Everyone in the United States deserves access to reliable, safe, and affordable transportation — especially working families who need to make the most of their earnings. Working families rely on public transit, whether they live and work in big cities, small towns, or rural communities.
Increasing access to affordable transportation options is key to improving affordability for working families in the United States. Eighty-nine percent of Americans report concerns about the cost of living. Housing and transportation are typically the two highest household expenses for most families in the United States. In 2023, U.S. households spent an average of $13,174 on transportation, making it the second-largest annual household expenditure after housing.
Research from the Union of Concerned Scientists shows that while the cost burden of housing and transportation expenses are high for all families, they are especially high for households of color. Further, their research indicates that households without cars are disproportionately lower income and households of color.
Public transit unlocks freedom of movement in urban, suburban, and rural communities nationwide. When working families can count on the bus or train to get where they need to go, they can easily access jobs, education, medical care, culture, goods and services, and the daily life of their communities. They benefit from greater economic mobility and lower household costs.Transportation systems that maximize people’s access to good transit are necessarily inclusive, without barriers linked to race, income, age, or ability.
Public transit moves working families. In the report, you’ll find stories of 21 union workers and their families from 19 states. In their stories, workers share their experience using public transit, what having access to it means for their families, and what increased investments in public transit would mean for them. The people we spoke with work in varied fields, including health care, agriculture, education, and building trades, but they all use public transit to get them from place to place. As Eddie Alvarez, a union representative on the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council, said, “Transit isn’t just about moving people — it’s about building a better future for working families.”