Texas Citizen Fund — Community Transportation Advocacy Network

Statewide Need
Accessing transportation is a key component to full inclusion in the community as it provides access to jobs, family and friends, adequate health care, and leisure activities. Historically, the advocacy movement around transportation has had limited involvement in decision-making at the state level. Lack of transportation consistently rates as the biggest barrier to community living and employment for people with developmental disabilities. In addition, transportation issues must compete with other, equally important issues on the advocacy agenda. Advocacy organizations often have a few contacts within the Legislature and state agencies responsible for funding or providing transportation services, but few have the resources to maintain an ongoing presence in the Legislature. A coordinated effort around this issue could effectively create a collaborative advocacy network in Texas focused on promoting the issues and concerns around affordable, accessible transportation.

Project Goal
Create a collaborative network that works to develop affordable, accessible, and equitable transportation systems at local and state levels.

Project Summary
The Texas Citizen Fund developed the Just Transportation Alliance (JTA), a collaborative network that worked to develop affordable, accessible, and equitable transportation systems at local and state levels.

The project built a state advocacy team as well as local alliances in Bexar County, El Paso, Houston, the Rio Grande Valley, Tarrant County, Tyler, Webb County/Laredo, and San Angelo. The project created a collaborative network to voice the need for affordable, accessible, and reliable transportation.

In addition to recruiting people from the community and training local advocates, JTA assisted in determining effective advocacy strategies, preparing presentations, and linking the local alliances in a statewide network. JTA built on previous projects through strategic partnerships and by assisting the alliances with fundraising to ensure the long-term self-sufficiency of each alliance.