Peace and Planning

I recently read this article and though at first glance I was heartened by the message, when I dug a bit deeper into supporting studies I experienced the same frustration I always do when I encounter surveys of the general public. What did I wish these surveys asked instead?

• Would you be so supportive of public transit if it wasn’t advertised as decreasing car congestion?
  • So many surveys put benefits in terms of congestion which drives me bananas for several reasons. First, it starts from the standpoint of benefitting drivers (car supremacy, anyone?). Second, readers of this blog will be familiar with induced demand, which essentially says as soon as you attempt to reduce congestion…it comes back because “hey look, there’s no more congestion so I’m going to drive there!”. Also, I suspect people are essentially hoping everyone *else* starts taking public transit but are not as likely to do so themselves. By the looks of survey responses, my guess is that most people would not be as jazzed if they weren’t being sold the promise of less traffic.
• Hello, higher-income person! It’s kind of you to want to improve public transit for low-income folks, seniors, and people with disabilities. Why don’t you want to improve it for people like yourself who believe in mitigating climate change, improving public health, and fighting inequality?
  • This is another framing that drives me bonkers. Leave it to Americans to think that public transit is a handout to the poor and otherwise disenfranchised. If the well-off used public transit (especially since they’re more likely to have the monetary resources needed to live near the rail stations and transit-oriented developments that now cost a pretty penny in housing expenses), maybe we wouldn’t be in the funding crisis we’re experiencing with transit agencies across the country. Also, higher-income Americans are those most able to weather whatever time inconveniences exist with our current systems – they can afford to have someone walk their dog, they can order groceries instead of trekking to the store, they can hire a nanny to help with pick-up and drop-off. I’m with Enrique Peñalosa on this: “An advanced city is not one where even the poor use cars, but rather one where even the rich use public transport.”
• Instead of raising taxes to support public transit, how likely are you to invest in the system by becoming a paying rider?
  • See rant above (although interestingly, this recent poll found Marylanders weren’t even excited about raising taxes to fund transportation, especially it seemed destined for public transit.)
• Would you support a new public transit project that causes massive disruptions to your daily trips during its construction, which is estimated to take 3-5 years? Or how about…would you support measures to permanently dedicate one (car) lane full-time to public transit? Would you support creating a new public transit route on a street where you frequently depend on parking that would no longer exist?
  • It’s one thing to support something in theory, but I’m forever curious how much that support holds up if it meant real inconvenience for someone. (Stay tuned for more on the principal policy gap, which I first opined on here!)
• Beyond raising taxes, how supportive are you of ticketing and towing cars that are parked or traveling in dedicated bus lanes?
  • Taxes seem to be a pretty comfortable solution in the realm of transportation policy – everyone has to do them, they fund a bunch of things, and beyond the pain of doing the tax forms, nothing else is asked of us. When you face individual consequences for a transgression that feels punitive, that’s a different can of beans.
• I’m glad to see you support improved/expanded light rail! How about dedicating the same level of support to bus service? How about riding the bus?
  • I’ve seen several surveys that combine bus and light rail into a shared category of “public transit” (I did it above because I wanted to make a point…did you catch it? 🤓). This is a problematic practice because we miss some critical information about preferences. Buses perform the same function, often better and for less money and disruption (particularly during construction) than rail, yet people respond to these two modes very differently: people tend to view the bus as transit for poor people (this often translates to people of color) and trains as transit for wealthier people. We need more fine-grained data about preferences and support – and we need a culture shift around how we perceive buses to destigmatize them.
• Thanks for filling out this survey telling us how much you support public transit! Will you now show up to local hearings/write letters/submit letters to the editor to communicate to your elected officials how much you support transit?
  • Registering support through a survey is great, but what’s better is acting on your beliefs by telling your local elected officials you support transit. (Same could be said for public opinion polls – this article references a poll which indicated a majority of people supported a pro-housing measure, yet a vast majority of people who showed up to local meetings appeared to reject pro-housing policies…showing up is important, folks!) Which is to say, if you’ve read this far, go email your local reps or attend an upcoming public meeting and shout from the rooftops (or sidewalks) you support buses and trains! Please and thank you 🙏🏻🚌🚈

I appreciate the good work that survey methodologists due to demonstrate support for a better transportation network, and hope to contribute to that lineage at some point in my career. If I’m ever lucky enough to, my goal will be to counter some of the trends I see here to hopefully provide a more nuanced picture of public perceptions and to push respondents to view the world a bit differently. In the meantime, I invite you to get curious – what comes to mind when you envision a more peaceful transportation system? ✌️🚸