Soon after my wife and I bought our house, we received a lot of material in the mail from people who had an interest in connecting with us as new residents. Politicians sent us letters welcoming us to their district. We received a schedule for garbage collection and letters from the utilities. Salespeople sent us promotional material trying to sell us drapes, furniture, and paint services, knowing that these items are commonly purchased following a move. One organization that we did not hear from is the Port Authority. This is a lost opportunity.
When people move to a new area, they are more open to establishing new transportation habits. And the habits they form initially are likely to last.
A recent study published in the journal Transportation shows an effective way to boost transit ridership. Graduate students at UCLA who had just moved to the area were given a map of the transit system. The study showed that these students were 7.5% more likely to always use transit, and 7.8% more likely to occasionally use transit compared with students who had not received a map. Mailing maps to existing residents did not increase transit ridership.
Every time a household changes ownership, the Port Authority should mail it a map of every bus and light rail route with a stop within half a mile of the household. Landlords should be required to provide maps to newly moved in tenants. Ideally this should be required at the county level, but it could also be required at the municipal level.
Higher transit ridership reduces congestion, benefits the environment, and supports the health and safety of everyone in the county. Low cost methods of increasing ridership should be acted on.
