An investigation from the Tampa Bay Times examines why Tampa’s transit system is so lacking for a metropolitan area of 3 million people. Compared to other cities of the same size, Tampa Bay’s transit options allow for access to far fewer jobs:
Tampa Bay’s system reaches the same number of jobs as those in places like Boise, Idaho, or Chattanooga, Tenn. — except it serves five times as many people.
In 2011, the Brookings Institute calculated the number of jobs a typical commuter could reach via bus and rail in every major American city. They found that in Tampa Bay, a 45-minute trip could reach 28,000 jobs.
Only three other communities of at least 2 million people scored so low. Two of them — Orlando and Riverside and San Bernardino in California — both invested in major transit projects since the study, unlike Tampa Bay.
The Times also uncovered that the region is the only city in the top 20 most populous U.S. areas that spends less than $213 million on transit annually.