Hello Transportation Advocates,
From its inception, the Transit Choices coalition has said that improving our poor public transportation system is one of the keys to achieving greater equity of opportunity in the Baltimore region. It is essential that we look at all possible solutions to the public transit dilemma in order to create a system which provides more equity of opportunity for all our citizens including those that have no access to automobiles, but many of whom work jobs that are now recognized as essential services in our economy.
The Urban Institute addresses the racial equity discussion in their study The Unequal Commute dated October 6, 2020. To inform stakeholders making transportation decisions, the study focuses on four metropolitan regions: Baltimore, Maryland; Lansing, Michigan; Nashville, Tennessee; and Seattle, Washington.
For each region, they calculated the time it takes residents to get to opportunities such as jobs, schools, libraries, and hospitals via both public transit and automobile, and used those times to create an access to opportunity measure. With these new metrics, they highlighted disparities in access to jobs and analyzed how these opportunities differ by race and ethnicity and for night-shift workers.
The future of public transit is a crucial debate in the Baltimore region right now.
Transit Choices will continue to fight for an equitable, affordable, and accessible public transit system for all.
Thank you.