The "Great Car Redistribution Plan"

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In my last op-ed, I proposed ending bus service in areas where ridership is low, and expanding service in high ridership areas. To go alongside with this, cars should be priced out of the central cities where congestion is high, and alternative modes of transportation are available. While ridership is low in suburban and rural areas, there are transit dependent people who would be the losers in this situation. To better serve people who rely on slow, infrequent buses in rural and suburban areas, affordable housing in the city might be all they need or want. But for the remainder, who choose to stay outside the bounds of efficient transportation, replacing their buses with subsidized personal automobiles is a solution that I believe could increase efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas and particulate matter and be a more equitable transportation solution. 

 “700,000 of zero-vehicle U.S. households live out of transit’s reach, particularly in the South and the suburbs. And those with transit access still cannot reach a majority of jobs in metro areas within 90 minutes” (Tomer, 2011). While this is a lot of people who don’t have decent access to transportation, “over 90% of zero-vehicle households in large metropolitan areas live in neighborhoods with access to transit service of some kind” (Tomer, 2011). The closer that 90% can get to 100%, the more equitable our transit system will be. To achieve 100% coverage we should bring the people to the transit, not the transit to the people. Not only that, but also shrink the range that transit operates.  In Portland, Oregon, the city lacks 48,000 homes that are affordable for a household that makes less than half the median income (Hamilton, 2018). If all these households have to live outside the city, than surely that will create a big demand for transit outside the central city. 


Cutting service to millions of transit dependent riders in areas far from the high ridership core would save a lot of money for transit companies, who already rely on subsidy.“As a transit system stretches into remote and far-flung suburbs, it becomes harder to pick up enough fares to cover expenses” (Jaffe, E. 2015). 
Here’s how I think the Great Car Redistribution Plan (GCRP) could become a reality.
·     Increase taxes for central city vehicle owners and operators
·     Increase transit service in cities
·     Increase the tax write-off amount for donating a car
·     Increase affordable housing in and near central city 
·     Decrease parking
·     Decrease city speed limits 

One problem that is immediately apparent is serving unlicensed drivers in peripheral areas that rely on long grueling bus rides. For these riders, a solution like chauffeurs or AV’s would be needed. Carsharing could be incentivized for the new car owners that choose to remain far from the central city. If two households agree to share a car, they could spend up to 50% less.
I’m aware that this is probably an insane idea, but I think it’s important to think about big strategies to solve this problem. I’m sure there are many reasons why this proposal is flawed, so I invite you to tell me all the reasons you think it won’t work, or ideas to improve it.  



References
Hamilton, R. (2018). “You are here: a snapshot of greater Portland’s need for affordable homes” Oregon Metro. Retrieved from https://www.oregonmetro.gov/news/you-are-here-snapshot-greater-portlands-need-affordable-housing
Jaffe, E. (2015). “How much money U.S. transit systems lose per trip, in 1 chart. City Lab. June 8th2015. Retrieved from https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2015/06/how-much-money-us-transit-systems-lose-per-trip-in-1-chart/395189/
Tomer, A. (2011). “Transit access and zero-vehicle households” Metropolitan policy program at Brookings. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/0818_transportation_tomer.pdf



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