Transportation Costs Strain Family Budgets

A new study puts nine Great Lakes cities near the top of the list of cities where transportation costs strain household budgets. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Bill Rice reports:

Transcript

A new study puts nine Great Lakes cities near the top of the list of
cities
where transportation costs strain household budgets. The Great Lakes
Radio
Consortium’s Bill Rice reports:


The study by the Surface Transportation Policy Project in Washington
shows
transportation is the second highest household expense across the
nation,
led only by housing.


Michelle Ernst, who authored the study, says Americans spend an average
of
about 19 cents per dollar on transportation. She says cities that rank
high
tend to have less-than-optimal public transit.


“What we found is that investing in good public transportation
service tends to lower private costs, family costs for transportation.
And so
what we call for in the study is providing people with more
transportation choices.”


And not just public transit, Ernst says, but safe bicycle paths and
sidewalks as well.


Cleveland is among the top five cities where families’ transportation
costs are
exceptionally high. The list includes eight other cities in the Great
Lakes region.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Bill Rice.

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