Transportation as a civil right?

While some may disagree, driving a motor vehicle is considered by law to be a privilege granted to motorists by governments through licensing and the levying of various taxes and fees, and not a guaranteed right. But what about transportation itself? Should it be considered a right to have efficient access to health care, basic necessities and job opportunities without the use of a personal automobile?

In speaking with Darin Preis, executive director of Central Missouri Community Action, for my storyyesterday on the agency’s decision to be more vocal on social issues that affect low-income Missourians, our conversation revolved mostly around the Missouri Department of Economic Development’s enhanced enterprise zone program. But Preis also mentioned that an area of concern for the agency is Columbia’s public transportation system.

As city leaders look for ways to change the way Columbia Transit provides service, the conversation has revolved around how it could be realigned to better serve University of Missouri students, who are among the heaviest users of the bus system. But what has received less attention is how changes in the city’s transit system could affect low-income residents who, unlike some students who use the bus system, might not have personal automobiles in their possession if a bus is not available.

To some extent, CMCA has already been keeping an ear to conversations on how the bus system might change as city leaders look to keep Columbia Transit financially stable while maintaining a more long-term goal of improving the level of service that the bus system can deliver. Trevor Harris, a community organizer with CMCA, was sent in February by the agency to travel along with city officials, members of the PedNet Coalition, MU students and reporters to Lawrence, Kan. to learn more about KU on Wheels, a bus system that is partially-funded by student fees levied on University of Kansas students.

Preis said CMCA has also been having conversations about public transportation with Columbians For Modern, Efficient Transit, a campaign launched by PedNet to espouse the benefits of a high-performing bus system for public health, the environment and affordable mobility for all residents. Preis said transportation costs are among the most onerous for low-income residents and that providing cheap rides could help to ease some financial hardship.

Equal and affordable access to transportation, some argue, should be considered a civil right. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group, maintains that transportation equity could give those with limited access to personal automobiles better access to educational institutions and potential employers.

“Access to affordable and reliable transportation widens opportunity and is essential to addressing poverty, unemployment, and other equal opportunity goals such as access to good schools and health care services,” the group’s website states.

Last year, the group released a report stating that people living in neighborhoods with “plentiful transit options” spend about 9 percent of their incomes on transportation costs, while the average American family spends about 19 percent, suburbanites spend about 25 percent and those living in rural areas spend about 42 percent. A policy analyst from the group also penned an article on this topic called “Transportation Equity a Key to Winning Full Civil Rights,” which can be found here.

What do you think? Does equal access to affordable transportation amount to a civil right?