Jim Crow may be long dead in the sense that the laws are gone, but the aftereffects of them can still be felt today. As said in the Back of the Bus article, “Transportation in Atlanta has always been mired in race and racism” (Back of the Bus). MARTA jokingly stood for “moving Africans rapidly through Atlanta.” Areas such as Clayton County voted not to become part of the MARTA system when the population was mostly white. Now, the country has a large number of minorities who cannot afford their own car. Rather than continuing to spend government transportation funds on roads, more funds need to be devoted to public transportation.
America is a car dependent society. One of the many effects of this is the segregation of minority people in transportation. Travel distances between activity sites are expanding, but many people with lower income cannot afford to buy their own car. Many of these lower income people are minorities. Whether or not it was intended, racism has gone hand in hand with transportation, creating the “transportation apartheid” that we have today.
Moving away from car dependency is the key to solving not only many economic and urban planning issues, but also to stopping this racism as well. More stops need to be made on MARTA. For example, stops in areas such as Clayton County need to be made. But just creating stops will not solve anything. Stops need to be frequent enough so that everyone that needs to use them can walk to them. They also need to be positioned so they do not divide neighborhoods.
To start improving public transit, the big hurtle is always, “where will the funding come from?” The MARTA system is the largest transit system in America that does not receive any state funding. Not by coincidence, Atlanta public transportation is also notorious for being not so great. Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent to construct more roads and widen existing roads (Waiting for a Ride).
Georgia state funding needs to see a major shift. Less money should be allocated to building roads and more needs to be used instead for public transportation. The Georgia state government should start funding MARTA. In its current situation without state funding, MARTA often has problems not only getting money to improve its system, but just to keep it going. In 2004 MARTA was forced to reduce its services by 15%, affecting thousands of people who relied on MARTA to get to work and other important activity sites every day (Waiting for a Ride). This was because MARTA faced bankruptcy and was millions of dollars in debt. With state funding, MARTA may be able to actually improve its system instead of barely staying alive.
Racism is still prevalent in our society, although it is less obvious than it was 50 years ago. The transportation apartheid is still going on today. Low income minority people often rely on public transportation as their main way to get to work. But public transportation does not often meet their needs or requires them to walk a long distance to get to the stations. The Georgia state government needs to reevaluate its plans for transportation related funding. More money towards public transportation is desperately needed.
Works Cited
“Back of the Bus: Mass Transit, Race, and Inequality.” By Andrea Bernstein and Nancy Solomon. American Radio Works. WNYC, New York. Podcast.
Wall, Michael. "Waiting for a Ride." Creative Loafing Atlanta. Web. 14 Sept. 2011. < http://clatl.com/gyrobase/waiting-for-a-ride/Content?oid=1257777 >.
People think that MARTA is mismanaged and financially irresponsible. What they don't know or aren't admitting is that it is actually one of the most efficient transit operators in the country when you look at operations $ per passenger-mile. They have to be, with the lack of state funding and all. Of course some people's aversion to MARTA is probably based on discrimination.
ReplyDelete