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    Disconnected Regional Transit Prevents Job Growth in Southeast Michigan

    May 16, 2016
    For employers everywhere, timeliness and reliability are key factors when considering a job applicant.
    Related To: Coalition for Urban Transitions

    For employers everywhere, timeliness and reliability are key factors when considering a job applicant. But for employers and employees in Southeast Michigan, the absence of frequent, reliable regional transit that connects Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties limits job and economic growth opportunities.

    Two new TV spots debuted today featuring Lizabeth “Beth” Ardisana, ASG Renaissance co-founder and CEO, and Dennis Archer, Jr., CEO of Ignition Media Group and president of Archer Corporate Services. Their stories draw attention to the fact that a lack of connected, frequent and reliable regional transit is a significant barrier to economic growth in Southeast Michigan, preventing employers from filling jobs, employees from getting to jobs, and limiting economic development.

    In fact, the American Public Transportation Association found that for every $1 invested in regional public transit, the region can expect $4 in economic returns.

    “Within the last year, I’ve hired 1,000 people and I could hire another 500 today,” Ardisana said. “Every application we have has a box that says ‘Do I have reliable transportation?’ If you can’t say that, we can’t hire you … I think the most important thing we have to recognize about regional transportation is that it’s critical to the success of everybody.”

    “It’s imperative that we change the fact that we’re one of the largest regions in the country that doesn’t have a reliable, connected regional transportation network,” Archer said. “It has a huge effect on the ability of people to look for and get jobs. A solid regional solution that connects cities and suburbs and allows people to get to where the jobs and business opportunities are would make a world of difference.”

    According to the Brookings Institution, 78 percent of jobs in Southeast Michigan cannot be reached within 90 minutes via regional public transit.

    The new ads are part of an ongoing series highlighting the critical need for reliable regional public transit to connect Southeast Michigan’s four counties. They are funded by the Detroit Regional Chamber Foundation with support from The Kresge Foundation.