Perspectives of Program Officers and Grantees
- Transportation intersects several domains of a family’s life and can create significant barriers to accessing important social services.
- Many families struggle to access food and other services because they are in fear of being exposed to Covid by taking public transportation.
Policy Opportunities
Systems Change
- Implement free, safe public transit which disinvests from policing. Implement a fare-free system and end fare enforcement to ensure greater access to public transportation. Pursue policies which remove law enforcement from transportation-related activities and invest in street improvements and community-based alternatives. Source: Bold Vision, Alliance for Community Transit – Los Angeles
- Promote transit systems that will improve the built environment and create neighborhood stabilization. Work with decision makers to ensure the return to work does not exacerbate emissions and air pollution, implement equitable policies to reduce congestion, and invest in active transportation and street infrastructure in low-income communities of color. Partner with local jurisdictions to create equitable transit-oriented communities to prevent gentrification and displacement and ensure long-term tenants are able to stay in place and enjoy increased transit access. Source: Bold Vision, Alliance for Community Transit Los Angeles
Infrastructure to Support Family & Children
- Restore and invest in better bus options. Restore bus service to pre-pandemic levels by increasing frequency to avoid overcrowding, and ensure riders can safely social distance without risking their lives and the lives of bus operators. Invest in supportive infrastructure to provide quality bus service and fast, frequent, and safe bus rides all over the county, including bus-only lanes, bus shelters, benches, shade structures, public restrooms, and sanitizing stations near both bus and rail stops. Invest in a high-quality, regional dedicated bus lane network with reliable and frequent service and incentivize cities to implement and coordinate across jurisdictions. Source: Alliance for Community Transit – Los Angeles
- Prioritize transit safety. Invest in safe routes for school programming and streetscape improvements to enhance the safety of families and students traveling to and from school. Divest from the multi-agency policing contracts and reinvest funds into operations and projects that will enhance community safety in low-income communities of color. Source: Bold Vision, Alliance for Community Transit-Los Angeles
Direct Services & Technical Support
- Flexible transit. Fund public transportation initiatives that create flexible, on-demand trips to close first mile-last mile gaps to access food, medicine, and other essential household items for low-income families.
Data
Public Transportation Use Within Best Start geographies
The highest concentration of public transportation users reside in Metro L.A., which is unsurprising and speaks to the availability of public transportation within that area. By contrast, the lowest concentration of public transportation users reside in the Antelope Valley, highlighting the region’s lack of transportation infrastructure.
Why this matters: Robust investment is needed to ensure safe, affordable, and accessible public transportation networks exist for commuters. Working individuals should not need to own a car in order to get to and from places. Public transit safety includes frequent trips to prevent overcrowding as well as disinvestment from police.
Households Who Do Not Own a Vehicle Within Best Start geographies
There is an assumption that everyone must own a car to be able to live in Los Angeles, but the reality is that not every household owns a vehicle, due to financial or other constraints. When examining vehicle ownership by Best Start geography, several areas have a high percentage of households who do not own a vehicle, especially compared to the county rate. While lack of vehicle ownership can potentially be explained by more density and existing public transportation, such as those who reside in Metro L.A., we still see a high percentage of households within Central Long Beach and South L.A. communities who do not own a vehicle.
Why this matters: Without public transportation infrastructure, families who do not own vehicles have no means of transportation to their jobs, grocery stores, and other essential services.
