Public Transit’s Importance for the Homeless

 

Image from Trimet.org/photos

In the big cities especially, many homeless people are seen on public transit. These services, which most of the time charges fees in order for people to use them, are great ways to travel in these densely packed areas. Public transit also is very convenient for citizens, and many rely solely on these systems for travel. However, the homeless community depends on these services way more than people realize.

 

As for others, homeless people use public transit as a way to get from place to place. As many do not have access to their own reliable transportation, using public services helps them get to shelters, work, food banks, or other essential services they may need, such as healthcare. They sometimes also use public transit and the transit stations as shelter, especially seeking out the facilities when experiencing extreme weather conditions. Transit stations also often have free amenities, such as electricity, that homeless people use, and can have easy access to restrooms and seating (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2024). All of these factors, and more, are why public transit is so much more important than people first realize. It can provide easier access to a number of things that homeless individuals would not usually have readily available.

 

Portland, Oregon is generally known to have pretty good public transit. The huge MAX bus system and light rail lines are heavily used and navigate the city and its outskirts very well. The TriMet system, and the Portland Streetcar, are other good examples. Even taking those out of the picture, Portland has renovated its roads to be more biker friendly. However, the amount of homeless people using public transit has caused some problems, such as hygiene concerns, public drug use, and other disruptions that require responses. Oftentimes, law enforcement becomes involved, where more arrests and citations happen. These methods, however, have not shown success (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2024).

 

To have more success in taking care of these problems, transit systems have looked to use more holistic, human-centered solutions. This includes hiring people with expertise on the topic and forming partnerships with social service providers (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2024). People also need to see public transportation as a resource for everyone, not just for those that can necessarily afford it. Implementing more buses, including more languages on maps, and providing passes for low-income people are all ways to make public transit friendlier to all (Abelson et al. 2023). As an individual, donating to shelters or other social services that provide food, shelter, and clothing to homeless people is a great way to encourage positive change within the homeless community. Also working with public transit companies and encouraging them to change their practices of forceful removal of homeless individuals by implementing some of the solutions above can help work through the harmful removal system they have now.

 

Want to contact TriMet Services about their homelessness practices?

Call or Text 503-238-7433, or Email hello@trimet.org.

Want to Donate to a reliable Homeless Shelter? Click here.

Sources:

Abelson, M., García, I.,S. Khan, Lubitow, A.,Puczkowskyj, N., and Zapata, M.. 2023. “Transit Photovoice Portland, Oregon & Salt Lake City, Utah” NITC-RR-1419. Portland, OR: Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC). https://doi.org/10.15760/trec.293

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Homelessness: A Guide for Public Transportation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/27248.