Positive Economic Impact of More and Better Transportation Choices

The availability of transportation choices is a plus for companies considering moving or staying here. Businesses across Washington are realizing that transportation choices make good business sense. Transportation choices increase the mobility and productivity of their employees, help them recruit and maintain top workers, and help them save on paying for parking spots and facilities.

The nature of rail transit encourages larger private investment along the corridor since rails ensure a permanent flow of customers, residents, shoppers and visitors to a business's doors for decades to come.

If an employer is able to expand employment without adding more parking spaces or to otherwise avoid the cost of building, leasing or maintaining parking spaces for workers, capital cost savings can amount to $5,000 to $20,000 per avoided space and operating costs can amount to $750 to $3,000 or more per year per avoided space. There are innovative ways for employers to avoid adding parking spaces, such as "parking cash out" policies that are good for employees and employers.

For every dollar an American taxpayer spends in support of public transportation, the economic return is at least 4 to 1 - creating jobs, congestion relief, business sales, health and safety cost savings, etc.

Across the nation, public investment in bus and train service is attracting significant private capital to new and improved transit corridors. For every $10 million invested in capital projects in transit, more than 300 jobs and a $30 million gain in local sales for business are realized.

A study looking at the impacts of 12 heavy and light rail projects throughout North America in proximity to rail showed the rail lines to have positive impacts on property values.

In Denver, a 1994 light rail line through a low-income neighborhood spurred $50 million in redevelopment projects by 2001.

Between 1997 and 2001 office properties served by DART Rail in Dallas increased in value by 53% over comparable office properties not served by DART. Residential properties rose 39% over those not served by light rail.

Investments in public transportation create nearly 51,300 jobs for every $1.25 billion invested, compared to 43,200 jobs for the same amount spent on new road and bridge projects.

Back to Fact Sheets Home