Listening to feedback and moving resources to support core riders, this is what transit equity is all about.
In a massive win that riders have been fighting for since the start of COVID-19, the Port Authority announced on Thursday that it would redistribute service from low ridership lines to better serve riders in high-ridership communities!
This is a huge victory that riders in heavily transit-reliant communities have been calling for since the start of the new COVID capacity limits on buses (10 riders per 35-foot bus, 15 riders per 45-foot bus, and 25 passengers per 60-foot articulated bus or a light rail car). These capacity limits are important safety measures, but without increasing service frequency they leave riders in the most transit-reliant communities at the curb – while buses in low-ridership communities run empty.
The Port Authority’s decision also lays the groundwork for Port Authority to pilot an emergency low-income fare program, which riders have also been calling for since the start of the pandemic. High ridership transit routes during COVID-19 are serving predominantly low-income communities, in many cases without access to alternative means of transportation.