Transportation Is A Human Right

The U.S. transportation system has long been rife with inequality, making it more difficult for low-income people, people of color, and people with disabilities to get where they need to go. When Covid19 hit, ticket revenues shrank, workers got sick, and services were cut, even as low-income “essential workers” disproportionately depended on public transit to get to work as other Americans did, to get to grocery stores, food pantries and health services. In rural communities where public transit was already sparse and unreliable, owning a car literally became a matter of life and death. In this episode, Laura considers the history; a century ago, fears of a communicable disease helped turn the tide against public transportation for decades. Today the climate crisis requires that we not brand public transport unsafe for another generation. What alternatives exist? And what if we consider not just new ‘modes’ of transport and new infrastructure, but the principle of “mobility”. Could new technology and better information sharing solve our transportation challenges? Laura looks at existing models.   Music in the Middle: "Ride Ride" by Alexis P. Suter Band, from their “Hat Trick, The Essential Recordings” compilation.

Farm a little justice in your media field, become a patreon partner during our holiday 2020 fund drive and your name will be added to a raffle to win a copy of "Farming While Black" by Leah Penniman who was featured in our recent "Food Justice" episode, go to https://Patreon.com/theLFShow

Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer.

FOLLOW Laura Flanders and Friends

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/

Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriends

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriends

Patreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel