Public Transportation as a Community Lifeline

Community lifelines, including energy, health and medical services, food, water, waste management, communications, and essential mobility, play a crucial role in coordinating crisis response and recovery. Without effective lifelines, community resilience suffers. Our team and WSP USA Inc. are investigating how low-income communities and communities of color experienced compounding disparities during the Covid-19 pandemic due to reduced mobility from transit service cuts and increased vulnerability to contracting the virus. The findings of this study aim to assist public transportation providers in understanding the impacts of modifying transit services during crises. This research aims to provide insights on restoring service cuts equitably, improving resilience, preparing for future crises, and identifying best practices for delivering transit services that promote racial and social equity.