Community empowerment and public transportation agencies: a case study analysis of transit agencies' community development initiatives

Abstract

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.

Equity-Advancing Practices at Public Transit Agencies in the United States

“…New inclusive contracting practices resulted directly from the department’s work, ensuring that the agency commissioned work from local disadvantaged business enterprises (TriMet staff, personal communication, August 15, 2019). Contracting and hiring are particularly important, as they signal to specific groups that their labor, input, or both, are valued financially ( 75 , 76 ). MBTA also focused on equity during the hiring process by seeking out individuals with equity-related expertise and interests and described how equity principles informed all areas of the agency’s work (MBTA staff, personal communication, July 1, 2019).…”

Transit Paradise Lost

“…. should be positively voted on by the citizens and supported.” As the interviewee drily remarked, “I can pretty safely assert that a unanimous support from all the mayors in the metro area is pretty strong support.” Another Deep South interviewee, in spite of extreme funding constraints, which threaten to close the agency altogether, worked with local health care providers and social service agencies to provide free medical testing, dental exams, tests for sexually transmitted disease, and other quality of life services to transit riders during their otherwise-unoccupied transfer wait times at the agency’s headquarters (Wellman, 2012). Clearly, the ability of transit administrators to circumvent some restrictions knowingly or unknowingly placed on them by their regional or local policymakers should not be understated, nor should it be assumed that all American urban policymakers are hostile or indifferent to the needs of transit.…”

“…This method of “starving the beast” has severely dysfunctional effects, serving mostly to undo the existing social safety net and disproportionally punishing those too poor to afford a personal automobile. Public administrators—particularly those in urban planning and city governance—can advocate for responsible, transparent, and accountable expenditures in public transportation agencies that have a much higher social and economic return than investments in roads (Lutz, 2014; Wellman, 2012).…”

Rural Transportation Conference Participants’ Opinions and Concerns Pertaining to Transit for Older Adults

“…A number of other studies consider other aspects of rural transit economics. The U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration (2009), Wellman (2012), andIsrael-Schwarzlose et al (2014) address provision of transit services to older rural adults, recognizing the presence or lack of transportation services may be more critical for quality of life for older adults than for the general population (Glasgow & Blakely, 2000). A handful of studies have concluded that the benefits of rural transportation exceed its costs of provision (Ferrell, 2015).…”