To All Our Relations,

People for Mobility Justice (PMJ) has taken time to process the results of a challenging presidential election and reflect on our role over the coming four years with the incoming presidential administration and the state of our nation. Like many of you, we witnessed the republican candidate run and win one of the most hate-fueled presidential campaigns in modern history and we share in the collective frustration, disappointment, and concerns regarding the implications of this outcome.

While we are disheartened by this country’s endorsement of white supremacy, racism, sexism, transphobia, and xenophobia, we also acknowledge the painful reality that some within BIPOC communities align with these harmful ideologies. This realization compels us to recognize our own accountability in not addressing this rhetoric more effectively within our communities. PMJ views this as a moment to deepen our commitment and to learn from where we have fallen short, knowing there is much work ahead.

We remain grounded and committed to our values-driven work. And we believe that equity, love, and intersectional dialogue and collaboration with our partners, will be critical in solidifying strategies to protect and advocate for each other during the incoming presidential administration.

As an organization, we continue to be committed to serving BIPOC communities from a perspective of love. Love for our communities. Love for immigrants. Love for our youth. Love for the elders. Love for people with disabilities. Love for women seeking reproductive health. Love for all people regardless of gender. We believe these next four years will require all of us to build a movement of resistance together. We must find the intersection in our work in order to build power for our communities.

Take heart, family. We are with you. We love you. We will resist the Hate.

In Solidarity,
People for Mobility Justice

PMJ has continued our commitment to mobility justice for BIPOC communities in 2023. We developed culturally relevant/community oriented mobility programs.

The following are some highlights:

Bike Programs:

Electro Bici (E-bike Library, Pacoima) – PMJ provided electric bike education trainings for 4 program cohorts, hosted 4 community rides to promote the program in the Northeast San Fernando Valley, and provided marshal training for Pacoima Beautiful staff to lead group rides past the life of the program.

Electro Bici Community Ride - May 2023

Electro Bici Dia de los Muertos Ride - October 2023

South Central Power Up (E-bike Library, South Central LA) – PMJ is leading a collaborative of South Central LA organizations including Ride On Bike Coop, TRUST South LA, SCOPE, Labor/Community Strategy Center, Esperanza Community Housing Corporation, Community Services Unlimited, and Ride With Us bike shop to establish an E-bike library in South LA.

South Central Power Up e-bike test ride – October 2023

Bike Audits (South LA, Koreatown, Wilmington, Hollywood) – PMJ led a series of bike audits to engage BIPOC bicyclists with proposed LADOT planning projects throughout Los Angeles.

South LA Quick Build Bike Audit, August 2023

Community Rides (South LA, East LA, Wilmington, Mar Vista) – PMJ led a series of community rides in several BIPOC communities in Los Angeles promoting local art, culture, food, and people.

Wilmington Community Ride, February 2023

Venice Blvd Community Ride - July 2023

Community Planning (South LA, East LA, Wilmington, Watts) – PMJ led a series of community planning activities in BIPOC communities to engage people with planning projects in their neighborhoods. Community planning activities included street charrettes, bike rodeos, and bike/walk audits.

Mobility Justice Regional Roadmap

PMJ worked with Liberty Hill and ACT LA leadership to author a regional roadmap report for Go Biz (Governor’s Office) that calls to embed mobility justice principals in investments for ZEV programs and infrastructure.

During Black History Month 2021 our Bicycle Education Manager, Lena Williams alongside our Advisory Board Chair Yolanda Davis-Overstreet co-hosted several podcasts titled “We The People: Black Lives Roll’en,” where they discussed Black lives, mobility justice, Black history and cycling. To listen to the recordings, click here. Yolanda also released a short documentary titled “Biking While Black” where she ​​gathers the narratives of community constituents, grassroots advocates, CBOs, and city agencies around the topic of Black Lives bicycling in Los Angeles.

Our Project Director, Maryann Aguirre established PMJ’s leadership as mobility justice champions. She participated on the Latino/Latina Roundtable to discuss clean mobility options and mobility justice in BIPDowntown Los Angeles Tour TourOC communities. She also moderated a panel discussion with the Transit Center titled, “Supporting Parents: Policies for Transit Friendly Transit Agencies” alongside Jessica Meaney of Investing in Place and Clare Eberle from LADOT where they discussed public-facing policies that make transit work better for parents. To view recording, click on the links.

Programs & Policy:

PMJs longest standing program has been our culturally relevant bicycle safety education classes. In 2021 our bicycle safety education program continued to thrive through Metro’s Bicycle Education Safety Program and the Department of Public Health Vision Zero Program. Due to the COVID restrictions we were able to pivot and  conduct a hybrid of virtual and in-person education classes and bike rides. In total we hosted over 75 events with nearly 1,000 participants! Our community bike rides continue to be some of our most popular events. This year we organized the first ever South LA Mural Ride, Downtown Los Angeles Taco Tour in collaboration with L.A. Taco, and a self guided East LA Mural Ride.

Throughout the summer we participated in hosting a series of Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety classes with the Department of Public Health. We hosted classes in and around South East Los Angeles, Westmont/West Athens and West Whittier/Los Nieto alongside LACBC and Estolano Advisors. We were also awarded a mini grant through Metro for their “Adopt-A-Bike” program. PMJ successfully distributed over 40 refurbished bicycles to community members throughout Los Angeles for free.

PMJ has been an active member of the ACT-LA coalition. Last year we continued to advocate for BIPOC transit riders in LA through various campaigns such as; Metro As A Sanctuary, Divest to Invest and Fare Free Transit. We will continue to challenge Metro to divest from police contract and invest in alternative safety measures as well advocate for a fare free transit system for all.

2022 & Beyond:

As we begin 2022 PMJ looks forward to launching new programs that will benefit BIPOC communities such as:
 

LADOT Community First: PMJ will be part of a collaborative led by Dakota Communications that will support the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) with community engagement for projects developed for Vision Zero and Active Transportation Departments.

South LA Resident Advisory Council: PMJ will facilitate two of the trainings for the RAC cohort focused on mobility justice and the universal basic mobility.

East LA Active Transportation Education and Encouragement Project: PMJ is partnering with Public Matters, Pueblo Planning, and Esteban Torres High School to facilitate community engagement for proposed public transportation investments through workshops, walk audits, and bicycle rides.
 

Electro Bici: PMJ is partnering with Pacoima Beautiful to launch an electric bike library in the Northeast San Fernando Valley. A cohort of local street vendors, small business owners, and/or entrepreneurs will utilize the e-bike library as an economic resource for the community. PMJ will help develop the program's operations as well as lead training sessions for the initial cohort of e-bike library users as well as lead community rides to promote the bike fleet. 

Access Clean CA: PMJ will be a part of statewide network of CBO’s working with Grid Alternatives to promote the Access Clean CA program from the California Air Resources Board. PMJ will promote EV rebate programs as well as e-bike programs that will launch in the greater Los Angeles area.

PATH: PMJ will continue to partner with People Assisting The Homeless (PATH) affordable housing development to develop a bike share program for PATH residents as well as bike safety and basic bike maintenance workshops.

METRO B.E.S.T. program: PMJ will continue to work with Estolano Advisors and Metro to provide culturally relevant bike safety education classes and community bike rides in BIPOC communities throughout Los Angeles County with the Bicycle Safety Education Program.

We are so grateful for all the community love that has sustained our project throughout these years. As always, we welcome your collaboration and support. Subscribe to our newsletter or donate now to join the movement for mobility justice in Los Angeles!

In the wake of the recent murder of George Floyd, People for Mobility Justice Advisory Board Member, Yolanda Davis-Overstreet, shared an Opening Prayer and Reflection Grounding to read and reflect on with yourself, family, friends, colleagues and community:

Opening Prayer and Reflection Grounding: 

In Our State of Emergency for the Safety of #BlackLives

I thank each of you for Recognizing and Honoring #BlackLives, in this time, and into our history. When in,

• 1619, slave traders forced Africans to get on a slave ship and took them to Jamestown, Virginia - approximately 20 Africans were on that ship, originally from the present-day Angola. They were seized by the British crew from a Portuguese slave ship.

• And in 1776, when the United States declared its independence at which debates erupted and Congress removed a passage in Thomas Jefferson’s draft that condemned the slave trade.

• to December 1865, when the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, outlawing slavery. Yet, the horrendous white supremacy traditions of slavery forged on. Continuing to suffocate #BlackLives through its lethal and black-code practices. The reek of racism reached out from Sea to Sea in this America coercing its policies, laws, and poisonous venom into every #BlackLife – every Man, Woman and Child.

#JusticeforGeorgeFloyd symbolizes on a national level – that the sustainability and livelihood of #BlackLives have reached a level of crisis! The ‘ole negro spiritual saying My Cup Runneth Over implying an abundance of blessings in its time, but looked upon from the perspective of being Black in America in 2020, there is a definite river that runneth over of agony and oppression. Paradoxically there is too, a turning of the table that speaks to still reaching the Promise Land. Our psyches and being are flooded with a vivid summons on the systemic racism that George Floyd and #BlackLives have been born into, dating back to centuries ago, in this America. Born into a white supremacy construction that has oppressed and criminalized #BlackLives.  Our Cup Runneth Over into America’s first sin, as described and discussed in this time, the known evidence OF SLAVERY, the blueprints of the erection of RACISM and the UNBEARABLE trails of death that continues to leave its mark on our streets and in our homes - with its undertakings of slaughtering #BlackLives.

“Breathe”

In this moment, “we” are still able to breathe and use our 5th Chakra, our Throat Chakra. In Sanskrit, the word is 'Vishuddha' meaning purification.

George Floyd can’t breathe.

The 5th Chakra is the first of the higher or spiritual Chakras on the "chakra ladder". This Chakra is located in the region of the neck and shoulders. Its color is blue. 

The gift of this chakra is accepting our originality (George’s originality), expressing our authentic voice and speaking our truth. It is George, being able to express his authentic voice and speaking his truth!

The 5th Chakra, in its rawest state, is associated with higher discrimination and is associated with creativity and self-expression. 

When the Vishuddha, the 5th Chakra, the Throat Chakra is shut down, knelt upon in broad daylight for 8 minutes and 46 seconds by a police officer, Derek Chauvin accompanied by three other police officers,  - a person undergoes, George underwent DEATH. 

A moment of silence.

“Breathe”

A viewing and “Saying Their Names #Together”

#BLACKLIVESMATTER - link (start at frame 5:32)

Thereafter - take a moment of silence

In this time of recognizing the need for local, national, and global protests to Eradicate Racism and to dismantle America’ first sin, aka, Institutionalize Racism and Oppression that has caged and murdered #BlackLives for centuries,

 – we ask that we are given the strength, patience, resilience, and guidance to Expand and Evolve into the call of Eradicating.

Eradicating:

• America’s Institutionalize Racism and Oppressive landscape forced upon on my / our Black Brothers and Sisters! Set them Free!

• Eradicate the Knee and Chokehold on my / our neck, on my 5th Chakra, my Throat Chakra!

• Eradicate the Multiple Bullets that have been Shot into my / our body

• Eradicate the Cages and Shackles that America has continued to isolate us within! Hunting us down with the mission of shutting us down. Shutting down our livelihoods – thereby, blinding my / our #BlackLives – unable to see beyond oppression and death, it becomes my / our nearby companion.

• We must Eradicate the lethal ills of RACISM, that only toxify and bring upon death!

Help us to BREATHE and get securely grounded in our efforts to move into New Life, 

TO BREATHE INTO THE CALL OF JUSTICE – dismantling the old Constitution, its vast unjust legislation, and laws of a white supremacy America, 

Help us to BREATHE SO THAT WE, THE PEOPLE, move forward CO-CREATING A NEW CONSTITUTION for Our Democracy, for a Renewal of #BlackLives, 

For Safe Spaces, 

To Live, 

To Raise Our Families, 

To Be in Healthy Relationships, 

To Work, 

To Walk, 

To Bicycle,

To Breathe. 

Let Us Breathe into A RENEWAL FOR THE Liberation of Life and Movement!

Let Us Breathe into Justice for all who have been murdered and unjustly accused of crimes they did not commit!

Let Us Breathe!

Let Us Breathe!

Taking Our concluding grounding Breathes (three strong breathes) into Intention, Resilience and Love.

-Namaste

As our team designed the #MobilityJusticeDeck last year, we talked about how mobility justice includes the workers who manufacture, operate, and maintain our transportation systems. When the transportation industry creates new kinds of goods and services, they also create new kinds of workers. These are folks who support families, need safe working conditions, and who eventually age out of the workforce. Unfortunately, their prosperity is often left out of the plans of the industry, which is why there is a rich history of unions supporting transit operators and auto manufacturing workers.

Today’s mobility industry may tell the public that they’re all about innovation, equity, and sustainability, but they’re keeping up the tradition of worker exploitation. That’s why it’s so important for advocates like PMJ to demand better treatment for workers. We don’t consider mobility workers and mobility users to be different groups; we have a common cause. We’re all experiencing the insecurity that those profiting from the gig economy have in mind for our families and our futures.

In March, we hosted a webinar through The Untokening’s Transformative Talks series that spotlighted worker organizing in bike share and rideshare industries. Here in Los Angeles, Rideshare Drivers United is growing fast and their driver-led movement has a strong vision for mobility justice. At midnight on May 8, they are calling for all drivers and passengers to turn their rideshare apps off until midnight on May 9.

Check out more details about the strike here and join us in supporting #StrikeUberLyft on Wednesday.

This summer, we are launching our new Hood Planners Certification Program, and we are calling for All Hands On Deck to help us raise funds!

The Deck

With support from the California Bicycle Coalition, we created a deck of mobility justice playing cards (#mobilityjusticedeck), a popular education tool that shares important milestones for mobility (in)justice from the 1840s to the present. The deck was developed by a talented team of researchers, artists, graphic designers, and writers, including Chynna Monforte, Hector Benavides, Grace Lynne, and PMJ staff. With ongoing expansion packs, the deck will allow us to continue cataloguing the history of the mobility justice movement taking shape today.

The Hood Planners Certification Program

Too often, transportation agencies turn to planning consultants when trying to address equity concerns. PMJ is clear that community members are the real experts, their depth of knowledge and lived experiences should be valued and paid fairly, and they should be the ones consulted to share their vision for what lasting, community-oriented, and inclusive solutions look like. That’s why we are creating the Hood Planners Certification Program, a combination online and in-person course geared towards community-based activists.

The curriculum will be delivered through three modules over six weeks and will engage youth (Young-Stars) and elders (Super-Stars). Structuring the modules are PMJ’s 5 Ds of street safety - Decolonize, Decriminalize, Decongest, Dignify, Determination (learn more here). Each module will be led by a different peer leader as the cohort takes a look at the history of mobility (in)justice in communities of color and an overview of the current cultural and political landscape.

Our program is grounded in our values, which is why we pay community members a stipend to be certified and connected to employment opportunities in the transportation, planning, and advocacy sectors. In the spirit of equity, this course will also be available to professionals and government staff for a fee. This powerful design creates sustainability and a cohort that is intergenerational, multidisciplinary, and from varying economic backgrounds.  The first online course is set to be released in late summer and early fall 2019.

Help us meet our fundraising goal of $30,000 to develop the curriculum and offer stipends to 30 youth and elders to become certified Hood Planners by 2020!

Your contributions will go directly toward developing a radical educational curriculum that uplifts youth and elders to become advocates for their own communities, have their community expertise valued, and get certified in the process.

Hood Planners & Staying Alive

The Hood Planners Certification Program is being piloted through PMJ’s partnership with Ride On! Bike Shop & Co-Op in Leimert Park. With support from the 11th Hour Project’s Just Transit Challenge, we are co-creating Staying Alive Leimert, a two-year effort to identify and address various cultural, political, and economic factors keeping communities of color dependent on fossil fuels. The first cohort of Hood Planners will gather surveys from community members that we will use to define a local definition of mobility justice and authentic street safety.

Our work on Staying Alive Leimert will in turn shape a broader Staying Alive Street Safety Platform to be launched in early 2020. We know that our most vulnerable community members face higher rates of traffic fatalities, displacement, intercommunity violence and state-sanctioned violence, such as imprisonment, deportation and death. Yet conventional approaches to “street safety” in transportation and mobility, such as Vision Zero, focus only on reducing vehicular violence. After years of engaging with this model and learning from community safety, Indigenous sovereignty, and economic justice, we believe that a robust street safety platform must be designed by community members in order to address their most pressing concerns.  

The Mobility Justice Deck grew from a seed grant provided by the California Bicycle Coalition. Many thanks to Dave, Jared, and the rest of the CalBike team for your support!

This past weekend, we (PMJ team members Adonia Lugo and Río Oxas) traveled to Detroit for the third annual convening of The Untokening network. Untokening Detroit showcased the communities thinking beyond market-driven revitalization for mobility solutions, and we came back with a lot of ideas.

Visiting Detroit as Angelenxs, we saw familiarly wide streets and encountered the usual long distances between destinations. Río in particular felt a sense of connection with their history, as they share here:

Río in a selfie at the Motown Museum

Río in Motown

Detroit was closer to home than I realized. On the most superficial level, it’s the Motor City, which is closely linked to my many years of advocacy for bikes, bussing and walking. On the most deepest and profound level, Motown actually contributed to my existence.

My mom was born and raised in El Salvador facing such hardship that of all her siblings, half of them died due to starvation - Rest in Power. Mi mamá Bernarda tells me that when she was young, she survived starvation by filling up her belly with happiness. Her favorite way to do this was to escape into music, tunes that she’d hear neighbors blasting, as her family didn’t own a radio.

As a kid, I remember my mom’s glee as she listened to the Temptations, The Supremes, Diana Ross, and more. After I visited the Motown Museum this weekend, I realized the depth and the power of Black people in Detroit. Their insatiable desire to thrive transcended countries, language, culture, and more. This was contagious to my mom and her community in El Salvador, and it helped her survive. Simply put, there was no mountain high enough, no river wide enough. Detroit connected me further with my mother and reinvigorated and inspired me with the amazing and incredible power that Black people have in such a racistly rancid area. They’re thriving amidst racism there; I felt it in the air, water, and earth.

So, Detroit was a good choice for this year’s Untokening convening! At the convening itself, we were impressed by the good collaboration happening in Detroit between disability justice and transit justice advocates. We’ll recap the panels more fully in another post, and we’ll also be following up with information from the session we co-facilitated, “Untokening New Mobility.”

Below are Río’s photos from the Heidelberg Project, a legendary Detroit landmark created by artist Tyree Guyton in response to blight in his neighborhood.

Since the introduction of Vision Zero here in the United States, many of us have had sharp feels of dissonance. It has been touted as a great success in places like Sweden and New York.  However, success is often defined by the narrators and those who benefit. We have been in dialogue with other Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) communities across the country and we often share conflicted frustrations with the Vision Zero model. While it attempts to save the lives of pedestrians and cyclists, who are disproportionately low-income and BIPOC, Vision Zero is coming in as part of a wave of urban change efforts with “unintended” (1) consequences of BIPOC being heavily policed and displaced physically, culturally, and psychologically. This blog is intended as an invitation to collectively define safe and secure streets in our hoods. The points made below are meant to instigate and inspire critical dialogue.

Our Mobility Justice Team started this precise dialogue to identify the current gaps in Vision Zero that all cities and transportation agencies most certainly need to account for. We are responding to Vision Zero’s foundational elements of Education, Evaluation, Engineering, Enforcement. We will deconstruct each one of those in follow-up articles, but for now we want to introduce you to our 5 D’s, because in the alphabet, “D” comes before “E.”

DECOLONIZE: May our approach in any urban planning, design and decision-making be rooted in the ancestral land in which we work, live, and play to honor the indigenous people and the native flora and fauna.  Additionally, we are committed to halting the colonial practices that displace our people to ensure that long-term residents will be protected and have full rights to stay in their communities be it as tenants, homeowners, or business owners.
DECONGEST: May everyone have access to transportation and streets that support our full well-being and keep us alive.
DECRIMINALIZE: May Black, Brown and Undocumented people have the freedom to move in public spaces without state harassment, deportation or death. 
DIGNIFY: May the people who are houseless, have disabilities, are LGBTQIA+, work the streets (sex workers, street vendors, etc) have immense protection for their lives and the resources they need to support their well-being.
DETERMINATION: May our BIPOC communities have the right to self-determination, which we define as ensuring that our voice and leadership are valued monetarily, from expert advice to implemented reality on our streets.

This is our introductory article to Vision Incomplete. Please be on the lookout for our follow-up articles to continue to DECONSTRUCT Vision Zero. If you would like to be a part of this dialogue please email rio@mobilityjustice.org. 

Written By: Río Oxas - Program and Policy Organizer
-------------
(1) Things that are “unintended” are rooted in historical and systemic forms of oppression, so this word takes no accountability

This summer, PMJ and Pueblo team members have been co-creating a new monthly webinar series for The Untokening. Transformative Talks is a collaborative virtual space where community experts can come together to connect, share, and uplift. 
Learn more about Transformative Talks here. 

Río Oxas will host the first Transformative Talk on QTIBIPOC Bike Medicine at 1pm PST / 2pm MST / 3pm CST / 4pm EST TODAY, Wednesday, September 5th. Join a panel of organizers sharing the importance of co-creating healing spaces through biking for Queer Trans Intersex Black Indigenous People of Color (QTIBIPOC). More details here. No registration required, just follow this link.

In addition to the public webinars, we're also hosting monthly "Family T-Times," a closed space where BIPOC and other individuals from marginalized groups can find support for their mobility and transportation work. The first T-Time will be on Wed Sep 12 at 1pm. To learn more, email adonia@mobilityjustice.org.

Many cities and transit agencies across the globe are talking about how to make transportation more green, equitable, safe, and “advanced” in this Digital Age. At first glance, these “new transportation” ideas seem wholesome and designed to benefit everyone, even our dear earth. Our People for Mobility Justice (PMJ) researchers decided to form a “New Transpo Team” in order to take a closer look at this topic. Here’s a reflection from our “New Transpo Team” which is our new think tank exploring the future of mobility.

New Transportation in the Context of Mobility Justice

As we summarize below, we used an equity lens to analyze the effects that some trendy models could have on the mobility justice needs of our most vulnerable community members. Could these new systems actually accommodate and improve the mobility for, let's say, an elder who is blind and undocumented? What other communities must be considered to ensure that everyone is served? Do these new systems uphold capitalist exchange and exploitation, or do they transform mobility into something more restorative? These are just some of many questions we raised.

Let's review some of the new transportation trends. It seems like every day there’s another system or issue popping up, so this is just a handful.

Privatization of Public Transit - It’s important to note whether a transportation system is operated by a public agency or by a private company, which can vary from city to city. Public and private entities are subject to different standards for transparency and public accountability. The California Brown Act mandates that government agencies, such as transportation departments, hold open meetings. How do we hold private entities accountable? Lacking resident oversight and input, decisions made in private business meetings could have adverse impacts on the travel experiences of our most vulnerable community members. Will these private companies pay their fair share for usage of the public roadway that is owned by the city and everyone who lives, shops and works in the city?

Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) - This term describes “ride sharing” companies such as Lyft and Uber. The number of people using TNCs is increasing everyday as they find this option more convenient than taking public transit in Los Angeles. However, we’ve learned from ADAPT Los Angeles that these app-based services are not necessarily in compliance with ADA requirements that would make it possible for everyone to use them, both in terms of ordering rides and having disabilities accommodated. We are also concerned that if TNCs decrease bus ridership, core bus riders could see cuts to their service, further narrowing their already limited transportation options. Added to all this, TNCs tend to rely on exploitative employment practices, such as classifying drivers as independent contractors, in order to remain profitable. They have not been providers of the good jobs our communities need  to thrive.

Automated Vehicles (AVs) - AVs are being touted as a safety innovation, but we are concerned that human-developed artificial intelligence technology is a poor fit for the often chaotic social life of shared streets. Besides traffic collisions, car-based travel also harms our communities through congestion and pollution, regardless of whether the driver is human or AI. We are also concerned about job loss. Are AV companies innovating new jobs for human drivers? If not, it is likely that they expect the burden of job loss to fall on public services while they profit from reduced operating costs. Another burden that this industry places on public coffers is developing regulation and installing infrastructure on streets and roadways to accommodate AVs. Who will pay for these changes, and who will benefit from them?

Electric Bus Fleets - Cities and transit agencies all over the U.S. are replacing their old bus fleets with eco-friendly buses. Where are the old buses going: to a landfill, or to a second life of service in another country? We know it is not always the most green option to buy something new; retrofitting systems so that they work more efficiently is a key strategy for those of us whose families have had to work their way out of poverty. We wonder about the contracting processes that lead to public dollars being spent on newly manufactured rolling stock, and whether they continue the destructive capitalist cycle of planned obsolescence.

Hyperloop - One of the most hyped new transpo systems in Los Angeles is the proposed hyperloop. This so-called innovation is essentially a faster subway in the shape of a pod that would move about 16 passengers at a time. This may sound cool and futuristic, but it’s a private venture by Elon Musk, who used federal bailout money to prop up his failing electric car company. He’s also been at the forefront of the AV industry that we discussed above. It’s hard to imagine that someone with a record of using public resources for private profit, and with such enthusiasm for eliminating jobs, would produce a transportation system with true public benefit. Why take on the huge expense and risks of tunneling for such a small-scale project in our geologically sensitive region?

California High Speed Rail - The California High Speed Train will have several clear advantages over planes, offering cleaner travel and better transportation options for people who are traveling from one city to another. In many cases, trains are cost-effective, time-efficient, and provide riders a fresh perspective on traveling and interaction with other riders. However, there are myriad issues plaguing the construction and effectiveness of the train: rising costs, postponed completion dates, and access for low-income communities. Then there is noise pollution, and potential displacement of long-term residents around stations as development increases. This is another case where public-private partnership will likely result in heavy burdens on public resources.

Red Flags

• Private systems that rely on public dollars

• Lack of transparency in system design

• Success defined as profit

• Economic benefits (such as jobs) go to people who are not local residents

• Systems that remove jobs without replacing them

• Individuals with disabilities left out of design

• Systems that rely on cars congesting our shared streets

• Private systems undercutting the availability of public options

There is a lot to consider with so many new transportation systems rolling out. What we’ve summarized here is a snapshot of the conversations we’re having at PMJ based on our past work on shared mobility and our commitment to mobility justice. Perhaps many of these systems shared above may have a place in the future of mobility justice if used appropriately; what feels urgent to us is developing good structures for accountability today.

We want to leave you with these questions that may help your community come up with some mobility justice principles in response to these systems. What are you thinking about? How is your community contending with this?

For more information feel free to contact Río Oxas: rio@mobilityjustice.org

Published: July 17, 2018 by People for Mobility Justice. Suggested citation: People for Mobility Justice. (2018). New transportation in the context of mobility justice. Retrieved from https://peopleformobilityjustice.org.

MCM is PMJ!

Mark your calendars for Thursday, August 9th for our official re-brand and relaunch party where we'll be revealing our new logo, website and more! Stay up to date by clicking “going” on our Facebook event page HERE!