Transportation in the North Metro

Joe McKenzie from Cars for Neighbors spoke at a recent Sunrise about the importance of having reliable transportation. He also covered transportation options that are available in the north metro. Here are his Sunrise tips and take aways.
 
Transportation is something we all need, especially living in Anoka County. You can live in Andover and work all the way in Columbia Heights. If you didn’t have a vehicle, how would you get to work? This is something that people must consider every day. Most people will rely on public transportation, uber or getting a ride to work, but none of those are reliable means of getting to work.
 
Since we are on the topic of reliable transportation, how does that impact recruitment and employee retention? Think about someone who works in construction or on 2^nd and 3^rd shift. Construction workers need to go to multiple sites in a day, meaning that Uber could cost quite a bit and the transit time of taking a bus would not be efficient. For the night workers, public transportation may not even be available. With barriers such as these, it can make it tough for these employees to be reliable and stay at a company. For entry-level positions, the average replacement cost per employee is 30%-50% of their annual salary.  This includes costs for separation, recruitment, and loss of productivity. With numbers like this, we cannot ignore that transportation is a big issue for businesses.
 
Let’s look at transportation and how it pertains to families. With 60.2 percent of workers leaving Anoka County for work, reliable transportation is a must for the workforce. Like we discussed earlier, there are options for transportation such as taking a bus, Uber and carpooling, but what happens when you have kids or need to run a family member to the doctor? Having a vehicle that is your own that you can take to and from work becomes a necessity, especially when you must pick kids up from day care.
 
For more information, contact Joe. Better yet, attend the next Sunrise. Not only will Joe most likely be there, you’ll hear from more great speakers and see just how energizing a Sunrise breakfast can be.