Public Transportation
Transportation is about more than getting from one place to another. It’s about staying connected to the community and having the ability to go to work, see a doctor, buy groceries and meet other basic needs of everyday life. But Alabama’s failure to provide any state funding for public transportation makes it hard for many people in poverty—especially seniors and people with disabilities—to meet those needs. Arise’s advocacy was instrumental in the creation of a state Public Transportation Trust Fund in 2018, and we continue to shine a light on the social and economic benefits that state investment in public transportation would bring in Alabama.
Featured Resources
Fact Sheet
A new way forward: The Alabama Public Transportation Trust Fund
Alabama is one of only five states with no state funding for public transportation. That lack of investment makes it difficult or even impossible for tens of thousands of low-income Alabamians to get to work, the doctor’s office or other places they need to go when they need to get there. It also means our [...]
Report
Alabama’s public transportation system needs a tune-up
Alabama's transportation system forces residents to rely too much on automobiles and undermines the state's economic growth, according to "Connecting Our Citizens for Prosperity," an October 2014 report released by Alabama State University's Center for Leadership and Public Policy. Jon Broadway, Ph.D., and ACPP policy analyst Stephen Stetson are the report's authors. Alabama is one of only five states [...]
Fact Sheet
Alabama roadblock: Our public transit gap
Inadequate public transportation keeps thousands of Alabamians from meeting basic needs.More than 50 years after the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) provides no public transit funding. A 1952 amendment to Alabama's constitution makes it illegal to use state gas tax and license fee revenuse -- a logical source of transit funds [...]
