Measuring Job Access in Greater Boston

By Peter Ciurczak

June 29, 2017

With fast and affordable access to Boston’s core and neighboring municipalities comes improved access to jobs, education and other opportunities for all of the region’s residents. When all commuters, “regardless of race, income or ability,” have the same access to opportunity as any other commuter (even if that means transit investment is higher in one community than another), the system can be said to be equitable. For individuals interested in measuring ‘transportation equity’ within the region, it has been difficult to find a tool that can effectively give a sense of what access, particularly job access, looks like by neighborhood. In the Boston area, one of the most informative is the Collaborative Access-based Stakeholder Engagement (CoAXs) tool, a web-based portal that encourages users to develop a more comprehensive understanding of job access across Greater Boston.

Continually updated, the CoAXs tool enables users to explore the impact of the MBTA transit network on job access. Using a combination of several data sources, including U.S. Census Data and Transit Route data, CoAXs reveals the number of jobs any starting location has access to, and whether those jobs are lower income (earning $0 - $1,250 monthly), middle income ($1,250 - $3,333), or higher income (greater than $3,333).

CoAXs itself is composed of three parts: the map, its modifiers, and the jobs sidebar, which displays how many jobs or workers are accessible from the selected location based on commute times. To begin an analysis, drag the ‘Start’ flag to any location on the map, and wait until the orange layer appears. This layer delineates how far a commuter can travel solely on the MBTA. Then, using the time map modifier, slide the commute length in minutes back and forth as desired and note how the orange layer, indicative of job access, grows or shrinks.

To get a more complete sense of how CoAXs works, let’s posit a scenario featuring “John” and “Alicia,” both of whom work around South Station.

For John, traveling downtown is a breeze. From his home on Hovey Avenue in Cambridge he catches the 69 Bus in the morning, either heading east towards Lechmere or west to Harvard Square, taking roughly 40 minutes to complete. From his home, he has relatively easy access to Cambridge, Somerville and Boston. Within his total commuting time, he has access to roughly nine municipalities and over 480,000 jobs.

Job Access Within John's Commute

In contrast, let’s take a look at Alicia. She’s commuting to South Station from Mattapan, well south of the Financial District. While her home does have a plethora of transit service options, living farther from the office does have its downsides, taking her 55 minutes to get to work.  Within her total commuting time, she can reach three municipalities and approximately 260,000 jobs. Bump up her travel time to an hour or so, and Alicia will gain access to roughly the same amount of jobs as John.

Job Access Within Alicia's Commute

It should be noted that, in making its calculations, CoAXs assumes that every bus, train or light rail car can accommodate every passenger and arrives and leaves on time. In reality, Boston’s transit system is not perfectly timely, and commutes can be shorter or longer than they might appear in an idealized environment. Indeed, between 2016 and 2017, the MBTA’s buses were on time only 65 percent of the time.

At more than a century old, Boston’s transit system has changed significantly since the first tracks were laid at Park and Tremont Station.  As the MBTA changes to meet the needs of a more diffuse and populous region, the CoAXs tool will enable policymakers, researchers, and community activists to uncover how distance and time impact access to jobs.