Transportation advocacy in DC is getting a new voice dedicated to equity

At the start of 2020, Greater Greater Washington committed to doing more to highlight the links between urbanism and equity in our articles — but we know making our region more equitable requires more than just telling stories. That’s why Greater Greater Washington and more than a dozen DC-based organizations are forming the DC Transportation Equity Network (DC TEN) to advocate for transportation policies that achieve mobility justice.

The mission of this group is to see a transportation system in the District that connects vulnerable residents to greater opportunities, improving livability through greater investment in transit, pedestrian and bicycle safety infrastructure, and expanded access to micromobility options.

What is the DC Transportation Equity Network?

The organizations making up DC TEN will advocate for the District to adopt transportation policies that rectify historic disparities in access to jobs, schools, health care, and recreation, expanding opportunity for those pushed to the margins in a thriving city. Along with Greater Greater Washington, these organizations include:

• Community Connections
• DC Central Kitchen
• DC Education Coalition for Change
• DC Families for Safe Streets
• DC Primary Care Association (DCPCA)
• House of Ruth
• ONE DC
• SMYAL
• So Others Might Eat (SOME)
• UNITE HERE Local 25
• Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA)
• Washington Interfaith Network

DC TEN has received financial and other support from several organizations, including New Urban Mobility Alliance (NUMO), Summit Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), DC Sustainable Transportation Coalition (DCST), TransitCenter, and Energy Foundation.

What makes a transportation system equitable?

People living in poverty, people of color, older adults, and people with disabilities are hit hardest by a misallocation of public goods that has favored personal automobiles over all other transportation modes. DC TEN will advocate for policies that correct this imbalance.

Previous efforts to make the city more easily navigable without a car have been criticized by the Black and brown communities that these efforts were supposedly meant to help. One reason for this is the disconnect between low-income Black and brown communities and decision makers. We believe that an equitable transportation system requires planning and engagement that is inclusive, participatory, and treats communities with dignity.

We also believe that an equitable transportation system ensures the safety of every road user. We envision a system that allows transit users, pedestrians, folks who roll, and other non-car owners to reach their destinations safely, regardless of their race, ethnicity, income-status, gender, sex, age, ability, or geographic location.

We want to see a system in which bus, rail, and paratransit services move with a frequency and reliability that allows all residents to meet their everyday needs with confidence.

Finally, we envision a transportation system that recognizes the vital role of public transit and physically active modes of transport in reducing carbon emissions, combating the climate crisis, and preventing injuries and deaths caused by single-occupancy automobiles.

Why are we joining together?

No single organization can solve years of systemic racism and structural inequalities in transportation policy alone — and no organization should even try without working with the people most affected by these inequities.

Earlier this year, DC TEN members and other organizations penned a letter to WMATA General Manager Paul Wiedefeld and members of the Board of Directors asking for the agency to take a step back from major cuts to bus service across the District.

In the face of a pandemic and a deadlock in negotiations over federal relief for transit, DC TEN this week provided comment on a revised budget that again proposed deep cuts to service that will disproportionately impact marginalized communities.

Against the backdrop of nationwide protests against racism and a pandemic, elected officials and advocates are being forced to rethink their efforts to achieve equity through budgets and policy. Despite increasing calls for equitable transportation planning, many feel the voices of marginalized communities have been tokenized or ignored altogether. We hope that our coalition can lift up these voices, helping to rectify the mistakes of the past and build a better future.