South By North Strategies, Ltd.

A recent BTC Brief from the NC Budget and Tax Center explains why policymakers should not lose sight of equity concerns when investing in public transit. 

Last year, North Carolinians traveling to work by means of public transit were disproportionately people with lower incomes: 60.4 percent of riders had incomes below $25,000 while only 13 percent had incomes above $50,000. Transit-oriented development is a planning approach that can benefit lower-income people by increasing access to employment networks and services, reducing transportation expenditures, and renewing private investment in economically depressed areas. However, transit investments can lead to higher rent prices, gentrification, and displacement of lower-income residents around new transit stations.
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To ensure that transit investments generate a return for all North Carolinians, evidence suggests that transit plans need equity components—primarily, affordable housing measures.