FACES OF MISSOURI TRANSIT: ACCESS; EMPLOYMENT; and ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
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ACCESS
Public transit in Missouri promotes personal mobility by providing more than 40.1 million rides annually. For some, transit is the sole means by which they can gain access to work, school, healthcare facilities,
pharmacies, grocery stores and other needed goods and services. Others have personal vehicles but like to use public transit because it offers a safer, more cost-effective, and convenient means for getting to places for work or play.
EMPLOYMENT
Transit gets thousands of Missourians to and from their place of employment every day. It also directly employs more than 3,800 individuals, with an annual average salary of $86,400, and indirectly adds more than 22,000 jobs to the state each year.
The City of Sedalia and Tyson Food Plant partners with OATS Transit to run three morning and afternoon routes to get workers to their plant. The 6:30 a.m. riders all agree the reliability and cost of utilizing the OATS Transit bus helps them overcome some of the barriers of getting to their place of employment. Riders pay a fare of $2.50 per one-way, or $5 daily, to ride the bus to work, which is much cheaper than a taxi. Riders pictured have all been working the Tyson Plant anywhere from 3 months to 27 years. OATS Transit’s relationship with Tyson began in the 1990s with a federal grant program that offered funding to companies to provide employment transportation. That federal grant no longer exists, but it has not changed OATS Transit’s long-standing commitment to ensure employees can get to their jobs.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
Transit yields an overall economic impact of $4.08 billion annually, including $463 million in spending by transit riders. Over the last five years, transit agencies spent an average of $4.5 billion annually on capital investments. Plus, the state government collects an estimated average of $51 million in annual taxes because of the direct and multiplier effects of transit.
ACTION IS NEEDED:
Transit is undoubtedly delivering for Missouri, but MORE must be done. There is a current need of 39 million more transit trips a year.
Missouri providers have been working diligently to identify local funding sources through sales tax, private contracts and more, but the most significant missing link is the lack of adequate state funding. We ask that you make transit investment a priority for the state of Missouri. Every dollar invested delivers $10 more to Missouri’s bottom line. Now is the time to ensure the lifeline.
HERE IS HOW YOU CAN HELP:
·Tell your personal story to your legislators. Download the Transit is a Lifeline doc. or pdf and personalize your story or others’ stories.
·Ride transit and encourage others to do so as well.
·Like our Facebook page, follow us on X, and sign up for our monthly newsletter which includes legislative updates, educational opportunities, and public transit in Missouri highlights.
·Download the Transit is a Lifeline brochure and share with legislators and key stakeholders.
