Public Transit is Essential — We Need to Fund It Now

Don’t Forget About Non-Drivers in Rural America

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WHEREAS Rosa Parks was an iconic figure in the movements for social justice and racial equality, and played a major role in the inception of the Civil Rights movement that ended legal segregation in the United States; and

WHEREAS affordable, reliable public transit is an essential public service, on par with utilities such as water and electricity; and

WHEREAS public transportation is as important for those living in small and rural communities as those in larger communities; and

WHEREAS it is essential for the survival of humanity to drastically cut our emissions of greenhouse gases and convert our economy to renewable non-emitting energy sources; and

WHEREAS public transit jobs in the United States have historically been good jobs that paid family-supporting wages, but in parallel to the cuts in public funding for transit and the trend of increasing fares, there is a growing marginalization of transit workers, who are facing worsening work conditions and erosion of their collective bargaining rights; and

WHEREAS increased community access to public transit, reduction in racial, economic and other disparities in access to transit and clean air and in the burden of climate change impacts, and increased opportunities for employment in good jobs, form a key part of a “just transition” from a carbon-intensive, fossil-fuel based, highly unequal extractive economy to a pollution-free, regenerative, renewable energy based, just economy;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Wisconsin Transit Riders Alliance supports the call to observe a Day of Action on Public Transportation as a Civil Right on February 4, 2023; and

RESOLVED that the Wisconsin Transit Riders Alliance will use the Day of Action to highlight the vital role that can be played by expansion of public transit in the required shift from a climate-destroying fossil fuel powered extractive economy to a climate-protecting, renewable-powered and regenerative economy, with a just transition for communities and workers; and

RESOLVED that the Wisconsin Transit Riders Alliance supports legislation at the federal, state, and local levels that:

• Increases public funding for transit, including funding to expand transit systems, especially in underserved neighborhoods, communities of color, economically disadvantaged communities, rural areas, and communities burdened by pollution;
• Increases the accessibility of public transit for people with disabilities;
• Prioritizes the hiring of economically disadvantaged people, people of color, people from communities currently underserved by transit and/or overexposed to vehicular and other forms of pollution, people with disabilities, workers displaced from polluting industries, formerly incarcerated people, and other marginalized populations for transit operation and construction jobs.

LINK to article by Jonah Chester Published: Thursday, January 5, 2023