Business, Government Leaders Experience Transit Challenges of the Poor

A group of local leaders rode the bus and walked the streets with lower-income travelers on Tuesday, thanks to a Halethorpe nonprofit.

The May 22 "Walk in Their Shoes" program took business and government leaders across state lines through Montgomery County, Washington, D.C., and northern Virginia as they shadowed lower-income travelers in a demonstration of what it's like to navigate the region without cars.

Vehicles for Change, a nonprofit at 5230 Washington Blvd. in Halethorpe, sponsored the event, which concluded with a discussion in Washington, D.C., about public transit.

Since 1999, Vehicles for Change has helped lower-income people with their transportation needs by selling cars at reduced prices. Eight people who bought bargain-priced vehicles went without their cars on Tuesday for "Walk in Their Shoes" to show the transit challenges typically faced by those of modest means.

If not for Vehicles for Change, Renee Scarlett of Hyattsville told WAMU that she would have had to quit her job with food delivery company  last May.

Last year, Scarlett purchased a 2000 Chrysler SUV for $750 from Vehicles for Change and has been able to keep her position as well as reduce her 2 1/2-hour commute, according to WAMU.

Approximately 70 percent of the Vehicles for Change recipients increase their earning capacity by thousands of dollars annually, according to The Baltimore Sun, and save 90 minutes a day in their commutes, according to a study by Vehicles for Change.

The first "Walk in Their Shoes" event took place in Baltimore last October. Participating in that event was Maryland state Del. James Malone (D-Howard/Baltimore), chair of the motor vehicles and transportation subcommittee, who told The Baltimore Sun he hoped the state could partner with Vehicles for Change to improve transit problems faced by lower-income people.