Homes on Track: Connecticut

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) owns or subsidizes nearly all of the State’s public transportation services, including commuter rail, bus, bus rapid transit, paratransit, and ferry services. The combined system provided 33.1 million annual passenger trips on bus and ADA paratransit services in 2024 and more than 42 million annual passenger trips on rail service in 2022.

Rail Service

Three main passenger rail services across Connecticut serve numerous towns across most regions. There are 54 stations that are served by the rail network. These services include the New Haven Line, Shore Line East, and the Hartford Line, all of which are governed by unique contract agreements.

The New Haven Railroad was formed in 1872 when the New York & New Haven and Hartford & New Haven railroads were merged to form the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company. The railroad spurred the growth of towns and cities along its route, fostering residential, commercial, and industrial development around stations. The corridor was initially transformed from the Farmington Canal into a railroad line by the New Haven and Northhampton Railroad company, highlighting the impact of transportation technology on land use. Today known as the New Haven line, it carries the lion’s share of the state’s passenger rail trips with approximately 30.3 million in 2024. Since 1983, the New Haven Line has operated under a joint agreement between the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

The Shore Line East is a commuter rail service that originated in 1990, providing service along a portion of the Northeast Corridor from New Haven to New London. The service is subsidized by CTDOT, with Amtrak under contract to operate the service and perform maintenance throughout the system. The Hartford Line is a high-speed intercity passenger rail system that opened in June of 2018, providing expanded service between New Haven, Hartford, and Springfield, MA.

The 53 rail stations are distributed across the state in seven of the nine Regional Councils of Government (COGs), organizations that bring together the chief elected officials or professional managers from municipalities. The most populous councils are the Capitol Region, Western Connecticut, South Central Connecticut, Naugatuck Valley, and Greater Bridgeport, which together account for over 2.9 million people, or 82% of the state’s total population. Most of the transit assets are also located in these five regions.

Bus Service

The CTDOT owns the local bus systems in Hartford, New Haven, Stamford, Waterbury, New Britain, Bristol, Meriden, and Wallingford, all branded as CTtransit. CTDOT contracts First Transit for services in Stamford, New Haven, and Hartford, while other private providers manage the remaining areas. The state is responsible for all operating deficits and capital costs in these regions. Additionally, CTDOT contracts with First Transit and four other companies to operate express bus services to Hartford. CTDOT also operates CTfastrak, a dedicated bus rapid transit line that spans 9.4 miles between downtown New Britain and downtown Hartford. This system, which was launched in March 2015, runs seven days a week under the CTtransit Hartford brand.

Capital Plan

To maintain this network, the CTDOT’s 2022-2026 capital plan invested a total of $3.8 billion needed for state-of-good-repair and upgrades. $2.2 billion of the total funding came from the state, which represents approximately 2% of Connecticut’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2026-2027. Federal contributions to transit programs added to more than $1.6 billion, representing 42% of the 5-year capital plan allocations for transit. As the current federal administration reins in spending, the state will likely need to step up to address anticipated shortfalls. Continuous investments and commitments to maintain and expand transit capacity will be crucial for successful TOCs.

Connecticut’s housing problem persists: with higher rents, homeownership out of reach for many residents, low vacancy rates indicating scarcity, and homelessness rising year after year. By one measure, the state is short more than 94,000 affordable rental units. Abundant housing can bring many economic benefits, such as lowering housing costs, creating new jobs, and increasing the state’s tax base. Increasing housing supply along Connecticut’s transit network would yield additional benefits as it would improve residents’ access to housing, employment, and essential services.

RPA defined a preliminary study area based on the distribution of rail stations and bus stops. We drew half-mile radii around each rail station, and a quarter mile around bus stops to define Connecticut’s Transit Zone (CTZ). With this geographical definition, we then examined the distribution of population, households, and jobs throughout the state. We found that areas served by transit in Connecticut (CTZ) represent only 9% of the state’s land (280,000 acres out of 3.2 million), yet they concentrate almost half the households and two-thirds of the jobs that drive the state’s economy. On an acreage basis, places in the CTZ have almost nine times the number of households and twenty times more jobs when compared to areas outside the transit zone boundaries.

The concentration of residents and jobs in areas served by transit highlights the importance of aligning housing and transportation planning efforts in Connecticut. The CTZ plays a disproportionate role in providing access to the state’s housing and labor markets. Planning and investing in these areas will likely go a long way to improve affordability, bolster economic activity, and preserve open space for the well-being of Connecticut’s residents.

The density and composition of land use, as well as the urban design characteristics of a given area, indicate the likely scale and programming of potential future development. Places with a greater land-use mix and moderate to high residential densities are generally better suited for near-term opportunities to create Transit-Oriented Communities (TOCs). Aside from transit service levels, other characteristics that can determine TOC feasibility include the amount of underdeveloped land, street grid configurations, and sewer infrastructure.

Transit, Density, and Urban Design

More compact and mixed-use forms of development largely depend on the availability and access to public transportation. Areas with higher residential density and urban design attributes that create functional, attractive, and well-connected spaces tend to have more people and households within a smaller space, making it easier to support frequent and reliable service. This higher density translates into more potential riders, which may offset the costs of providing service and reduce the need for government subsidies. At the same time, increased density enables and justifies larger investments in transit infrastructure and services. This virtuous cycle helps reduce dependency on private vehicles, which are a significant source of pollution and environmental degradation.

Housing Density

To support any form of regular, on-street bus service, the minimum residential density required is approximately 6 to 8 units per acre for a transit corridor in Connecticut. For express bus service that relies solely on pedestrian access (without park-and-ride facilities), a minimum average density of about 15 units per acre is necessary. However, ridership at these minimum densities tends to be relatively low and primarily concentrated during peak commuting hours. As residential densities increase, so does ridership. In downtown areas, a minimum density of around 50 employees per acre is essential to support regular transit service. Typically, people do not shift from driving to using transit until employment densities reach approximately 50 to 75 employees per acre.

While there are some examples of transit-oriented communities across Connecticut (see photos above), most of the state’s housing stock is located in areas that lack the necessary residential density and ridership to support transit.

Only 317,000 units, representing 22% of the total statewide housing stock, are located in areas with sufficient density to sustain regular bus service.

Less than 7% is located in areas with sufficient density to support express bus service. Even within the transit zone boundaries (CTZ), approximately 291,000 units (42% of the stock within the transit zone) are situated in areas that lack the density to support bus service. In the absence of these densities (and the ridership that supports transit), operators either become more reliant on subsidies or vulnerable to declining service. Directing future growth into the CTZ through better coordination and alignment between housing and transportation planning efforts should remain a key goal for the state.

The shortage of compact, walkable, and Transit-Oriented Communities in the state is not driven by free market forces, but rather by restrictive land use regulations. Most towns in Connecticut have large-lot single-family zoning and prohibit multifamily housing, even near transit stations. Single-family housing is permitted as of right on 99.6% of the state’s zoned residential land. Additionally, 70.2% of the land is exclusively zoned for single-family housing, allowing only this type of housing. Only 2.2% of the land is zoned for multifamily housing (four units or more).

While less common, areas with sufficient residential density to support bus service but not served by transit can also be found in Connecticut.

Approximately 26,000 units (1.8% of total stock) are located in areas with sufficient residential density to support service, but not within the transit zone.

These fall into two general categories: (i) High-density developments in places that are distant from any form of transit, which may suggest the need to expand the network, and (ii) Developments located along the outer edges of the transit zone, which suggests the need to expand ​“first and last mile” solutions.

Restrictive land-use policies and a lack of a regional, integrated approach between housing and transportation planning have not only harmed the state’s economic advantage but have also led to environmental degradation and more costly infrastructure to build and maintain.

Sprawling development forces us to depend on cars and lengthens the distance residents need to drive for work, school, errands, and visits to family and friends. The impacts of private vehicles come with costly negative externalities, most of which are subsidized by non-road users. A Harvard Kennedy School study quantified the cost of the car economy in Massachusetts and concluded that the annual price tag for maintaining the state’s car economy is roughly $64.1 billion, with more than half of that coming from public funds. This puts the cost of investing in public transportation projects into perspective, because relying solely on roads and vehicles is not free.

Transportation emissions – another negative externality – have proven to be the most significant obstacle preventing Connecticut from achieving its climate goals. The transportation sector is responsible for 38% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions and 70% of the petroleum consumed. Households in towns that zone most of their land for super-large lots of 2 acres or more have 36% higher transportation-related emissions on average than households in the remaining towns in Connecticut. This gap is almost entirely attributable to differences in vehicle miles traveled, which are 34.5% higher for households in super-large lot towns.

By requiring a significant amount of land for each house, often nearly the size of a football field in 80% of neighborhoods—and sometimes even more, the only option for growth is to expand outward, encroaching on the state’s forests and farms. From 1985 to 2010, Connecticut lost 190 square miles of forested areas and an additional 62 square miles of agricultural land. This loss is over 11 times the size of Manhattan. As a result, the state faces diminished natural defenses against climate change and a more vulnerable food system.

TOCs and infill development can be effective strategies for land conservation. Using already developed land, infill development can reduce pressure on lower-density areas, preserve open spaces such as wetlands, forests, and wildlife habitats, and help maintain the beauty of existing rural areas.

Sewer Service Areas

Efficiencies compound in a favorable way when towns, cities, and metro areas grow in more compact patterns. As more housing units are built along a road or sewer line, the capital cost of infrastructure and services per home decreases. Consistent findings demonstrate that the cost of infrastructure and administering services increases directly with the distance between homes, in particular when it comes to sewer systems.

Nearly 921,000 units, or 62%, of the total housing stock in Connecticut is located in areas with access to sewer service. More than 623,000 units, or nearly 90% of housing in the CTZ, are in areas with access to sewer service. These existing sewered areas may provide a feasible approach for expanding TOCs within the state. Approximately 20% of the stock is located in sewered areas, but not within the transit zone. Given the larger expenses associated with sewer infrastructure and related operations, housing stock in areas already sewered but not within the CTZ could provide a feasible alternative to expand transit service and further encourage Transit-Oriented Communities.

Flood Areas

TOCs offer a viable alternative for the state to adapt to climate change’s growing and more severe impacts. Most of the housing stock is not affected by high flood risk areas. Over 660,000 units (45% of Connecticut’s housing stock) are located within the transit zone and in low-flood risk areas (beyond FEMA’s High Risk Flood Hazard). Some locations within the CTZ will require additional funding and planning to minimize flood risk, but these represent a minority. Approximately 40,000 units (2.6% of the state total) are in a high-flood risk area and within the transit zone.

Restrictive land-use policies and a lack of a regional, integrated approach between housing and transportation planning have not only limited the state’s economic potential but have also exacerbated long-standing inequities. A 2024 Connecticut Housing and Segregation study by the state’s data and policy analytics department found that Connecticut remains one of the most racially and economically segregated states in the nation.

Residents in Connecticut living in single-family zoning neighborhoods generally have higher incomes, are predominantly White, less likely to be Black or Hispanic, and more likely to hold a bachelor’s degree and own homes compared to those in multifamily zones. Conversely, households within the Transit Zone (CTZ), areas which are predominantly composed of multifamily buildings, have lower incomes and are disproportionately Black or Hispanic.

Household Income

Virtually all of the state’s households earning less than $50,000 reside within the transit zone, approximately 138,800 households corresponding to 98.8% in the very low income bracket. Approximately 182,700 out of 281,000 households earning between $71,800 and below the state’s median income reside within the transit zone (65% of middle-income households). In contrast, only 45,000 out of 208,700 households earning $150,000 or more live within the transit zone (21.5% of high-income households).

Race & Ethnicity

Black, Hispanic, Asian, and American Native populations in Connecticut are more likely to live within the transit zone than not. Compared to the state’s total racial and ethnic composition, residents in the transit zone are disproportionately Black, Hispanic, Asian, and American Native. More than three-quarters of the state’s Hispanic and Black populations reside within the transit zone, at 77.6% and 83.3%, respectively, totaling approximately 817,000 residents. More than half of the state’s Asian and American Native populations live within the transit zone, 56% and 63.4% respectively, adding to almost 97,000 people. While over one million White residents live in the transit zone, they constitute 52% the total population in the CTZ, compared to 65% of the total state population.

Given the economic and demographic conditions within Connecticut’s Transit Zone efforts to bring equity and mitigate displacement must be central in future planning initiatives. Efforts to bring TOCs in places considered racially concentrated areas of poverty (R/ECAP), socially vulnerable, or at risk of displacement, could benefit most from investment, infrastructure improvements, and quality transit service. However, prioritizing subsidies to develop deep levels of affordable housing and adopting tenant protection measures in such locations will be key to ensuring existing residents can enjoy the benefits of TOCs in the future.