[Rescue Muni] Percent of SF population using transit

Tom Wetzel (tom.wetzel@beasys.com)
Tue, 09 Feb 1999 10:57:01 -0800

Okay, I just checked the 1990 census and I can give you all
the results. According to that census, only 27.6% of
the 340,281 households in S.F. at that time did not have
a vehicle available. Of those who did have a vehicle,
51.6% of those households had only one vehicle.
This is relevant because 58.8% of all families had two or
more employed members. ("Vehicle" here probably includes
motorcylces as well as cars.)

Now, on getting to work, here is the breakdown:

50% of S.F. employed residents got to work via car. (38.6% by
driving alone, the rest in a carpool)

33% used bus or rail transit to get to work. (also 88 people
used ferryboats to get to work. :) )

3.8% worked at home.

10% walked to work.

1.2% drove a motorcycle.

1% drove a bicycle.

(There are some people categorized under "other". Hard to say
what that might be...helicopter? elevator? roller blading?)

Now, of that one third who use public transit, you have to keep
in mind that includes S.F. residents who use BART and other
regional carriers.

That 33% of the employed persons who used public transit to get
to work amounts to 125,294 people, by the way. Now, to figure
out the total of transit users, you have to add a lot of people
who are not employed -- retirees, teenagers, etc.

This suggests to me that the "one third" rule may prove out in this
case. Assuming 685,000 weekday boardings, that's about 228,000 people.
I've not yet seen anybody present evidence that refutes that.

The S.F. residents who drive alone to work amounts to over 147,000
people (as of 1990 of course). That's more than those who used
public transit to get to work. Nonetheless, it isn't a much larger
proportion -- 39% vs. 33%.

These results don't really surprise. It's worth keeping in mind that
that one third using transit to get to work is *huge* by comparison
with L.A. where it is only 4.5% or even by comparison with Chicago,
where it is about 15%.

Tom Wetzel

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