Shifting to mass transit is not only critical to staving off an ecological crisis, it is also key to getting out of our economic one: the expansion of rail and bus lines drives development, creating jobs while making it easier for the rest of us to get to our existing ones. The reverse is also true. The dismantling of mass transit has, like cuts to other public services, erects a massive roadblock on the path to economic recovery. While the private sector adds jobs, public sector austerity is driving the American economy off the tracks.
This past November, voters rejection of Proposition 1, a measure that would have funded Pierce Transit by raising the sales tax 3 cents for every $10 spent. Its failure to pass by barely more than 700 votes means service reductions, including limited bus service on Saturdays and Sundays and no holiday service.
Plenty has been written about the failure of Prop 1. The bottom line is, people will lose their jobs due to the cuts. That's were the Weekly Volcano chooses to focus this week.
Elizabeth Corcoran Murray reports on how the Pierce Transit cuts jeopardize employment for people with disabilities.
It isn't easy to get a job; harder still when you have a disability - and virtually impossible without transportation. The 28 percent cut in service announced by Pierce Transit on Feb. 11 will devastate most individuals with disabilities trying to find work or to hold on to their job.
"People lost jobs with the last round of cuts (in 2011) and more will lose them with this round," said Debbie Graham, the director of Centerforce, which links people with disabilities to employment. "We support people who work janitorial shifts at night and weekend shifts at places like Walmart. Employers change the schedules week to week. The most vulnerable people in our community will be impacted." Indeed, 55 percent of Pierce Transit's riders come from households with annual incomes below $20,000 and 45 percent of riders have no cars.