The freedom to choose
More funding for transit means more options for all Minnesotans

A funding bill for transportation became law this session in Minnesota, garnering media attention for the governor's veto of the bill, its passage by veto override (a first for Governor Pawlenty), and the political futures of the legislators who bucked party lines to back it. But there’s another reason to care about the bill: it will generate approximately $1.1 billion for the state’s public transit system.

Minnesotans took 77 million rides on public transit last year. With over a million new residents projected in the next 15 years, that number is sure to grow. The new funding from the transportation bill will construct eight new dedicated transitways (light rail, commuter rail, and bus rapid transit), provide services to double bus ridership by 2020, create better transit facilities and new park and ride capacity, and expand transit in Greater Minnesota.

But perhaps more importantly, it will better enable everyone, regardless of income, to get where they need to go.

Transit a must for low-income Minnesotans

The average American household spends 18 cents of every dollar earned on transportation, most of which goes to owning and maintaining vehicles. For the poorest households with vehicles, the cost of fuel and vehicle maintenance can exceed 35 percent of income, making vehicle ownership an overwhelming financial burden. According to the Center for Transportation Excellence (CFTE), an estimated 94 percent of welfare recipients attempting to move into the workforce do not own cars and rely on public transportation.

It's a sticky situation. How do you get to a job when you don't have a car? But how do you afford a car if you don't have a job?

Youth, the elderly, people with disabilities, minority, and low-income communities are often the most dependent on transit. CFTE maintains public transportation enhances equity in American society by providing quality transportation access to everyone.

The Central Corridor: a study in equity

The Central Corridor Light Rail Transit line will connect downtown Minneapolis and downtown Saint Paul along University and Washington Avenues through the University of Minnesota, Midway area, and State Capitol. The Metropolitan Council recently approved the final scope of the line, clearing the way for preliminary engineering. The Council has a September deadline to finish this work and apply for federal permission to enter the final design next year. If all goes well, passenger service will start by the end of 2014, and the line will be moving 38,000 people every weekday by 2020, according to the Met Council.

A large number of transit-dependent riders live along the Central Corridor, and Veronica Burt of the advocacy group Just Equity and the Central Corridor Equity Coalition praises the investment. “An increase in funding public transit is beneficial because we don’t have many transit options,” said Burt.

But that's not the whole story. The development of the central corridor will be an economic driver for the area, but who will it benefit? “This is going to bring a lot of commercial change and people with more money to the area," Burt said. “We don’t want to see the Central Corridor development push out low-income residents.”

Burt and her colleagues want to ensure that transit development is responsive to the needs of those most dependent on it. They're pushing for additional light-rail stops in neighborhoods with high concentrations of low-income residents and maintenance of the current level of bus service on University Avenue.

Increased funding is just the first step toward equity in public transportation. Fresh Energy applauds the 2008 legislature for passing the funding bill and putting Minnesota on the road toward a public transportation system that will get everyone, regardless of income, to the places they need to go.

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