Community Need

One in three Texans do not have reliable access to a car.

The state’s public investment in transportation in Texas nearly exclusively supports an automobile-centered transportation infrastructure. 

Because of this, many Texans without a car struggle daily with what is routine travel to others.  “Simple“ travel to work, medical services, the grocery, child care, and other basic trips become major hardships.

The majority of those populations are individuals with disabilities, persons 65 years of age or older, and those with incomes below the federal poverty line.

Other services are not adequate. 

While some public resources have been invested in providing some alternative transportation services, these rarely prove to be viable alternatives for efficiently meeting the day-to-day travel needs of those who cannot or do not drive.

Where they exist, services are often sparse, uncoordinated, available only to strictly-defined "eligible" populations, and limited in their geographic scope.

Continuing to invest in a system that under serves more than 30% of the state's population is not equitable. Neither is creating three distinct systems, each designed to meet the special needs of only one sector of the larger population that cannot or does not drive.

However, this problem of meeting Texans’ travel needs is not restricted only to those who cannot use established systems. It is also shared by those who can and do use these systems.

Drivers are also increasingly experiencing the capacity limits of the state's transportation focus on automobiles.

As congestion, air pollution, and sprawl increase, Texans consistently rank "traffic problems" as their most pressing issue. 

Developing Equitable Transportation Solutions

Resolving this problem will require significant shifts in public policy, planning, resource allocation, and investment.

Pursuit of an accessible, affordable transportation system should be a common goal of all Texans.

Drivers and non-drivers share a common interest in reducing pollution, urban sprawl and congestion. 

Change to the current state policies can only come from creating a broad base of support statewide for development of an accessible, affordable transportation system that provides mobility and options for all Texans.

Change is highly unlikely without a coordinated effort to develop this equitable system.

Efforts are underway to lay the foundations and mobilize the constituencies who want change.

Building Alliances

Just Transportation Alliances is building local advocacy teams to champion the development of an accessible, equitable transportation system.

Alliance activities have begun in San Antonio, East Texas, Tarrant County, El Paso, and Houston. Alliance building is ongoing in Laredo, the Rio Grande Valley, and the Panhandle.

Each of these communities faces a different array of transportation resources, needs, and opportunities for solutions.

For this reason, the agendas and strategic action plans are developed by the members for their own community.  This way, they are designed to fit their own unique community and circumstances. 

But the effort to build local alliances uses a common approach.

Our emphasis is to encourage citizens to become engaged in agenda-setting, advocacy, and action.

The initial group to become involved are those individuals with disabilities, persons age 65 or older, those with low income, their families, and other allies.

The Alliances provide training and initial seed money to build a broad, diverse, and skilled network.

This network, in turn, is comprised of community members, agencies, governments, organizations, and businesses linked by a common interest in changing or promoting transportation solutions.

But systems-wide changes, particularly in transportation, are a "big picture" effort.

For this reason, local Alliances are created to address a single issue, but for the long-term.

To facilitate efforts locally and build for sustained advocacy, Just Transportation Alliances "seeds" each Alliance by subsidizing a part-time coordinator.  We also provide data, training, technical assistance, and fundraising support for two years.

To build the capacity needed for long-term change and to identify necessary changes in statewide policy, each local Alliance is integrated into Just Transportation Alliance’s Statewide Advocacy Network. 

The efforts and success of the Alliances  benefit, as well, from the input of a diverse, talented statewide advisory board, as well as from the findings of an independent project evaluator.