The Mobility Barrier: Improving Access to Safe Reliable Transportation to Combat Homelessness

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Trains being tested at the renovated downtown Portland Transit Mall in April 2009. Photo TriMet
source: https://www.wired.com/2009/11/portland-trimet-mass-transit/

 

    An often overlooked factor for those experiencing homelessness is lack of transportation. A 2019 study by Erin Roark Murphy looked at the role transportation disadvantage can play in the lives of people experiencing homelessness and found that "cost of transportation... has been found to prevent individuals' upward mobility out of homelessness" (Murphy, 2019).

    Murphy argues that lack of transportation is an under studied yet demonstrably influential factor in homelessness in America. Furthermore it's not just those without homes who are impacted by access to transportation, other studies show that "individuals in the lowest income quintile spend about 36% of their annual budgets on transportation alone and this proportion is projected to continue increasing over the next ten years" (Murphy, 2019). 

    An inability to access safe and reliable transportation can mean the difference between making it to a job on time or at all. And for those taking public transportation the longer travel times relative to driving means fewer hours of the day for anything, not just work. That means less time to cook a meal, to workout or take care of ones health, or to pursue education to better oneself.

    With energy prices rising and costs of vehicles increasing there is an opportunity to invest in a robust public transit system. Trimet is cutting lines and reducing driver numbers due to "rising costs and less money coming in from fares", which means longer wait times between busses. Trimet cites a decrease in riders following a switch to remote work as well as increasing costs from maintenance to security. These cuts will disproportionately impact low income residents.

     These cuts are already set to take place, but local groups like Strong Towns PDX are advocating for city planning that takes a different approach to how we build our cities and how we get around in them. 

For more info on how cities can rethink their public transit check out this discussion between NotJustBikes and Strong Towns where they discuss public transportation in the US.

 

 

Sources 

Murphy, Erin Roark. 2019. “Transportation and Homelessness: A Systematic Review.” Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless 28 (2): 96–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/10530789.2019.1582202.

 

Location: Portland, OR, USA

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