Increasing Low-Income Access to Transportation
Access to transportation plays a vital role in the ability to access child care, schools, nutritional and affordable food, and more. Low-income individuals often encounter obstacles hindering their access to transportation, which can result in difficulties in finding and keeping employment. There are two main reasons for this: low-income individuals often have poor/thin credit which can make car insurance rates prohibitively expensive, and inadequacies in the public transport system.
There is a need to explore the use of credit scoring and other practices disadvantageous to low-income individuals in the private automobile insurance industry and also to examine how public transit is equitable meeting the needs of low-income communities.
How Washington Appleseed is Helping
Washington Appleseed teamed up with Foster Pepper to explore the barriers low-income individuals face in accessing public and private transportation. Examining problems such as the way credit scores disproportionately impact insurance costs, how ethnicity impacts insurance rates and gaps in access to public transit, this research digs into the heart of the Puget Sound's transportation dilemma. Going past simply identifying the problem, this research also aimed to outline new and innovative alternatives to owning your own automobile.
Publications
Download a free copy of the executive summary of Low-Income Access to Transportation: an examination of the obstacles hindering access to public and private transportation.
Latest News
Washington Appleseed is collaborating with the Transportation Work Group spearheaded by Northwest Justice Project to determine the best steps moving forward.
Pro Bono and Community Volunteers
A special thank you to our pro bono volunteers: Amy D’Amato, Nicole Black, Duncan Connelly, Jeremy Eckert, Thomas Fabrega, John Kennedy, Helen Nolan and Sharee Pierce.