The COVID-19 pandemic was a massive blow to the U.S.’s public transit systems. As businesses shuttered their doors and workers stopped commuting into the office, public transit ridership dropped to as low as 10% of pre-pandemic levels in many places. In response, Congress passed multiple bills that provided emergency funding to help keep public transit systems solvent. Now that the national emergency is coming to an end and many companies are requiring their employees to return to the office in varying capacities, public transportation is rebounding. When choosing where to live, commutability and access to public transportation may be important factors to consider.
Transit agencies received significant federal financial support to counter the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transportation. Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, federal public transit funding amounted to $12.6 billion after adjusting for inflation. This amount nearly doubled in 2020 to $23.9 billion and then ballooned again to $28.3 billion in 2021.
At the same time, all other sources of public transit funding declined during the pandemic. From 2019 to 2021, state and local inflation-adjusted funding declined 9.2% and 25.0%, respectively. But other transit funding—which includes revenue sources like fares, advertising, and concessions—plummeted as more people opted to avoid public transportation. Revenue from these sources declined 56.6% during that same time period.
Due to the rapid shift to working from home caused by the pandemic, commuters patronized public transportation less frequently over the last few years. Between 2010 and 2019, the share of workers who commuted using public transportation hovered at around 5%. By 2021, this had fallen to 2.5%, while the share of workers who worked from home tripled from less than 6% in 2019 to 17.9% in 2021.
Although many employees continue to work from home, a significant share of workers are now…
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