Transit Equity Days

Lots of people don't drive. Lots! In Wisconsin and many other states, about one-third of residents are non-drivers. In the city of La Crosse, it's closer to 50 percent according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. For whatever reason--age, health, financial status, climate concerns--millions of people don't drive private cars. Does this mean they shouldn't have access to training and education, work, medical care, shops, services, recreation, social activities, and life? 

In 2018, the Labor Network for Sustainability started an event, Transit Equity Day, to highlight inequities in our current system. They scheduled it on Rosa Parks' birthday, February 4, to commemorate her work to end segregation on public transportation systems and the role public transit has played and continues to play in the push for access and equity. Public transportation is a civil right. 

In the La Crosse area, sixteen area organizations will host Transit Equity Days, February 2 through 5, to highlight these issues and how they impact local workers, people with disabilities, students, employers, seniors, youth, low-income families, and more. Events will include

• Sunday, Feb. 2 - Story Time on the MTU Bus at 2 p.m. at the La Crosse Public Library for kids up to 5 years old.
  
• Monday, Feb. 3 - Ride with a Guide - learn about a program that pairs volunteer bus riders with new riders to help more people ride the bus. 4:30 p.m. at the Transit Center, 314 Jay St.
  
• Monday, Feb. 3 - The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks at 5:15 p.m. at the La Crosse Public Library.
• Tuesday, Feb. 4 - Free fares all day on the La Crosse MTU and rides with candidates for city council and mayor (see web site for details)
  
• Wednesday, Feb. 5 - Free fares on the SMRT bus if you have a TED flyer (printed out or show on your phone).
  

We can't continue to require people who can't drive or can't afford it to have cars. We can't survive ever increasing greenhouse gas emissions. We have to make changes and that means we have to ask for or demand changes. Help make changes in our transportation system by supporting Transit Equity Days. Visit https://tinyurl.com/TEDLaCrosse-2025 to learn more.

Our system is built around cars, and too often decision-makers assume access to cars when they decide where to site schools or hold meetings, when to host important events, how to use public space, and what projects get the most public funding. 

In 2023, the White House noted that "residents who take public transit spend an extra 62.7% of their time commuting and non-White households are 5.9 times more likely to commute via public transportation." 

A non-driver from the La Crosse area who wants to attend a meeting in Madison would need three days because of a pitifully inadequate bus schedule for long-distance travel. While the county recently put up $250,000 to beg Delta Airlines to add more greenhouse gas emitting flights to the regional airport, their regional public transit system, the Scenic Mississippi Regional Transit, had to raise fares, the second time in three years, to maintain a bare-bones weekday schedule. 

A recent Bureau of Transportation Statistics study found that in households with incomes of $28,261 or less transportation expenses consumed nearly 32% of their pre-tax income. The same organization tracks the cost to own and operate a private vehicle. For 2024, they concluded that the average annual cost is more than $12,000.  Systems built around cars make low income individuals pay thousands of dollars in "car dues" every year or lose access to parts of their community.

Get more information and facts at https://tinyurl.com/tedlacrosse-2025.