Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Public Transit Helps New Yorkers Earn More Money
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jan 4, 2015
Modified Jan 4, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jan 4, 2015
Modified Jan 4, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Public transit is New York City's crucial equalizer in matters of housing and employment. This fact would be uncontroversial, except Governor Cuomo has balked at providing the MTA with the $32 billion in capital funds it needs to function and improve. A new report [PDF] shows how transportation plays a huge role in the earning power of New Yorkers.
NYU's Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management looked at 177 different zip codes, and found that neighborhoods with the best access to transit, usually in Manhattan, (Chelsea is number one [PDF]) also have the highest median household income, and the lowest unemployment rate. In those neighborhoods, 79% commute by walking or public transit, and only 10.9% by car.
Neighborhoods with the worst access to transit (South Staten Island) had lower median incomes ($61,381) and slightly lower unemployment rates (9.7%), but more than 50% commuted by car.
The neighborhoods with limited access to public transit, like the Flatlands in Brooklyn, fare the worst: their unemployment rate is nearly 12%, and their median household income is around $46,000.
The more jobs you can reasonably commute to within an hour, the more job opportunities you'll have, and the higher your wage will be.
“In New York, mass transit is the path to economic mobility, not education,” Mitchell Moss, Rudin's director, told the Wall Street Journal. “It’s far more important to have a MetroCard than a college degree.”
The report recommends expanding Bus Rapid Transit and using shuttle buses to connect isolated areas with major transit hubs (such a shuttle from Red Hook to Downtown Brooklyn could cut the hour commute to Midtown nearly in half), and rehabilitating dormant subway tracks, things that will never happen if the perennially cash-strapped MTA doesn't get enough funding.
"What’s really important for the future to metropolitan transit is winning a fully-funded, $32 billion five-year rebuilding program, which is being considered in Albany right now," Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign said in November. "That means our politicians have to find the money to buy us new subway cars and buses, rehabilitated station, safe track and computerized signals. Otherwise, its back to the big ugly. New Yorkers cannot afford that."
Tagged
governor cuomo
metrocard
MTA
subway
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Are NJ schools unconstitutionally segregated? It's back to the courts to decide.
Mediation didn't resolve the years-old case. A ruling for the plaintiffs could upend how public schooling works in New Jersey.
By
Colleen O'Dea
Published Oct 23, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. ET
Early Addition: New Jersey considering a ban on chewing gum because of microplastics
Because New Jersey is just trying to keep its people safe, here are your early links: Early voters get a spooky sticker, Tom Hanks returning to Broadway, a time capsule letter to the NYC mayor in 2026 and more.
By
James Ramsay
News
Early Addition: New Jersey considering a ban on chewing gum because of microplastics
Because New Jersey is just trying to keep its people safe, here are your early links: Early voters get a spooky sticker, Tom Hanks returning to Broadway, a time capsule letter to the NYC mayor in 2026 and more.
By
James Ramsay
Queens mother charged with murdering her son after failed suicide attempt, NYPD says
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Your guide to voting in New York's 2026 elections for governor and Congress
By
Walter Wuthmann
,
Jon Campbell
and
Brigid Bergin
Forest Hills Stadium can keep its concerts under deal with neighbors
By
Ryan Kost
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .