Enhancing Rural Transit for Inclusive Voting: Mobilize for Rural Transit Day
On July 16, the United States celebrates Rural Transit Day, in which we recognize the efforts of agencies to make public transportation more accessible for those in rural and tribal areas. Rural Transit Day has been a holiday since 2019, with more and more agencies joining the cause and the pledge every year. As of 2022, 62 agencies across 21 states have taken the pledge to:
1. Understand the unique needs of rural and tribal passengers and plan services to meet those needs.
2. Provide all passengers with helpful, courteous, and respectful customer service.
3. Deliver equal service to all passengers, regardless of age, background, abilities, income, or gender.
4. Coordinate with community organizations to provide transportation to as many destinations as possible.
5. Involve passengers, community stakeholders, and elected officials in service planning.
6. Assure that vehicles and facilities are safe, clean, well-maintained, and comfortable.
7. Invest in training and education that keep staff current, knowledgeable and skilled.
8. Contribute to an organizational culture where staff are motivated and successful.
9. Have a plan for potential emergencies and disasters and communicate that plan to all stakeholders.
10. Keep up with and invest in new technologies and funding opportunities to improve services continually.
At Rideshare2Vote, July 16 is an extremely important day. Rural Transit Day aims to make public transportation more accessible to those in rural areas, These voters often face further barriers, such as distance from their polling location, improper road care during adverse weather, and several others.
In the 2020 election, around 47 percent of rural voters voted during the early voting period, with 22 percent voting by mail. Between 2016 and 2020, Election Day voting in rural areas declined by 30 percent. In states with at-will absentee voting, the voting rates in rural areas are higher by eight percent in comparison to states that require a qualifying reason to vote by mail. In regards to travel for voting, while urban polling places serve areas less than two square miles, around 50 percent of rural polling places serve more than 62 square miles. Other barriers include, but are not limited to, lacking access to online voter registration, lack of same-day voter registration, and lack of drop boxes for mail-in ballots.
While Rural Transit Day does not strictly focus on voting accessibility in rural areas, improvements made by those who take the pledge will directly impact voters on Election Day. However, of the 62 agencies, only five are state agencies and six are community agencies. This July 16, contact your local state and community agencies to ensure that they are supporting rural communities when it comes to accessibility!
by Delany Doggett
