In Pittsburgh, according to U.S. Census data 25 percent of households do not have a personal vehicle, and nearly 20 percent of workers use public transit to get to work. I wonder how many churchgoers use transit to get to church?
Thanks to budget deficits, Pittsburgh transit lines are facing a doomsday scenario, potentially losing half of the regions routes.
We like to cut public transit when budgets are tight, but tend not to get concerned about highways and building developments. Unfortunately, it seems the expansion and sprawl of major cities has helped contribute to the break up and dissolution of once Catholic enclaves.
When you have to drive to church, are you less likely to go? How far are people willing to drive to church? What if you don’t have access to a personal vehicle? What if access to bus lines and trains is extremely limited or non-existent? I think these are especially important questions for the increasingly Hispanic and new immigrant population of the Catholic church, a church for which the poor is the deepest priority.
