East Elmhurst Commuters

The contrast between East Elmhurst and another western Queens neighborhood, Woodside, is striking. In East Elmhurst, more residents drive or ride in a car to work than take the subway. Two-thirds of Elmhurst households own cars, and a strikingly high share - 12 percent of all commuters - carpool to work. Carpools and vanpools enable low- to moderate-income residents, many of whom cannot afford to own a private car, to reach far-flung jobs despite a paucity of good transit options.

For residents who take the subway and/or bus to work, typical commute times are very long, with two-thirds of all riders traveling for 45 minutes or more. The area is not served by subways, so riders must take a bus to get to the train. Work destinations are concentrated in mid-Manhattan but spread throughout the boroughs. Anecdotally, we have heard reports of cleaning and food service workers at JFK airport leaving their homes in Elmhurst and Jackson Heights at 4:30 AM, to make multiple bus and van connections and reach their jobs by 7 AM.