Mass Transit Share by Metropolitan Area

Forbes.com come has posted interesting ranking about "America's Cleanest Commutes", based on American Community Study 2008. And they ranked San Francisco as No.1. While I don't necessarily agree with their methodology, I thought it is interesting to share the "share of commuting method" --- Mass Transit, Car Pool or Drive Alone as follows:

MSA	Mass Transit	Car Pool	Drive Alone
New York City MSA	30%	7%	50%
San Francisco MSA	14%	11%	64%
Washington DC MSA	13%	11%	66%
Trenton-Ewing, N.J.MSA	12%	8%	69%
Chicago MSA	11%	9%	71%
Seattle MSA	8%	12%	69%
Honolulu MSA	8%	16%	64%
Boston MSA	7%	11%	71%
Portland MSA	6%	11%	71%
Los Angeles MSA	6%	12%	73%

The report says that, due to recession, share of mass transit and car pool has increased slightly. But it has LONG way for US to "transit" to energy efficient non-car-dependent society (Yes -- I was raised in Tokyo).

Anyhow, as for the real estate appreciations, I believe those cities with strong mass transit and high walkability will win as 1) more and more people are craving for "walkable" neighborhood and 2) gas price continue to go up and 3) Americans are aging rapidly.

Happy Investing!!!