Each agency or organization may use slightly different language, but equity in transportation is simply the goal of providing the same access to affordable and reliable transportation to everyone. Below are a few differently worded definitions, as well as the statutes that play a role in transportation equity.
Defining the Issue
"Transportation equity means the benefits and burdens of transportation systems, services and spending are fair and just, which historically has not been the case. Transportation equity requires ensuring underserved communities, especially Black, Indigenous and People of Color, share in the power of decision making."
—From the Minnesota Department of Transportation's Advancing Transportation Equity Initiative.
"Transportation equity is a way to frame distributive justice concerns in relation to how social, economic and government institutions shape the distribution of transportation benefits and burdens in society. It focuses on the evaluative standards used to judge the outcomes of policies and plans, asking who benefits from and is burdened by them and to what extent."
—From the 2021 International Encyclopedia of Transportation.
"The removal of barriers to eliminate transportation-related disparities faced by and improves equitable outcomes for historically marginalized communities, especially communities of color."
—From the Metro (Oregon) 2018 Regional Transportation Plan: Transportation Equity Evaluation.