Play TranspoBINGO and help highlight the benefits of active transportation in the region

Maybe you used to ferry kids to school before sprinting to the office but are now learning and working from home. Maybe you used to shop for groceries or other essentials in-person and now order items online. Maybe you’re an essential worker who takes the bus or Metro and are dealing with significantly reduced service and impending service cuts. There’s one thing that is true for all of us – in the past year, our travel habits have dramatically changed.

“Like in so many other parts of our lives, this pandemic laid bare the inequities of public transit investments and priorities,” Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward 6) said via email.

While the change may be more significant for some than others, the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency has shed new light on the importance of public transportation, as well as walking, biking, scooting, and other people-powered ways of getting around. Just because our travel habits aren’t what they once were doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have fun exploring new ways to get around and promote active transportation.

The TranspoBINGO origin story

In 2020, the inaugural TranspoBINGO was a week-long transportation challenge with the goal of getting more people – including elected officials, advocates, and residents around the Washington region – out of their cars to experience the strengths and weaknesses of public transportation systems and better advocate for improvements. It’s coming back again this week because active transportation is more important than ever. The game coincides with Transit Equity Day and honors the birthday and legacy of Rosa Parks, Feb. 4.

TranspoBINGO is inspired by Action Committee for Transit, a group in Montgomery County that challenged councilmembers and other elected officials in the county to use only public and active transportation over the course of a week, and share their experiences of the strengths and weaknesses of non-car transportation systems on social media. This challenge emphasized the value of experiencing and witnessing the lived experience of individuals relying on the bus to get to work, school, and around the city.

Last year’s game was fun, highlighting the vast benefits of public transportation and providing an opportunity to visit other neighborhoods, try new ways of moving around DC, and become more familiar with the challenges faced by residents who rely on non-car travel to better advocate for improvements.

The game also gave players the chance to experience some of the racial inequities in our city’s public transportation systems. Families without cars are most likely to live in areas with limited access to other forms of transportation and poor infrastructure, compounded by lack of access to basic needs like grocery and healthcare. Many who rely on non-car travel, like Metrobus, are low-income and non-white. Almost all District residents East of the Anacostia River have moderate-to-high levels of transit dependency not matched by the quality of services provided.

In March 2020, Councilmember Allen proposed legislation that would help to address these inequities by giving most DC residents $100 on a SmarTrip card to pay for trips on rail, bus, and paratransit. The proposed legislation would also fund a $10 million per year fund to add more bus service in areas of high need, build bus lanes, conduct studies about where people need more service, and provide grants to nonprofits who work with low-income residents to help them with the program. We were excited for this proposal to become law.

Then the pandemic hit and our lives changed fundamentally. We’ve had to adjust to wearing masks, social distancing, staying home (if we are lucky enough to have a home). Essential workers have continued to work in-person, many commuting by public transportation. Others have adapted to working from home, some with kids simultaneously distance learning. Our local and national economies have contracted, increasing the already existing challenges in funding basic services. It’s been hard and isolating.

Notably, the public health emergency has exacerbated our city’s racial, economic, and geographic inequities with disproportionate case counts and deaths in Wards 7 and 8, as well as the District’s vaccination rollout, with appointments going largely to wealthier and whiter parts of the District.

The District’s Black residents have faced such high risk because, as Doni Crawford and Qubilah Huddleston of DC Fiscal Policy Institute note, “wealth inequality, racism, and deep structural inequities shape our social determinants of health.”

Facing “the grimmest budget projections in its 50-year history,” Metro proposed drastic service cuts in late November. While Metro will likely be able to avoid some of the most drastic service cuts due to a $900 billion Congressional relief package in December, some service cuts are still likely and the overall funding, quality, and equity of our public transportation systems and infrastructure are in question. Advocacy for equitable public transportation and infrastructure are more important now than ever.

“Some [people] were fortunate enough to have secure jobs and the ability to pivot to telework. Cuts and threats to WMATA did not have much of an impact on their new reality,” said Councilmember Allen. “But for essential workers and lower-income communities – those that the city and region depend on every day – those same options don’t exist. Underserved by reliable transit and more susceptible to cuts to hours, routes, and service, these communities are most vulnerable and feel the pain of this pandemic and recession more deeply.”

Takoma Park Councilmember Kacy Kostiuk (Ward 3) added that “Black, Indigenous, and people of color are disproportionately more likely to not have access to the transportation they need. Reliable, affordable, convenient transit benefits everyone by providing more equitable access to jobs, childcare, and healthcare.”

Same rules - slightly different bingo squares

Like last year, this year’s TranspoBINGO encourages locals to use and support active transportation, rewarding players for taking different types of trips (like multi-modal travel), exploring public spaces (like parks and libraries), and supporting and advocating for active transportation (like by sending a letter to an elected official advocating for improvements).

This year’s TranspoBINGO is different in many ways, however. The bingo card is designed to continue to be COVID-19 safe (you can even complete a few squares from the comfort of your couch!), while still being fun, interactive and accessible, and encouraging people to get out of our cars and engage in active transportation.

Most importantly, TranspoBINGO is an opportunity to recognize the continued importance and use of our public transit systems – particularly for DC’s essential workers – and to push for improved and equitable public transit and infrastructure.

Editor’s note: This challenge is co-hosted by Greater Greater Washington, Coalition for Smarter Growth, and the authors of this article (Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Erin Palmer and Rachel Maisler).