A recent report by the Center for an Urban Future found that Queens residents that work in the healthcare sector have among the worst transit commutes in New York City.
The report released on Feb. 1 shows that the median commute for all workers citywide is 47 minutes, with the median commute for healthcare workers citywide 51 minutes. Queens healthcare workers who rely on mass transit have a median commute of 56 minutes, with home health aides who rely on the subway facing a median commute of 61 minutes, which the report found to be the worst of any borough.
The study found that roughly 65 percent of healthcare jobs are located in the boroughs outside of Manhattan. Queens is the home to 99,500 healthcare workers, with more than 11,700 healthcare workers live in the neighborhoods of Jamaica, Hollis and St. Albans, and 11,235 healthcare employees live in Queens Village, Cambria Heights and Rosedale.
Despite the high number of workers, the healthcare sector has limited transit options.
The study found that 25 major health facilities throughout the borough are located at least eight blocks from a subway. Nearly one in six workers living in Queens Village, Cambria Heights and Rosedale is employed in healthcare, but those neighborhoods do not have a single subway station near by.
“All New Yorkers have good reason to be frustrated with the city’s transit system right now, but the city’s healthcare workers arguably have it worst,” said Jonathan Bowles, executive director of the Center for an Urban Future. “And the problems aren’t only related to subway delays and overcrowded trains. The reality is that bus and subway service in the four boroughs outside Manhattan simply hasn’t kept pace with massive increases in the number of New Yorkers working and living there.”
Since 2011, some of the fastest growing bus routes in the city has taken place in Queens due to residents commuting to healthcare jobs. However, despite causing the growth in ridership, too few of the city’s existing bus routes connect places where large numbers of healthcare workers live with hospitals, nursing homes and other employment centers —and when they do, the service can’t meet the demand.
Click here to read the full report.
