Solve Your Community’s Transportation Gaps

Reliable, affordable transit connects people to work, school, health care, and community. When service is limited or costs are too high, families face late arrivals, missed days, and unstable jobs. Businesses lose productivity, agencies lose effectiveness, and communities lose potential.

Transit is not just about getting from place to place. It is about access to opportunity. Without it, cycles of poverty deepen and economic stability slips further out of reach. Building strong, affordable transit systems unlocks opportunity and lays a foundation for lasting change.

To Get Started

• Listen to community members: Ask residents and workers about their commutes and what prevents them from using transit. Common barriers include missing routes, long wait times, unsafe walking paths, or costs that are out of reach.

• Build coalitions: Bring together government, funders, employers, and communities to find solutions and share resources.

• Expand options: Test new models such as bus rapid transit, shuttles, subsidized car-share programs, or ride-sharing partnerships.

• Lower costs: Provide supports like reduced-fare passes, commuter benefits, or employer shuttles that connect transit hubs to workplaces.

• Get the word out: Run outreach campaigns so people know what transit options exist and how to access them.

• Measure impact: Track progress by monitoring ridership, commute times, and job stability, and adjust services as needs change.

Examples of Best Practices / Innovative Programs:

• Business

  • Amazon, in 2019, pledged to invest $800 million in the development of public transit and affordable housing near its new headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. This commitment not only helps address transportation challenges in the area but also promotes sustainable growth and livability for employees and residents.

  • Ford Motor Company has invested in the development of connected vehicle technology that can help improve public transit efficiency and safety. Through their City Insights Platform, data is collected from Ford vehicles and shared with cities to optimize public transportation routes and identify areas for improvement.

• Government

  • TRANServe (U.S. Department of Transportation) encourages federal employees to use mass transportation as their primary means of commuting. It provides support and incentives to make public transit more accessible.

  • Transportation Subsidy Program (U.S. Department of the Interior) offers financial incentives to encourage employees to use mass transit for commuting to and from work.

  • Pelivan Transit in Oklahoma is bridging transportation gaps in the northeastern region through an innovative mobility management system. By creating employment routes, education routes for TANF recipients, and medical routes, they’ve expanded services while reducing fares through partnerships and shared resources.

  • The CARTS District is transforming transit across 169 communities in a massive 7,200-square-mile area around Austin, Texas. With tailored services and seamless connections to regional and national transit networks, they’re redefining rural-urban mobility.

  • The Twin Cities Green Line is a government-funded light rail project connecting Minneapolis and St. Paul. Through targeted infrastructure investment, the government expanded transit access by adding three stations in low-income neighborhoods, directly improving mobility for underserved residents.

  • The Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) program provides free rides to and from Medicaid medical and mental health appointments. It ensures that individuals with Medicaid can access necessary healthcare services without transportation barriers.

• Educational Institution

  • SURTCOM (Small Urban, Rural and Tribal Center on Mobility) is a partnership between the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University, the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute at North Dakota State University, and the Urban and Regional Planning program at Eastern Washington University. It focuses on enhancing mobility in small urban, rural, and tribal communities. Its work provides a model for how academic collaboration can address specific transportation needs.

  • Cornell University is collaborating on a $3.2 million project to revamp Chattanooga's public transit system using AI. The initiative will create "mobility zones" with integrated buses, shuttles, electric vehicles, and bike shares, dynamically recommending efficient routes through a mobile app.

• Philanthropic Organization

  • The Rural Health Information HUB highlights how partnerships with philanthropic organizations can provide funding and resources to keep rural transportation programs running. These collaborations ensure that people in remote areas can access healthcare and other essential services.

  • The Kresge Foundation’s Education Program supports partnerships between research organizations, transit agencies, and colleges to tackle transportation challenges that impact student success.

  • Transit Center offers grants to initiatives focused on creating more equitable and efficient transit systems in cities across the U.S.