large to expect there not to be elevated personal vehicle costs, since other options are scarce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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