TRANSPORTATION FOR THE DISADVANTAGED

In today's automobile-dependent society, the "disadvantaged" might be defined as those who suffer transportation engineering disadvantage because they do not have the use of an automobile. These would include children and youth too young to drive, those who can not afford an automobile, the nondriving, the physically handicapped and disabled, and some but not all of the elderly. Another defini­tion might classify the disadvantaged as those who make fewer trips than seem desirable for their well-being.

With only a few exceptions, transportation for the disadvantaged has not until recently been considered as a responsibility of either government or the public transportation engineering system. Rather, these persons did not travel as much or were transported in some other manner. Today, however, transportation is one facet of a variety of governmental programs to provide special services of many sorts to the disadvantaged.

A classic example of the complexities in programs to help the disadvantaged occurred in Los Angeles. There was a large number of unemployed in the Watts area southeast of the city center. Job opportunities for them centered at the air­port, which was located to the southwest. Bus. service was radial, so getting to and from the airport involved two bus trips and waiting between them. To stim­ulate employment, a direct bus route from Watts to the airport was set up. It flourished for a short while. However, many of the bus users soon purchased automobiles and bus patronage fell drastically. In the broader sense of providing employment this transit experiment was a success; but it could be classified as a failure in developing and maintaining transit use.