Get To Work: An Employer-Transit Partnership to Connect the Boroughs Sarah Manney, Robert Godfried, Saba Mundlay and Sarah Andrea Esteban

Abstract

Low­and­moderate income (LMI) workers in New York City’s outer boroughs are isolated from new centers of job growth because of a deficient transportation structure, originally designed to serve downtown Manhattan. To better connect workers and employers, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) should provide buses for private businesses that aim to serve LMI workers on the basis of a competitive Transit Service Contract (TSC). Bus route planning through a public­private partnership will result in more efficient commutes, increased service and continued job growth in the outer boroughs.

Background New York City’s public transportation system was a wonder of the 20th century. Since the first subway route opened in 1904, and the first gasoline­powered bus took to the streets a year later, New York City’s transit veins have carried the lifeblood of prosperity ­ millions of workers ­ to jobs in the heart of Manhattan. But a century later, New York’s economic composition has evolved drastically from the Fordist, hub­and­spoke pattern of yesteryear. Between 1990 and 2008, residential, commercial and industrial growth in the outer boroughs ­ Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island, and Brooklyn ­ has surpassed that in Manhattan by more than 30 percent.1 Unfortunately, transportation systems have not caught up, leaving dozens of burgeoning LMI neighborhoods disconnected from new centers of job growth.2 A recent study by the Brookings Institute ranked New York City 48th out of 100 cities for transit job access; fewer than one third of suburban LMI residents are connected to employment by public transit.3 Even within boroughs, transit times often surpass an hour and can be dangerously unpredictable, posing a distinct challenge for LMI workers who tend to face more rigid schedules and lower job security. To empower these individuals economically while supporting job growth, the MTA must address the significant deficiency in inter­ and intra­borough transportation. Think Tanks like the Center for an Urban Future, and the Pratt Institute have called on the MTA to expand bus service in order to address this problem. Unfortunately, because of budget restraints and political stagnancy (not to mention a debt surpassing $34 billion),4 these well­researched proposals have been met with little action. Meanwhile, the MTA continues to pursue expansions in Manhattan while ignoring the needs of outer­borough residents.5 A possible explanation for this disinterest is that employers have minimal input in MTA bus route planning. A lack of employer involvement in route design wastes valuable knowledge about the demographics, schedule,

location and commutes of workers. Employer involvement in transportation planning can enhance route efficiency and job access.

Policy Proposal A Transit Service Contract (TSC) is an agreement between two or more parties about the provision of transportation services.6 The MTA should establish a TSC: a public­private partnership through which employers, or coalitions of employers and nonprofit organizations bid for the design and use of MTA­serviced bus routes. Our TSC is targeted primarily at coalitions of small businesses and large anchor institutions ­ institutions that are anchored to one place and mission and drivers of local economies ­ wishing to serve areas in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.7

1. TSC is published and promoted. The MTA Transportation Reinvention Commission, initially convened by Governor Andrew Cuomo, begins accepting applications.8

2. Employers and coalitions submit routes that bolster inter­ and intra­borough commutes for LMI workers. Strong applications should include: data on employee commutes and needs, a communications plan for relaying information, and an alternative transportation plan that meets the qualifications of Best Workplace for Commuters (BWC), a program that was developed from the National Standard of Excellence set by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).9

3. MTA Transportation Reinvention Commission reviews and decides winning applications based on relevant provision of data, creative and efficient route suggestions, and community benefits like small business involvement and increased residential mobility.

4. These routes will be fully serviced and maintained by the MTA, and will operate as public routes to benefit the entire community and earn revenue from the use of MetroCards. Businesses are encouraged to run additional customer­attraction programs during non­peak hours at their expense.

5. TSC is evaluated by measuring reductions in commute times, community benefits, communications and profitability of routes. TSC is evaluated annually and renewed if successful. Suggested metrics for evaluation:

a. Ridership (To be decided by contract) b. Commute Times (To be decided by contract) c. Community Benefits (To be decided by contract) d. Communications (Seoul serves as a good model; the Seoul Metropolitan

Government (SMG) launched an intensive media campaign framing its shift to a semi­public bus system as a movement towards a human­oriented transportation network, which helped garner support from the public.10

e. Profitability (In order to remain profitable, every bus running along a route must pick up at least 67 customers per bus per hour* ). 1

Analysis Our policy connects the MTA with employer knowledge about how to best serve LMI workers. Some anchor institutions have already expressed interest in being involved in helping to plan and advocate for public transit routes. Chief Operating Officer of SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, Ivan Lisnitzer, stated “If we felt the [transit] improvements were working to our benefit, then we could be an advocate, but so far, nobody has asked for our input.11” Employers posses detailed information about LMI commuters which include their residency demographics and route times ­ all of which would be valuable inputs to an MTA program attempting to reduce the commute times of LMI workers. In return, employers receive a host of incentives. A major employer in Northern Queens states, “Improved mass transit would allow our expanding business to draw from a larger labor pool, improve our ability to attract and retain new workers and make us a more competitive manufacturer.12” The MTA’s incentives are equally prolific. By setting targets for service provision to LMI workers in the least­serviced communities,

1 The total cost of running a bus for one hour is $184.58. If each rider generates $2.75 in revenue, at least 67

riders per hour are required to keep the bus profitable (184.58 / 2.75 = ~67). This number is well within reason;

a single articulated bus can fit 112 people.15

the MTA achieves a more expansive outer borough transportation network, generates increased revenues and promotes equitable job growth.

Maintaining a profitable bus route in the outer boroughs is highly achievable considering ridership in the outer boroughs totals 1,671,815 riders per weekday compared to only 447,585 per weekday in Manhattan.13 In order to achieve this ridership target, employers can utilize public transportation incentives offered in the tax code . One such incentive is Intro 295­A, a pre­tax program in which all business with more than 20 employees are required to participate in, that provides up to $130 per employee to subsidize transportation costs.14 By sharing transportation costs, this program results in employers paying less payroll tax and employees paying less income tax. Our policy connects the public­private partnerships endorsed by Governor Andrew Cuomo16 with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s call for transportation expansion in the outer boroughs.17 Specifically, our proposal helps achieve Mayor de Blasio’s OneNYC goal that by 2040, 90% of New Yorkers can access at least 200,000 jobs within 45 minutes by transit”18 through expansion of bus lines. Meanwhile it satisfies Governor Cuomo’s focus on reducing costs through its competitive application and use of specific employer knowledge.

Next Steps We need to start with a grassroots campaign targeted at employees wanting to give input into transportation and employers looking to reduce their employee’s commute times. At the same time, we need to contact officials involved in transportation services for political support, like Polly Trottenberg ­ the current commissioner of transportation in the de Blasio Administration. By reaching out to stakeholders, we can craft the contract in greater detail.

Key Facts

“The Urban Mass Transport Administration funded several studies and concluded that large reductions in operating costs—from 10 to 50 percent per unit of output—could be expected from competitive contracting”19

The average commute times in Staten Island is 69 minutes and 52 minutes in Brooklyn.20

"In the Bronx, over half (52 percent) of all wage­earners are low­ wage; in Brooklyn, 41 percent; in Queens, 37 percent; in Staten Island, 29 percent"21

Challenges The revenue from the bus routes might take away MTA fares from other routes.

Therefore, the net gain in fares in the system might not be very high, while the cost of operating the new buses will increase costs overall.

With routes that change easily, employers could be caught off guard without a way to work. We thus need employer accountability beyond the length of the program, or some consequence to localize the externality onto them.

End Notes 1 Center for Urban Future. "Behind the Curb." Center for Urban Future. Last modified February 2011. Accessed July 18, 2015. https://nycfuture.org/pdf/Behind_the_Curb.pdf. 2 Parrott, James A., Ph.D. "Low­Wage Workers and the High Cost of Living in New York City." Fiscal Policy Institute. Last modified February 27, 2014. Accessed July 22, 2015. http://fiscalpolicy.org/wp­content/uploads/2014/02/FPI­Parrott­testimony­Low­Wage­workers­and­Cost­of­iving­Feb­27­2014.pdf 3 Tomer, Adie, Elizabeth Kneebone, Robert Puentes, and Alan Berube. "Missed Opportunity: Transit and Jobs in Metropolitan America." Metropolitan Transit Program at Brookings. Last modified May 2011. Accessed July 21, 2015.http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2011/5/12%20jobs%20and%20transit/0512_jobs_transit.pdf. 4 Harshbarger, Rebecca. "Capital spending leaves MTA $34.1 billion in debt." New York Post. Last modified February 11, 2015. Accessed July 21, 2015. http://nypost.com/2015/02/11/subway­costs­leave­mta­34­1­billion­in­debt/. 5 Metropolitan Transportation Authority. "MTA Twenty­Year Capital Needs Assessment 2015­2034." MTA. Last modified October 2013. Accessed

July 27, 2015. http://web.mta.info/mta/capital/pdf/TYN2015­2034.pdf. 6Smith, Gwen Chisholm. "Contractual Means of Achieving High­Level Performance." Transit Cooperative Research Program. Last modified June 2013. Accessed July 27, 2015. http://www.tcrponline.org/PDFDocuments/tcrp_lrd_43.pdf. 7 Roosevelt Institute Campus Network. “Rethinking Communities.” Roosevelt Institute Campus Network. Accessed July 27, 2015. http://www.rethinkingcommunities.com. 8 ”Transportation Reinvention Commission.” MTA. Accessed July 27, 2015. http://web.mta.info/mta/news/hearings/index­reinvention.html. 9 Best Workplaces for Commuters. National Center for Transit Research and University of South Florida. “2013 Commuter Benefits.” Best Workplaces for Commuters. Last modified 2013. Accessed July 27, 2015. http://www.bestworkplaces.org/wp­content/uploads/2013/05/2013­BWC­Commuter­Benefits.pdf. 10 Allen, Heather. "Bus reform in Seoul, Republic of Korea." UN Habitat. Last modified 2013. Accessed July 27, 2015.

http://unhabitat.org/wp­content/uploads/2013/06/GRHS.2013.Case_.Study_.Seoul_.Korea_.pdf. 11 Center for Urban Future. "Behind the Curb." Center for Urban Future. 12 Ibid. 13"MTA Bus Company (MTABUS)." NTD Program. Accessed July 23, 2015. http://www.ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/pubs/profiles/2013/agency_profiles/2188.pdf. 14 City of New York. "Mayor de Blasio Signs Intro 295­A Into Law, Expanding the Right to Pre­tax Transit Benefits to More New Yorkers." NYC. Last modified October 20, 2014. Accessed July 22, 2015. http://www1.nyc.gov/office­of­the­mayor/news/483­14/mayor­de­blasio­signs­intro­295­a­law­expanding­right­pre­tax­transit­benefits­more . 15"MTA Bus Introduces New Articulated Bus Into SBS Service: Three Doors ­ Less Waiting" MTA.info. Last modified March 14, 2013. Accessed July 23, 2015. http://www.mta.info/news/2013/03/14/mta­nyc­transit­introduces­new­articulated­bus­sbs­service­three­doors­%E2%80%93­less 16 New York State. "Governor Cuomo Announces Second Round of Public­Private Partnership to Prepare Students for High­Skill Jobs." New York

State. Last modified August 7, 2014. Accessed July 27, 2015.

http://www.governor.ny.gov/newsgovernor­cuomo­announces­second­round­public­private­partnership­prepare­students­high­skill..

17The City of New York. "GOAL 6 New York City's transportation network will be reliable, safe, sustainable, and accessible, meeting the needs of all New Yorkers and supporting the city's growing economy." #OneNYC. Accessed July 22, 2015. http://www1.nyc.gov/html/onenyc/visions/thriving/goal­6.html. 18 City of New York. "Mayor de Blasio Releases One New York: The Plan for a Strong and Just City." NYC. Last modified April 22, 2015. Accessed July 22, 2015. http://www1.nyc.gov/office­of­the­mayor/news/257­15/mayor­de­blasio­releases­one­new­york­plan­strong­just­city#/0. 19 Center for Urban Future. "Behind the Curb." Center for Urban Future. 20 Ibid. 21 Parrott, James A., Ph.D. "Low­Wage Workers and the High Cost of Living in New York City." Fiscal Policy Institute.