Public transportation projects create good paying jobs. Same with highway construction. A new report from the US Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG) "What We Learned from the Stimulus: And How to Use What We Learned to Speed Jobs Creation in the 2010 Jobs Bill" shows the big bump to the economy created by transportation spending.
Under ARRA (the recovery act), $4.4 billion was spent on public transportation, which translates into 72,328 months of full time jobs. The highway infrastructure projects (over $15.8 billion) became 138,831 months of work. That number of jobs is a boost to a sagging economy and kept things from getting worse. More stimulus is needed to actual begin to grow the economy again.
While both highways and public transportation projects build up the job base, public transportation is more cost effective at creating jobs because the projects spend less money on acquiring land, are more complex than the highway projects, while buying and maintaining vehicles. The public transportation stimulus funds build the operating funds of local transit companies that residents use to get to work, school, medical appointments, and for general transportation. Building up operations allows the working and school age public more access to jobs and education, further keeping the economy moving in the right direction.
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