TJWG Equity Platform at the MTC

As part of the Regional Transportation Plan Campaign, members of the Transportation Justice Working Group (TJWG) distributed their alternative platform at the annual regional meeting of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) on October 26th.

The TJWG demanded that plans result in real improvements in transit and air quality in low-income communities and communities of color, groups which are most impacted by transportation planning and often overlooked in the climate change discussion.

As over 500 Bay Area government officials and staff entered the meeting, the TJWG and its allies passed out the alternative community plans. The documents included the TJWG Equity Platform (PDF) and the Transportation and Land Use Coalition (TALC) and Bay Area Bicycle Coalition (BABC) platforms. All three platforms called for bold new strategies to help build a more connected, equitable Bay Area and to combat climate change.

The MTC, the Bay Area’s governing body which oversees transportation planning and funding in the nine-county area, held their annual regional meeting in conjunction with the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) General Assembly. The purpose of the meeting was to present and get feedback on the $120 Billion 25-year long, Regional Transportation Plan (RTP).

Low-income communities contribute the least to climate change- they take public transit the most, drive the least, and are more likely to live in urban, densely developed communities. Yet, they suffer more from the detrimental health and environmental impacts of the transportation system and climate change. The RTP is the best opportunity to reverse this inequity and ensure all communities have clean air, safe streets and adequate mobility which is why the TJWG is leading an RTP Campaign.

The platform was endorsed by 15 organizations, and the public officials present could not ignore our message. Two of the keynote speakers- USC Professor of Ethnic Studies and Geography, Manuel Pastor, and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom- both discussed equity in transportation.

Some key demands include:

• Racial and income equality: Equitable investments in transit systems that primarily serve urban, low-income, people of color compared to transit systems that primarily serve affluent, suburban commuters.
• Shore up the existing system: Prioritize investments in existing transit systems over costly (cost inefficient) highway and transit expansion projects in order to improve the reliability and level of service of all existing transit (particularly those routes and systems that are lifelines to transit-dependent peoples).
• Affordability for all: Prioritize investments that address other transportation barriers for low-income people of color communities such as reducing the high cost of fares and transfers
• Clean air and safe, healthy communities: Aggressively pursue the Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) and emission-reduction targets already set forth by MTC, with particular efforts to reduce the adverse health and safety impacts in the most impacted communities (often people of color and low-income).
• Full and equal public participation: Involve transit-dependent populations as equal stakeholders in the RTP planning process and ensure that their input is reflected in final outcomes. For our specific recommendations to make this happen, see the complete TJWG Equity Platform (PDF).

To join the TJWG, please contact Bob Allen at 510-839-3716 or Lindsay Imai at 510-844-1191. Bob or Lindsay can also be contacted by sending email in the form of firstname@urbanhabitat.org.

More information:
To read a copy of the platform, click here (PDF - 27 KB)
The Platform is also available in Spanish (PDF - 24 KB)
For the original Press Advisory about the action, click here (PDF - 32KB)
Read more on the TJWG’s RTP Campaign