Rights in Transit: Public Transportation and the Right to the City in California’s East Bay

Is public transportation a right? Should it be? For those reliant on public transit, the answer is invariably “yes” to both. Indeed, when city officials propose slashing service or raising fares, it is these riders who are often the first to appear at that officials’ door demanding their “right” to more service. This book starts from the presumption that such riders are justified. For those who lack other means of mobility, transit is a lifeline. It offers access to many of the entitlements we take as essential: food, employment, and democratic public life itself. Drawing on a detailed case study of the various struggles that have come to define public transportation in California’s East Bay, the book offers a direct challenge to contemporary scholarship on transportation equity.