For the past few years, TCC has worked to make our programs more intentional and inclusive. Last year, we took our commitment to the next level through a stronger and more effective partnership with OneAmerica, the state’s leading immigrant rights advocacy group and Puget Sound Sage, the region’s leading group focused on connections between transit, housing and economic development that benefits all in the community.
Our partnership has been focused on a simple goal – making sure that transit serves all in the community. The catalyst for our work was the impending cuts to King County Metro’s bus system.
Could we work together to shape policies and decisions that create new opportunities for residents to use transit while protecting service for those who need it the most? Could we tell a better story about how transit is a link to economic opportunity, community, better health and many other destinations that improve community well-being?
Listening to community partners, we worked to develop a series of transit equity maps and posters. These maps and posters offer a snapshot of current transit access and potential opportunities in King County. The analysis confirmed what we had heard in meetings and workshops from community partners. The Rainier Valley and South King County (which have high densities of communities of color and low-income families) have limited and mostly infrequent transit access to community colleges, healthcare and senior centers.
However, maps were only the start. What we wanted to do is to use the maps to tell real stories about people’s lives and how transit policy and funding decisions can shape their access to opportunities. And we were very successful with this approach.
Learn more about what we did, how we did it and what we have accomplished via our supporter, the Loom Foundation.
Despite the disappointing results of Prop 1, our collaboration resulted in some very important wins for transit-dependent communities in King County.
- First, along with our partners at the Transit Riders Union, Asian Counseling and Referral Services, Seattle-King County Coalition on Homelessness, and others, we were successful in helping to create a low-income fare of $1.50 (the first of its kind in King County). This fare will benefit nearly 25% of King County residents. We were also able to create an implementation work group, which will focus on the successful roll-out of this groundbreaking policy.
- We used our maps and accompanying narratives on education accessand economics, access to health careand senior centers, to influence the sequencing of proposed cuts in a very positive way. As a result of our work, only four of the 44 routes that are under consideration for deletion or reduction in September 2014, are of potential concern (based on our mapping) to have impacts on transit-dependent communities. Given the enormity of the cuts facing the system, we believe that this list reflects the fruits of our efforts with Metro to “do least harm” when planning for cuts. We will continue to work with Metro to further minimize these proposed cuts.
- Our partnership has helped leverage our unique strengths (technical and policy analysis, community engagement, communication) and as a result, the voice for transit equity continues to become stronger and more effective.
Equity and the environment are two sides of the same coin. When we work to make transportation policies and funding more equitable, not only do we increase the community’s access to opportunity, we can create a win-win for the environment because good, affordable transit service means that fewer people are choosing the expense of driving a car (approximately $9100 a year according AAA).
And we are now expanding our work to better embed equity and health considerations into transportation planning at the Puget Sound Regional Council.
This partnership could be the start of something good for transportation equity in our region.
