Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Streetsblog

Transit’s Identity Crisis: Social Service or Economic Engine?

Increasingly, transit investments are framed in terms of economic development, rather than public service. Cities conceive of new rail lines with the condo developer or tourist in mind, ignoring the low-income commuter who can’t afford a car and the senior who relies on transit to get to the grocery store.

A rendering of Detroit's Woodward rail line. Leaders hope this transit project will draw investment back to the central city. Image: Mlive.com

Yonah Freemark at the Transport Politic writes that this tension is currently playing out in Detroit, where the private sector has seized on a plan to develop light rail in the central city. An example of new-school transit thinking, the project is aimed at catalyzing development along the Woodward Corridor. Meanwhile, budget shortfalls may force the elimination of night and weekend bus service.

Such situations raise questions about the purpose of transit, Freemark writes, in Detroit and beyond:

This produces an identity crisis for transit. For whom is it developed? Can its social mobility goals be reconciled with the interests of capitalists in the urban space?

Identifying the value of a transportation project is an essential element of the planning process, so asking these questions is essential, since there are limited resources. When it comes to transit, this seems particularly relevant, since most funds invested in bus or rail projects are provided by the public sector.

Do we invest our funds in a project to connect downtown with the airport, under the assumption that economic benefits will flow down from the top, as conservatives might suggest? Is spending government money on ensuring the efficient transportation of the elite effective because it grows the economy as a whole and eventually aids the poor? Or should public dollars be reserved for redistributive causes, focusing on the needs of those who are least able to provide for themselves?

These are big questions. What do you think?

Elsewhere on the Network today: The Overhead Wire explains how Houston’s light-rail plans are being undermined by freight right-of-way. Green City Blue Lake reports that the Akron, Ohio region has developed a land use and transportation plan with the goal of a “vibrant urban environment.” And Car Free Baltimore offers a first-hand account of the physical and mental transformation brought on by a year of car-free living.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Friday Video: Amtrak Is Way More Successful Than You Think

Why do so many people still treat Amtrak as a failure — and what would it take to deliver the rail investment that American riders deserve?

October 24, 2025

Hundreds of Community Groups — From the Conservatives to the Socialists! — Demand Daylighting

Two hundred New York City groups from across the ideological spectrum joined calls to ban parking at corners in order to improve safety and visibility, also known as daylighting.

October 24, 2025

OPINION: Canal Street — Not The Vendors — Is the Problem

If Zohran Mamdani becomes mayor — and is true to his vision for a fair, livable city — he will have to take on this long-ignored corridor. Here's how.

October 24, 2025

Vision Zero Cities: Bicycles Are Not Cars So They Shouldn’t Have to Follow the Same Rules

The default in nearly all states is to impose the same traffic rules on bicycles as on motor vehicles even though the needs of cyclists are so different.

October 24, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Today’s the Day Edition

Mayor Adams's new 15 mph speed limit is officially goes into effect today. Plus more news.

October 24, 2025

Cough, Cough: DEP Considers Largest Ever Exemption Request to City’s Anti-Idling Law

Academy Bus claims no technological alternatives exist for heating and cooling buses without idling. Advocates warn an exemption would "gut" the city's 50-year-old idling ban.

October 23, 2025
See all posts