Stuart Proposal Planning Assignment (1)-1
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Arts Humanities
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Nov 24, 2024
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6
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Proposal Planning Assignment
Stuart Zerial
HUM-3910
Dr. Georgia Caver
Introduction:
Transportation in the United States is a critical issue with wide-ranging impacts on the
economy, environment, and daily life of its citizens. At its core, transportation involves the
movement of people and goods, relying heavily on an extensive network of roads, railways, air
routes, and public transit systems. Effective transportation systems are fundamental for the
functioning of modern society, making their maintenance, development, and sustainability key
concerns for policymakers and the public alike. The problem I see in our country and specifically
in the state of Michigan is the lack of reliable public transportation. This issue affects a
significant population in Michigan and is a problem that needs to be dealt with.
Synthesis:
The debate surrounding the allocation of funds in the U.S. transportation sector reveals
contrasting perspectives. On one side, there's a call for more investment in public transit,
advocating that it can reduce congestion, lower environmental impact, and provide equitable
transportation options for lower income communities. Advocates of public transit argue that
enhancing public transit systems can stimulate urban development and offer viable alternatives to
car dependency along with, providing taxpayers who cannot afford a vehicle a reliable way to
work. On the other side of the coin, some emphasize the continued importance of roads and
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bridges, citing the need for robust infrastructure to support economic activities, including the
transport of goods and services. This debate has evolved over time, reflecting changing societal
priorities, urbanization trends, and environmental concerns, leading to a growing consensus on
the need for a more balanced approach in transportation funding.
Michigan.gov provides information about the budget for each fiscal year and will be a
principal source of information for me, it may be the most important source for my final project
seeing as I can't get much more credible that than what I can get from the official information
there. Michigan's transportation budget is 6.1 billion for the 2022-2023 Fiscal Year. Most of the
budget, 84% which equals $5.17 billion total, is allocated to road and bridge programs. This
significant investment points to a focus on maintaining and updating the state's aging
infrastructure. This heavy emphasis on roadways potentially overshadows the need for more
public transportation development. Public transportation, which is crucial in urban areas receives
only 11% of the budget, equating to $653.76 million. This allocation is insufficient to expand
and modernize public transit systems adequately, limiting options for residents and potentially
impacting economic growth. Overall, the budget distribution suggests a possible imbalance in
Michigan's transportation strategy. By prioritizing road infrastructure at the expense of
developing a more diverse and sustainable transportation network, including enhanced public
transit, which is essential for meeting the state's current and future transportation needs, the state
of Michigan is seriously hurting certain groups of people, especially minority's.
The second source I have chosen is the University of Michigan. The article speaks about
the views of transportation in the Detroit area. This article highlights how transportation is a
huge issue in Detroit and the effects of poverty can exacerbate this issue. Servey's done by the
Winter 2017 Metropolitan Area Communities find that nearly two thirds of people living in
Detroit do not own a car and rely solely on public transportation. The article goes more into
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depth about how Detroit residents are affected by transportation issues and gives statistics about
how often residents are late to work or miss appointments, which provided staggering numbers,
showing that residents who do not own a vehicle miss appointments or work at three times the
rate as those who have a vehicle. I have yet to find a more recent article that would disprove or
provide a different statistic about the number of residents who own a car.
An Article from Sustainable America written in 2023 also highlights the problems with
the transportation system here at a greater scale than the first two articles I plan on using. The
articles can really speak for itself in this case, it is titled “why doesn’t the U.S. have better public
transportation”. This article states a lot of information related to how this is a problem across the
whole United States, rather than just Michigan.
The Miscellany is a newspaper published by Vassar College and has a great article about
what I would call the transportation crisis in the United States. The article states that on average
a household could save about 10 thousand dollars a year by using public transportation, and they
get their information from the American Public Transportation Association.
Methodology:
Overall, I believe that all four of these sources are extremely credible. Furthermore, these
sources all seem to agree that there is an issue with public transportation in the United States.
Hopefully with the information I have found here along with more information from other
credible sources I will be able to structure a solution or at least a feasible answer to the public
transportation issue in our country. My hopes are to find conflicting articles where experts do not
believe that there is a transportation crisis to cross examine but I am yet to find any. I plan on
looking into the road and bridge programs that currently receive about 84% of Michigan's
transportation budget. Unfortunately, sometimes there is just not enough money to fix every
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problem and sometimes one issue gets pushed to the back burner while policy makers focus on
other issues. This is the problem I want to solve. There should be a way for people of low
income to get to work without it taking away a significant amount funding from road and bridge
programs. Investigating the allocation of U.S. and Michigan transportation funds requires diverse
methods including analyzing data provided by the state, finding feedback from commuters and
finding academic journals that offer broader context to the issue.
Ethical Process and Research Implications:
My solution to the transportation problem is essentially incentivizing private companies
through government grants to provide transportation for individuals who qualify to and from
work. I have some experience driving for Uber and Lyft and found that one of the biggest issues
with these jobs was consistency. My idea or solution is that the state should subsidies Uber and
Lyft rides for individuals who meet certain criteria. It would work somewhat like this; after an
individual is qualified for the program, they could schedule a ride to work through one of these
third-party companies every day of the week at the same time for the same price. With a set
parameter of 5 miles for example, no matter how much the ride would typically cost at that time
of day, the difference in price would be subsidized. For example, if you live downtown and work
in Allendale your typical ride may cost 15 dollars each way, the government and potentially even
the third-party companies themselves would cover partial cost of this ride so that it would end up
being a set price for the patron. If a program like this could be enacted it would generate more
employment since people would have a reliable source of transportation. Also, a program like
this would cause more people to work for these third-party transportation companies because
they would have consistent work during weekdays and could potentially enjoy a normal schedule
rather than picking people up at the bar at two in the morning. I am still trying to poke holes in
my own solution and figure out the downsides of my solution to guarantee it is fair and
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unbiassed. I expect that the solution I am providing could potentially help Uber/Lyft drivers,
low-income individuals, and also stimulate the economy so at this point it seems like a great
idea, however I still have more research to do.
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References
Hamilton, W. (n.d.). Budget briefing: Transportation - Michigan House of Representatives.
https://www.house.mi.gov/hfa/PDF/Briefings/MDOT_BudgetBriefing_fy22-23.pdf
Gerber, Dr. E. (2017, December). Detroiters ’ views on transportation and Mobility.
https://poverty.umich.edu/files/2018/05/W2-Transportation-F.pdf
Graham, C. (2023, April 30).
Why doesn’t the U.S. have better public transportation?
Sustainable America.
https://sustainableamerica.org/blog/why-doesnt-the-us-have-better-
public-transportation/
Noorwez, S., Noorwez, S., & says:, T. G. (2022, April 28).
The miscellany news
. We need better
public transportation in America
–
The Miscellany News.
https://miscellanynews.org/2022/04/28/opinions/we-need-better-public-transportation-in-
america/
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