Transportation Justice Working Group
The Transportation Justice Working Group (TJWG) is part of the Social Equity Caucus and is staffed by Urban Habitat. TJWG raises awareness among community groups and decision makers of the discriminatory consequences of our current transportation policy-making. We document the unequal benefits and burdens of our transportation system and we defend the transit rights of low income families and communities of color. We are organizing to demand that transportation policy be guided by the following principles:
1. Accessibility Transit systems must support the critical, day-today travel needs of the “transit dependent” - people without reliable access to a car. Transit routes must be reliable and well coordinated to allow for trips to school, work, shopping, recreation and medical care.
2. Affordability Fares should not exceed what families can reasonably pay. Low-income people should not have to spend staggering portions of their income on transportation.
3. Health and Quality of Life Vehicles must be clean running to prevent toxics from polluting our environment and poisoning our bodies. The space around our transit hubs and stations should be designed to protect riders.
4. Public Participation Community members must have a meaningful voice in decision making about how services can be improved and how dollars are spent.
5. Accountability Transportation planning and funding should reflect community priorities. Transportation, land use and air quality agencies in the Bay Area should collaborate with one another to achieve workable solutions that advance equity.
6. Fairness Low-income riders must receive an equal benefit from public transit dollars as higher-income riders do. Subsidies should be targeted to those who are least able to pay.
Earlier this month, the MTC’s Minority Citizens Advisory Committee (MCAC) proposed Environmental Justice Principles before the MTC’s Legislation Committee. The MTC’s Legislation Committee decided to further postpone the adoption and thus, the implementation of the EJ principles.
The MCAC has been working for the past year and a half on drafting their proposed set of EJ principles. The effort began as a result of MCAC’s work in reviewing the methodology used in the MTC’s Equity Analysis of the Transportation 2030 Alternatives. The MCAC adopted these principles late in 2004, and voted to submit them to the Commission for its consideration and approval more than a year ago. At that time, however, the Commissioners refused, claiming that the principles wrongly implied that MTC’s distribution of funding was discriminatory. The TJWG will continue to support the MCAC in their efforts to incorporate EJ considerations into all of the MTC’s planning, decision-making, funding and operations.
See below for TJWG letter to MCAC on EJ principles:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| TJWG letter to MCAC 021406.doc | 37 KB |
Related items:
Upcoming Events
- Jul 5 2008 - 12:00
- Jul 5 2008 - 19:00
- Jul 10 2008 - 18:00
- Jul 10 2008 - 19:00
- Jul 13 2008 - 10:00
