Transit Discrimination Complaint Rejected in Boston

The Washington Street Corridor Coalition made the argument that bus service, even enhanced bus service, is a lesser service compared to rail. According to the Boston Globe article "Feds reject discrimination claim against MBTA," the Coalition claimed that:

... the Silver Line bus service through several Boston neighborhoods is inadequate compared to train service in mostly white communities. The Federal Transit Administration's civil rights office rejected the claim made by the Washington Street Corridor Coalition. But the agency is requiring the MBTA to provide quarterly reports on service problems with the line.

Similar arguments were made in Los Angeles many years ago, that were sustained, that the focus on developing light rail discriminated against bus users, which tend to be people who are lower income and transit dependent. (See this piece from a Bus Riders Union op-ed that ran in the Los Angeles Times, "Danger Lies Ahead for Civil Rights.")

It is interesting though that in DC, the place where the streetcar is being initiated, Anacostia, is a heavily African-American neighborhood, but community leaders have been opposing the streetcar as something not intended for them. It is unfortunate that this opposition has led DDOT to delay construction of streetcar service that would more directly serve residents.

The Georgia Avenue Rapid Bus that is being launched in January also serves a predominately African-American corridor, which you could argue is underserved by the subway, although there are three stations in the major residential sections of the route. Like the Downtown Circulator, it is projected that this bus service would be replaced at some point with a streetcar line.

Also see:
-- Better transit as a gentrifying force
-- Transformation through transit
-- Whither Light Rail in Anacostia?

Index Keywords: transit