The Effect of Transportation on Inequality in Boston
Issues in Transportation in Boston
Background: Since the 1980s, around 4 times more of federal funding has gone to roadways such as public transit, largely due to lobbying from the gas and oil industry. Transportation expenditure has disproportionately served wealthier households who are more likely to own personal vehicles. This has led to a climate where inequity persists in transportation access in Boston.
Affect on underserved communities: Minority and poorer groups face difficulty as they depend on public transportation more than wealthier counterparts, and often have greater challenges in accessing transportation. Black and latino households have an average of 1.1 cars, Asian households have an average of 1.4 cars, and white households have an average of 1.7 cars per household. Owning fewer cars means that households are more dependent on public transportation for traveling to work, to school, to meetings, or to visit friends. In addition, the reliability of public transportation is lower for minority groups and people dependent on public transportation. Reliable public transportation is consistently worse in neighborhoods with large populations of people of color. Black workers spend on average 66 hours per year more on public transportation. Some businesses are unable to fill job vacancies and potential employees don’t have transportation available to travel to work. For parents, there is extra difficulty, as they have to take their kids to preschool or school while also traveling for work.
Accumulates to around 1000 dollars a year for a worker on minimum wage. Additionally, contributes to longer hours heading to and from work, harder to get promotions, complete work on time and prepare. It is additionally challenging for parents who have to balance heading to work on time with getting their kid ready and heading towards school. Transportation is essential to addressing inequality in Boston and providing each citizen the best chance to succeed. Another challenge is the first and last mile connections. The time it takes to get to and from the subway. Biking paths aren’t well distributed to help people get to their objective from the subway stations or bus stops. Additionally, housing remains a prevalent issue. Many key areas (cite) and primary work places are centered around wealthier areas that are unaffordable for many, making it harder for people to access work in wealthier locations and arrive on time to work. Leaving farther from work requires residents to travel earlier to work and have longer hours before arriving home. Another difficulty is coordination from different towns. Intertown transportation hasn’t been sufficient for people traveling cross towns.
Child health and education: There is also greater difficulty for children traveling to schools. Students who live in impoverished areas miss more days of school. They are also more likely to have behavioral and academic problems than their counterparts in affluent areas. Students miss around a full day more of school per year living in more dangerous commutes (John Hopkins) Bus systems are a strong source of transportation for students, and reduce the percentage of students being chronically absent for school by 3.8 percent for economically disadvantaged students.
Ways to help out: There are currently many charities and non profit organizations that help give access to transportation. They strive to help low-income, minority groups, people in poverty, and are working on policies to help support the community. Some policies include “Amendment #1640 – increases operating funds for RTAs by $13M and includes language that sustains FY25 grant programs that make service free, improves regional connectivity and closes transit gaps.
Amendment #1602 – funds the community transit grant program at $8M ($4M increase over FY25), which helps close gaps in transit for older adults, people with disabilities and low-income communities.” They also provide bimonthly newsletters to stay updated with new events.
Massachusetts transportation bay authority
Transportation for Massachusetts
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