Thursday, July 17, 2014

This Week in MVP: Letter to the Editor

We are excited to see a Letter to the Editor in this week's The News & Observer by the Mobile Voice Project's Amanda Matson advocating for a transit plan that benefits all of Wake County's citizens! Voice your support for transit to your Wake County commissioner throughout the next week before they meet to discuss moving forward on a Wake County transit plan...

Amanda Matson: Transit helps all

Regarding the July 15 editorial “ Coble’s conversion”: I am pleased the Wake County commissioners are finally planning to discuss a transit plan for Wake County.

The need for transit is critical. Commissioners should remember those residents who depend on transit every day and recognize how more extensive and efficient transit could improve these residents’ lives.

Through ongoing research into the travel of women experiencing homelessness in Wake County, I confirmed what may seem like common sense: The fewer transportation resources a low-income woman has, the less access she has to the services and resources she needs (e.g., affordable food, child care, mental health services or employment). For a newly homeless woman without a car, this might be a simple task such as obtaining an ID. For a woman trying to escape homelessness by obtaining work, admitting in a job interview that she depends on the bus may keep her from getting that job.

As a community, we invest in roads without expecting a direct return on our investment because we need this infrastructure for our community to thrive. Investing in transit now is just as essential for our community – not just for those who own a car, but rather for all Wake County residents at any income or ability level.

AMANDA MATSON

RALEIGH

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/07/16/4010102/amanda-matson-transit-helps-all.html?sp=%2F99%2F108%2F165%2F#storylink=cpy

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