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Transportation Issues Of The Joplin Missouri Area

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Transportation Issues in the Joplin Missouri Area and Their Effects Upon the Rural Population it Serves David Adams Western New Mexico University Identified in this paper is the social issue of public transportation within the Joplin, Missouri area. The effects of this issue span gender, Joplin, Missouri is at the intersection of two of the busiest intersections in all of Missouri, I44 and Highway 71. Although this center for commerce is busy and growing, in many ways it still acts like the small town it got it beginnings from. According to the city’s website and the 2010 Census pole, the population of Joplin is approximately 50,175 and growing to an estimated 50,789, with the poverty rate of 19%, versus the state as a whole …show more content…

Public transportation provides numerous positive attributes to the community at large. It enhances personal opportunities by providing personal mobility and freedom, gives people transportation options to get to work, go to school, visit friends, or go to a doctor’s office, provides access to job opportunities. It saves fuel and reduces congestion, provides economic opportunities and drives community growth and revitalization. Statistically, every $1 invested in public transportation generates approximately $4 in economic returns, every $10 million in capital investment in public transportation yields $30 million in increased business sales, every $10 million in operating investment yields $32 million in increased business sales, and from 2006-2011, residential property values performed 42 percent better on average if they were located near public transportation with high-frequency service. Public transportation saves money and reduces gasoline consumption. According to APTA’s transit saving report, a two-person household can save, on the average, more than $10,174 a year by downsizing to one car. Public transportation use in the United States saves 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline annually and households near public transit drive an average of 4,400 fewer miles than households with no access to public transit. Public transportation also reduces the carbon footprint in that its use

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