Reinvesting In Public Transportation And Investing In Equality

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/05/stranded-how-americas-failing-public-transportation-increases-inequality/393419/

People waiting for the train
Photograph by Brian Snyder/Reuters
theatlantic.com

Hello Everyone:

A big shout out once again to the National Trust for Historic Preservation for mentioning Tuesday's post, "#SaveParkerCenter" (May 26, 2015) in a tweet.  Thanks NTHP, always love your support.

Today we move from how historic preservation can inform modern law enforcement to a subject that effect all of us in one form or another, public transportation.  Even if you do not ride a bus, train, or subway public transportation is more than getting people from one place to another.  Public transportation can increase access to employment and educational opportunities-or limit them.  In a recent article for The Atlantic, titled "Stranded: How America's Failing Public Transportation Increases Inequality," Gillian B. White looks at cities with pockets of shoddy public transportation are actually increasing economic and social inequality.  Ms. White identifies lack of access and investment as key factors in the stranding of America.

Transportation infrastructure
ccjdigital.com

Gillian B. White writes, "To be certain, the aging and inadequate transportation infrastructure is an issue for Americans up and down the economic ladder."  The nation's highways are falling apart, bridges need repair, and railways seem insufficient.  Improving public transportation is an extremely high priority for everyone residing in metropolitan areas.  For some, public transportation is a preference, for others it is an absolute necessity.  Citing Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter of Harvard University and author of the book Move: Putting America's Infrastructure Back in the Lead, Ms. White writes, Public transportation is desired by many but is even more important for lower-income people who can't afford cars.

Red Line Train
archplanbaltimore.blogspot.com

Prof. Kanter continues, Without really good transportation it's very difficult to deal with inequality.  It is not just about access to jobs and schools, it is also about access to better quality food, services, products, and healthcare.  Ms. White cites a recent study from Harvard which concluded that geographic mobility is connected to economic mobility. Further, a 2014 study from New York University "...found a link between poor public-transit access and higher rates of unemployment and decreased income in New York City."

Shipping lanes-U.S. transportation infrastructure
cfr.org

The connection between good transportation and economic equality aside, access to safe and reliable transportation is also a matter of affordability, an issue that has become more acute in major metropolitan areas where spikes fares have put a strain on low-income households.  Theoretically, the growth of public transportation options-i.e. bike sharing- should have made getting from point A to point B easier and cheaper.  However, as Ms. White observes, "...these programs tend to place their kiosks, at least at first, in more affluent neighborhoods.  They also require credit cards for rental, which leaves out poorer populations who tend not have access to such financial instruments."  Citing a recent survey of bike share users in Washington D.C., Ms. White continues, "...ridership wasn't particularly reflective of the city's population: The city has a population that is about 50 percent black but the study found that bike-share ridership was made up of mostly young, white males, and more than 50 percent of those using the region's bike share system had incomes of $100,000 or more."

Mayor Adrian Fenty taking a test bike share ride
Washington D.C.
grist.org

This means most low-income households must make do with older methods of transportation and herein lies the difficulty.  Gillian B. White writes, "For those living in less central neighborhoods, buses  typically provide a crucial link to main subway lines.  That, too, can be problematic.  Bus fleets are old and breakdowns are common."  Prof. Kanter told Ms. White that complaints were commonplace in her interviews with public transit-users.  Prof Kanter said,

They report that bus drivers sometimes didn't complete routes late at night because there were very few passengers and that neighborhoods were considered dangerous.  Or bus drivers would sometimes pass people by standing at stops.

Attractiveness of the bus stops was another major issue.  Bus stops are in a frequent state of disrepair, provide inadequate-if any at all-shelter from the rain, cold, heat, or snow.  Further, Prof. Kanter's book found that even in cities that had digital bus arrival/departure times, the information was often erroneous resulting in longer wait times.  If that was not bad enough, try finding a space to stand, let alone sit. on a bus.  Overcrowding and the lack of adequate space for even the smallest grocery bag means that riders cannot even get on once the bus arrives.  Thus, America's failing public transit system is leaving rider literally stranded.

Prof. Rosabeth Moss Kanter tell us that There is no silver bullet...creating rapid bus service could help increase efficiency and could be completed fairly quickly than, say, laying rails.  Yours truly highly doubts that the geniuses at CalTrans are thinking about this.  Perhaps, as Alana Semuels wrote in a recent article for The Atlantic titled "New Bought Its Own Commuter Rail Station," (May 12, 2015; http://www.theatlantic.com), more public-private partnerships maybe the solution that allows financially desperate cities to increase their reach.  According to Prof. Kanter, the problem has to be addressed, and quickly, especially in the face of growing economic disparity.  We need to think about how important forms of transportation are to the economy and quality of life.  And we have to reinvest.