20k + More Jobs Created By Transit, Study Finds ATLANTA, GA (WABE) - Investing existing highway funds in mass transit would bring more jobs to metro areas across the nation. As WABE's Jim Burress reports, a new study shows Atlanta stands to gain among the most of any major city.

What would happen if, instead of spending a dollar on a highway project, the state put 50-cents towards transit?

In Atlanta, you'd get more than 23,000 more jobs for the same money, according to the just-released "More Transit, More Jobs" report from the University of Missouri at St. Louis. Todd Swanstrom is one of the study's authors:

"Transit is more labor-intensive, in the form of bus drivers and other such personnel," said Swanstrom. "Also, highways involves often more spending on land purchases, and obviously land purchases do not generate jobs."

Atlanta has a long road to travel. Of the 20 metro areas researched, Atlanta was in the bottom five for both mass transit spending as a percentage of overall transportation funding and current job creation per transportation dollar spent.

Jim Burress, WABE News
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