Building a Realistic Transit System

Tallahassee, Florida planners came to a realization - while their transit system was set up to efficiently get commuters downtown, only 14% of them actually worked downtown. So they actually changed where the buses go.

1 minute read

September 23, 2011, 8:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur

Grist's Tim de Chant says Tallahassee's change of heart is unusual in the world of planning, because planners stubbornly cling to the idea that downtown should be where the jobs are:

"It's not that a central business district is a bad idea; it's just that the modern service economy demands that people work all over town. And it's the suburbs that have seen the most dramatic job growth in recent years. Couple these factors with the fluidity of the labor market and you have a workforce that demands mobility."

The new system isn't really popular yet, but planners are predicting a 20-30% increase in ridership in the next 3 years.

FULL STORY: Better bus lines follow worker bees

Thursday, September 22, 2011 in Grist

Transportation Florida Downtowns Job Centers Tallahassee

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