Stranded in Poverty: Transportation Insecurity In America

0:00President Barack Obama. Virginia, we are counting on you. Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to raid the next election and wield unchecked power for two more years. But you can stop them by voting yes by April 21st. Help put our elections back on a level playing field and let voters decide not politicians. Vote yes by April 21st. Paid for by Virginians for fair elections. Welcome back. Welcome back. This is the People's Voice. I am Trey Evans and I am the People's Voice. Thank you again for checking out the podcast. This always it's greatly appreciated. The People's Voice podcast is an investigative news podcast

1:00where I am dedicated to covering stories and social issues that I feel have either been buried under reported or not reported at all by mainstream or social media. The purpose of this podcast is to shed light on those issues and topics that I cover and then hopefully I can offer some insightful analysis, recommendations, and actionable solutions to address the topics and issues that I cover. The People's Voice podcast is heard on all podcasts and music streaming platforms. In addition, I put out a video on a weekly basis as well for those of you who would like to watch the podcast and you can see that at Trey Evans, the People's Voice.com. But in any event, we say welcome and welcome to the People's Voice podcast. So today, today I want to get into the topic of transportation insecurity.

2:03Today I want to talk about transportation insecurity. And I want to get into this topic today because I feel that this is one of those subjects that are often buried in news reporting and just information, dispersion in general, especially here in the United States. So I want to talk about that today. For those of you who have listened to the podcast, know that I've talked about all different forms of insecurity in the United States, everything from education insecurity to housing insecurity, income insecurity. I've even talked about food insecurity with the issue with food deserts in the United States. But in travel insecurity or transportation insecurity, when I started to really put the bend diagram together, if you will,

3:05transportation is really affected or the key to access to all of those things. And when it's not in place, it could have devastating effects. So that's what I want to talk about today. I want to talk about transportation insecurity. And I came across this because I saw a post on Facebook. And it was a post from a page called a mighty girl. And in the post, it kind of details, not kind of details, just the importance and the effect of what happens when reliable transportation is not available, particularly when you start to talk about lower income, families, and even single mothers here in the United States. And I'll just read a line from the from the post here. It says, for a single mother, a broken down car isn't an inconvenience.

4:06It's a crisis. It means mischiefs, loss jobs, children stranded without rides to school or daycare, and a spiral that's difficult to stop once it starts. And when I read that line, it just for me, really was, I don't want to say it was an awakening, but it was kind of like a shaken like, yeah, some of these things that, and I'll speak for myself, that I just take for granted almost, these are in terms of transportation, access to reliable transportation literally could mean life or death for families and for single parents here in the United States, because especially when you throw kids into the mix, you're not only trying to transport yourself as an adult, but you're trying to transport children safely to various destinations as well. So this is a very important topic

5:13and I hope that this information gets spread. So as I was reading that, I started to do a little bit more research. I came across an article that was done earlier this year as well, and it was published in sage journals, which is a online research portal. And they had an article listed on there, and it was titled Transportation Challenges of Low Income Households with Children. And this is a case study that was done in Los Angeles, South Los Angeles, California. And in this article, they detail just some of the challenges that are associated with not having adequate transportation for families and for single parents. What they did here was there is a program in California that is called the, what is the name of this program? It's called the

6:17South Los Angeles Universal Basic Mobility Program. And it is a program that is in place to provide the connection, you will, or fill the gap for the lack of transportation accessibility for parents in that area. But from this case study, or from this program, they developed the case study by having information that they've extracted from that program and also in talking to some of those parents. And they highlighted just some of the effects that really take a toll on single families, lower income families as well, when it comes to transportation, just to read a little bit from that article here, it says low income families faced additional transportation challenges. For one, they have less access to private transportation than higher income

7:22households, leading to a greater reliance on public transportation and walking. Beyond transit and walking, shared mobility options make expand options for low income travelers without cars. This is the program that they talk about. But in here, it says that to manage without a car, low income families are more likely than other families to live in dense transit rich neighborhoods located near downtown job centers. However, travel times on transit and foot can be long and potentially limiting the amount of time that parents have available to spend with their children. And it goes on and on in this article, and I'll go back to it here in a second as well. But just for a second, just think about that. The access to reliable transportation

8:27and how it affects individuals, parents specifically and lower income families from spending time with their children, getting their children to necessary appointments, to school, just to get them safely to and from home, place a major role in the lives of children and the parents as well and has reverberating effects when you start talking about mental health and physical health and it just goes on and on and on. Matter of fact, there was a story that came out a couple of weeks ago about a mother in South Florida who was gifted a car, a single mother. I was gifted a car, but I want to play a piece of this so you can hear just a firsthand account of what happens when vehicle or transportation, adequate transportation is not available for a lower income and for

9:29single parents as well. But this is from, where is this from? This is from WSN, WSVN TV in Florida, in South Florida. Let me play this piece and then I'll get back to talk a little bit more about transportation insecurity here in the United States. President Barack Obama. Virginia, we are counting on you. Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to raid the next election and wield unchecked power for two more years, but you can stop them by voting yes by April 21st. Help put our elections back on a level playing field and let voters decide not politicians. Vote yes by April 21st. Paid for by Virginians for fair elections. Okay man, let's talk shop and hopefully they got the mom to tune out so I can tell you to get jewelry with Zales Mother's Day specials up to 50 percent off. It's a no-brainer. Exclusions apply for details visit zales.com slash promotion dash terms dash and dash conditions.

10:33President Barack Obama. Virginia, we are counting on you. Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to raid the next election and wield unchecked power for two more years, but you can stop them by voting yes by April 21st. Help put our elections back on a level playing field and let voters decide not politicians. Vote yes by April 21st. Paid for by Virginians for fair elections. Sometimes I spend almost two hours just heading to work or three four hours heading back. That's because she can't afford a car. Shamita relies on buses to get from Fort Lauderdale to Durral. Her early morning routine starts at three a.m. in not only robs her of her sleep, but also precious time with her kids who also have to endure the difficult schedule. Having to wait the kids up and coming home late. Three years ago she bought a used car,

11:34but says it turned out to be a limit and fixing it was too expensive. Well, that car was over 25 grand and having to pay almost eight grand in less than two years caused a financial burden. She ended up losing the car and started taking the bus and trains to get to work. When a good Samaritan noticed her long commute, they reached out to try to get her some help. And I'm stopping it there. So as you heard in that story, the challenge is that come with not having reliable transportation. Number one, just the amount of hours that it takes to get to and from. And then the reverberating effects, as I said before, that that has on the family. Again, this is a mother with children. So trying to get back and forth to get not only herself to the job that is going to pay for

12:35their sustenance, but at the same time, trying to navigate how we're going to get them to and from their schools and their daycare centers and activities as well. So this is a very, very important topic. But more importantly, what's pointed out there is the cost of this, because even in instances where there are single mothers and families in lower income families that are dealing with the challenges of transportation. When they do have the ability to purchase a car, the cost can be astronomical. Matter of fact, in that article that I was reading from SAGE journals, they talked about that as well. It was noted here. It says that cars allow parents to reach multiple destinations efficiently while transporting children,

13:38groceries, and other household goods. However, while cars can be convenient, they are expensive as well. It says in 2023, with at least one vehicle spent on average about, excuse me, in 2023, households with at least one vehicle spent on average about $14,000 per year on transportation, compared to only $3,500 per year among households without transportation. So, excuse me, without a car. So there is a cost also that comes with car ownership for all of us who own cars, you know, that there's a cost to it. But now, you compounded with the fact that you literally are depending on that transportation. And when it costs too much to maintain, like in the case, that single mother with her car, unfortunately, stopped working as she just couldn't afford it, no more

14:41now you are placed in a situation where you are depending on public transportation and public transportation can be very treacherous, especially when you start talking about in dense areas, because oftentimes it's just assumed, especially for individuals who live in major metropolises of course, the country that, oh yeah, you can just get on the bus and the train, but as you travel the country, for those of you who live here and if you haven't, I encourage you to do it, you'll quickly find that once you get out of the Chicago's and in New York's and the Washington DC's, the Boston's, you quickly are going to see just how segmented transportation, public transportation is in areas across the country. So if you don't have access

15:42to a vehicle, this can really create devastating issues for families that don't have adequate access to vehicles. As I said, there are how many solutions or there have been some solutions developed to at least assist families who are dealing with this. I wanted to go back to that study or to that program in South Los Angeles because I thought it was a great program and something that hopefully can be duplicated in many other states and jurisdictions as well across the country. So that program is called the South Los Angeles Universal Basic Mobility Program. And this program, at least from this particular post here, they pulled up data between June 21st, June 2021 and through March of this year. And this program has a lot of unique features to it.

16:51So one of the main states of this program is that it has what they call their mobility wallet, excuse me, mobility wallet program. And in this program, they are given or have provided 2,000 low income residents in the South LA area with $1,800 each for transportation. And that works out to about like $150 a month for transportation because oftentimes when you're talking about lower income families, you're also talking about individuals who are going to lower paying jobs. So any type of assistance to fill in that gap is always helpful. So that's just one component of the program. Another component of the program which I thought was great is that they also provide a library that they call it of 250 electric pedal assist bikes for transportation. They also have

17:56four electric shuttles for year-long transportation. They also provide 100 electric car share vehicles and just an array of other benefits that are targeted towards trying to help families that are dealing with transportation insecurity. And I think, you know, programs like this need to be highlighted and again need to be replicated. These are the type of programs that when you see something, this is when you shoot that email to your your counsel person, your assembly, your local county person, even your state senators like, hey, what can we do to have something like this or at least get grants put together to fund something like this because these are the type programs that can help with assisting to reduce transportation insecurity. And not only do you have

18:58programs like this, as I said earlier from the start from that post on Facebook, you also have many programs that are done by nonprofits and also even schools as well. Matter of fact, there was a story on NBC today that was a couple of weeks ago as well where they talked about a high school in Virginia that repairs cars through their trade program and donates them to single mothers as well. Let me play a piece for this and then I'll give a little bit more information about what you can do to access adequate transportation and then I'll close out from there. But this is from today's show on NBC. It's Jessica Williams's turn. Let's walk up here and let you see your new car. The single mom of three has been trying to provide for her family as a cashier at a grocery store.

20:10That key now unlocking a new road to endless possibilities. I can further my education now. I can go to college. I can get a better job. Just all of it more time with my family. After a few finishing touches, Jessica now able to shift into a new gear of life. And it's programs like that and stories like that that need to be pushed more to ensure that this is being addressed and that solutions are being put into place. But that's what I wanted to talk about today. Like I said, I think this topic really needs to get as much push as possible. If there are programs similar to what's being done in South Los Angeles and also programs that are done through trade programs in schools throughout the country can replicate, be replicated in states where transportation insecurity is a major issue.

21:12I think it will do a great deal of help to eradicate or at least reduce transportation insecurity significantly. But that's my time for today. If you'd like to leave a comment, you can reach me at Trey Evans, the People's Voice.com. And as always, all comments are welcomed. But as always, dreams are not just for sleeping. Please wake up and live your dreams. My name is Trey Evans. The Peoples Voice. Tell somebody about the kids. Salute. President Barack Obama. Virginia, we are counting on you. Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to raid the next election and wield unchecked power for two more years.

22:15But you can stop them by voting yes by April 21st. Help put our elections back on a level playing field and let voters decide not politicians. Vote yes by April 21st.