Access to transportation is determinative of many quality of life indicators like health, employment, and education. Without the ability to travel within cities, individuals are effectively barred from resources necessary for empowerment, societal engagement, and productivity. Mass transit systems in the United States have long been underfunded compared to other industrialized democracies and frequently face severe constraints due to decreasing public investment in inner cities, lack of concern by policymakers about transportation equity, and the uniquely American emphasis on road-building and car ownership.This research uses qualitative research methods including interviews with transit agency administrators and content analysis of documents publicized by the agencies to form four case studies describing how public transportation agencies can be critical players in urban community development and social engagement efforts.

Transportation policy in the United States has historically been the locus of social change, playing a signifcant role in social policy – like the 20th century Civil Rights movement – and economic policy. This research suggests that current transportation policymaking practices favor certain groups, primarily automobile users and suburban commuters, at the expense of other groups, mostly poor and urban minority populations who rely on public transportation modes. Transportation policy in the United States is socially unjust because it does not reward the costs and benefits of public policy equally; current policies have negative implications for the efficacy of democracy. Public administrators are poised to play a significant role in ameliorating such injustices, and this research suggests a few ways all public agencies and their employees can contribute to a more just transportation policymaking environment.

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Purpose Public transit is an essential service for people without access to an automobile, particularly those who are low income, elderly, or with disabilities. Previous research has found that large urban transit agencies receive less state funding per ride provided than suburban agencies. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach Using data from the National Transit Database for 37 of the largest US transit agencies, the authors create a panel data set of services provided and sources of operating funds for the period 1991-2009. The authors develop an equity index that represents the difference between the share of state funding that an agency receives and the share of the total transit rides in the state that it provides. The authors use fixed-effects regression modeling to examine the determinants of fiscal balance and the equity index. Findings The authors find that the share of an agency’s operating funds that come from dedicated taxes is a significant predictor of fiscal health as measured by its fiscal balance; reliance on passenger fares and provision of bus service are significant predictors of operating deficits. The equity index finds that large agencies receive less than their fair share of state transit funding based on ridership. Practical implications Dedicated tax revenues are a key ingredient to transit agencies’ fiscal stability. Transit agencies’ fiscal condition in states and localities that do not have a dedicated tax could benefit from such a tax. Social implications Transit is an essential service for people who are unable to drive or own an automobile; funding inequities maintain old patterns of segregation and isolation for “transit dependents.” Originality/value This study supports earlier research finding that large agencies receive less than their fair share of state funding based on ridership. It contributes to the literature on transportation equity and transit finance.