Equitable Access to Transportation
As cities have sprawled and jobs have moved away from urban cores in the United States, many low-income communities have become geographically more isolated and inadequately served by affordable, efficient transportation. Expenditures for vehicles, including fuel consumption, insurance, and maintenance, can be large and unpredictable. States can use policy levers to ensure fair and equitable access to public transportation and newer shared-use services in a number of ways. For example, states can provide incentives to developers that set aside a fixed percentage of housing in transit-served areas to help align housing and transportation choices for low-income families. Similarly, many states use distance from transit services as a key criterion for disbursing federal low-income tax credit funds to qualifying property owners, ensuring that low-income communities are served by a variety of transportation alternatives.