Transportation Segregation

American Apartheid is very bold in its literature about segregation. Today, the United States is shifting away from public transportation because people want more individual flexibility. Interestingly this falls into our topic of segregation in this class. I have taken transportation geography and never realized how much public transit displays segregation. Transportation shifts have slowly started to show how segregated cities really are. Transportation from buses to taxis show that segregation is still very prevalent in today’s times.

Many motorists are driving to work or place to place by themselves. In cities there is still public transportation throughout the metropolitan regions, but it shows a different side to the city. Many public transportation systems such as buses show how real segregation is today. One bus route can show the clarity of this segregation issue. Bus routes usually runs north to south or east to west. First, getting on the bus you see many white affluent and white collar people. (In Chicago and many other cities, this would be the Northern part of the city.) As the ride progresses (South) there is a certain point where whites slowly trickle out and on come blacks. There is usually a point where the switch flips and now it is all blacks that are not as affluent and are blue collar. Just riding a public bus can show how the geographic location matters and where clustering and concentration starts to occur. Segregation is very noticeable just by riding a single bus route.

Another reading mentioned the same thing, but with taxi drivers in the city. New York is a good example of this. In the article called “Why Not Having a Car has Taught Me about Segregation” it mentions a study from 2011 when college students posed as taxi riders. It found that 27% of the time, taxi drivers refused to drive into Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and northern Manhattan.”  One of the taxi drivers even said that “The last time I was in this neighborhood was 10 years ago.” This is another example how easy it is to spot communities that have been so isolated or concentrated. If experienced taxi drivers don’t know how to drive through these certain areas or don’t want to drive through these areas, there must be some conflict of interest involved at a more internal level.

The last article I came across “Transportation Segregation: Los Angeles vs Chicago” hinted another argument on how transportation demonstrates segregation patterns. It is different between the cities though. The article states “Chicago is a very segregated city, and its public transit system is segregated by areas, but not particularly segregated by form. Los Angeles is comparatively desegregated, yet despite its extensive network of buses, its public transportation is very segregated.” This shows that segregation can come in different forms. Chicago’s bus routes, which I mentioned above, are a good image and example of segregation by location. One bus ride can show you the cities racial distribution in a nutshell. Another alarming stat from this article mentions that “In Los Angeles, 92 percent of bus riders are people of color. Their annual median household income is $12,000.” There is a very large minority population in Los Angeles, but 92% is extremely high for any place. Overall, metropolises differ in how they present segregation, but shows that segregation is widespread and real.

Transportation is about building a community. While there are many diverse communities out there, there are many public transportation networks that display the concept of segregation in our modern day world. Many different modes of public transportation show us how racially clustered or concentrated certain locations are. From Bus to Taxi to Automobile, the mode of transit can easily show how segregated some spots are and where the high segregation areas are. Transportation segregation will continue to persist unless we acknowledge it. 

http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/July-2012/Transportation-Segregation-Los-Angeles-Versus-Chicago/

http://everydayfeminism.com/2014/08/not-having-car-segregation/