A map of public transit routes in the greater Newburgh area.
By Nancy Peckenham
A new transportation study ranks the Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown area near the bottom of the pile when it comes to providing public transportation. The study by the Brookings Institute that was released Thursday looks at how effectively transit connects people and jobs within 100 metropolitan areas in the U.S.
The study, Missed Opportunity: Transit and Jobs in Metropolitan America, reports the percent of residents who are served by a transit service, as well as the frequency of service and what percent of jobs are accessible by residents via public transit within 90 minutes.
The New York-New Jersey metropolitan area scored relatively high, with a ranking of 13 out of 100. The study found an average coverage of 90 percent, compared to 69 nationwide, an average wait of 4.5 minutes for service, compared to a ten-minute wait nationwide average, and that 37 percent of jobs are accessible via public transit in the metro area, compared with 30 percent nationwide.
In the Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown area, the figures dropped precipitously. Forty-six percent of residents have access to public transit here and the average wait for service is 51 minutes. Only McAllen, Texas residents have a longer wait – 58.4 minutes. Eight percent of jobs are accessible via public transit, according to the study findings. Palm Bay-Melbourne in Florida provides service to only seven percent of jobs while the Riverside-San Bernadino area of California tied local results at eight percent.
Transit coverage is highest in Western metro areas such as Honolulu and Los Angeles, according to the study.
The study authors recommend that transportation leaders make access to jobs an explicit priority in their spending and service decisions, especially given the budget pressures they face. They also encourage local leaders to coordinate strategies regarding land use, economic development, and housing with transit decisions in order to ensure that transit reaches more people and more jobs efficiently.
The Newburgh Area Transportation & Land Use Study is currently examining the transportation systems, regional connectivity and development in northeastern Orange County and will make recommendations to local leaders about the future of ground transportation.
Read more about the study at the Brookings Institute website.
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