I come from the Motor City, where our communities have been denied access to reliable public mass transit for decades. Residents have told me stories about our rail tracks being paved over as auto companies bought up and then dismantled our public streetcar system. Detroit’s suburbs resisted the expansion of public transit as a way to enforce racial segregation. The story of Detroit is not isolated, as this familiar story played out in countless cities all across our country.
Public transit helps communities thrive because it offers access to opportunities. Essential workers depend on and operate transit for their livelihoods, and numerous underserved neighborhoods depend on transit to get to work. It is how many of our families travel to health care appointments and get our kids to school. Public transit is a crucial tool of economic, racial and climate justice.
But the Trump administration's recent actions — from Elon Musk recklessly gutting federal agencies to the Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy threatening to withhold key federal funding — threatens transit access across our country.
Withholding critical federal funding that was appropriated and signed into law is unconstitutional, creates chaos for local municipalities, and makes transit investments, which are often multi-year investments, near impossible.
Transit is always essential, but that is particularly true in times of economic hardship. Increasing access to public transportation is key to improving economic justice for people across the United States. Sixty percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. I hear about it from my residents in every corner of my district.
Housing and transportation are typically the two highest expenses for most families in the United States. Households spent an average of $13,174 on transportation in 2023, making it the second-largest annual household expenditure after housing. The significant amount of household income spent on transportation and housing highlights the financial challenges working families are facing. High transportation and auto insurance costs, combined with housing costs, can severely burden working families and impact overall quality of life.
When people can count on the bus, light rail or train to get where they need to go, they can more easily access jobs, education, medical care, goods and services, and connect with their communities. They benefit from greater economic mobility and lower household costs. Transportation systems that maximize people’s access are designed to be inclusive, without barriers linked to race, income, age or ability.
For many, lack of transportation can be a significant barrier to job opportunities. We know that all too well in Southeast Michigan, where too many communities are disconnected from each other. Public transit serves as a lifeline to affordable, reliable access to workplaces. By ensuring a robust public transportation system, we can create pathways for workers to secure stable jobs.
Public transportation also has significant safety and public health benefits. Mass transit is associated with reduced motor vehicle fatalities, and lower cyclist and pedestrian injury rates. Detroit has one of the highest traffic fatality rates in the country. The climate crisis poses an existential threat to our planet, and it's crucial that our government invests in transforming our transportation system by expanding and electrifying buses, trains and rail to reduce emissions in our communities that are making us sick. Improving and expanding public transit can literally save lives.
Public transit is much more than just a means of getting from one place to another. It is a crucial tool for addressing climate change, making our streets safer and leveling the playing field for working people, ensuring that they have the mobility, financial security, and opportunities necessary to thrive.
Which is why I have joined with my colleagues to support legislation to create fare-free transit. And it is why I will continue to fight back against the Trump administration’s attempts to defund transit projects in our state and across our country.
At a time when the billionaire class continues to exploit and profit off of working families, strengthening public transit systems is a practical way to reduce inequality and empower people to seize new opportunities.
Public transit should be free and accessible to all. And we need to invest in it, not defund it.
Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat, represents Michigan's 12th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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