Why our work matters

A 2017 study from VCU’s Center for Urban and Regional Analysis found an incredible disconnect in our region between modest-wage jobs and affordable housing, noting that “few areas in which modest-wage jobs cluster have comparable levels of low-cost housing.” Further, the region’s existing public transportation system provides access to less than half (45%) of those modest-wage jobs.[^1] In our region we’ve segregated the jobs from the affordable housing and made access between them slow and difficult—and, as a Harvard study found[^2], commute time is the single strongest factor in the odds of a person escaping poverty.

In Bon Secours’s 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment,[^3] almost 40% of people surveyed said the state of transportation was a cause of poor health in their community. Without access to high-quality transportation, folks miss medical appointments, cannot access healthy food, and live less active lives.

On March 16th—after years of hard, slow advocacy work in Chesterfield County—John Tyler Community College will become the first community college fully accessible by public transportation in the region. However, beyond JTCC, access to Central Virginia’s rich educational opportunities continues to be limited by lack of public transportation, especially for those living outside the urban core.

The unfortunate reality is that our region continues to invest far less per capita on public transportation than any of its peer cities[^4], far below what’s required to build am equitable, frequent, and far-reaching public transportation system that allows folks to thrive. Not only is our regional support of public transportation insufficient, but planning and policy decisions are often made without significant rider involvement—or without consulting riders entirely.

[^1]: Understanding the Jobs Affordable Housing balance in the Richmond Region

[^2]: Transportation Emerges as Crucial to Escaping Poverty

[^3]: Bon Secours 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment

[^4]: Transit funding per capita in Richmond and peer cities, 2018