An accessible, safe public transport is a basic service which should be provided by the state, to serve its citizens with equal access to training, employment, and social sites. This kind of public transport would therefore decrease socio-economic gaps between different groups, and additionally would reduce air pollution and raise the quality of life and environment. Safe and pleasant walking and cycling routs are necessary as well, being complimentary modes to the public transport.
In 2011, Transport Today and Tomorrow, with the support of The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, had initiated the project "Transport and Justice Forum". It was the first forum in Israel gathering active citizens from around the country, to deal with the subject of transport and social justice. In its mid-term evaluation, the project appears to be even more successful than we expected, with more than 30 activists working on 13 projects, towards reaching the project objectives and even beyond: the beginning of the implementation stage.
Our vision of the forum is from a long term perspective. It is aimed to be established as a self-supporting framework, led by local and regional actors. For this purpose, in the next few years we find ourselves committed to provide the resources and professional support. The project described below is designed for this purpose of further empowering the forum. first, by supporting the activists in the implementation of their work plans, while increasing their level of independence and leadership. And second, by expanding the forum, to initiate a process of change in more towns in Israel.
General Background: Public Transportation and Social Inclusion
The low service quality of public transport in Israel results in the fact that only 20% of workers commute with public transportation and this number is decreasing every year. This situation does not affect the entire population in an equal manner; it has a deeper impact of disadvantaged communities. The ability to choose residency in vicinity of social and economic centers, to acquire a driver license and to own a private car, together with other physical limitations, are the main factors in the dependency of disadvantaged individuals and populations in the public transportation system. People in this condition of being dependent on a poor public transportation system are called “captives of the public transport” due to the lack of alternatives to choose from.
A poor public transportation system results in social exclusion of two levels: The first is of entire populations within society who regularly suffer various types of exclusion, such as national and ethnical minorities or geographic periphery populations. A second level is structured in the power relations within the household, when certain individuals become dependent on others, such as women, children, and the elders.
This project is aimed to respond the lacks in the transport systems in geographical and social peripheries. It will contribute to the accessibility, safety, health, and social welfare of their inhabitants. By doing so, the project will respond to the needs of entire populations, all the more so to individuals among them suffering a double and triple exclusion. In the long term the project is expected to reduce gaps between towns and social groups, to encourage a discourse of human rights and social justice in the context of mobility, and to promote an active civil society, involved in the process of urban and environmental planning.
The project is designed to address 2 main needs, bound in each other under the vision of a just society. The first, dealing with distributional justice: to fulfill the rights of different populations, especially those of socially excluded communities, to an equal distribution of public goods and the access to them. The second, dealing with procedural justice: to do so by means of civil participation of different publics, through continuous dialogue and common act of solidarity.
In 2011, the framework was built and shaped under the active participation of 30 committed citizens, whose local initiations are currently taking the form of action. The foundation of an active civil forum were set, and we are now addressing the need to establish and empower it, towards a sustainable nationwide network for civil action in the field of transport
Main Projects: Transport Vision for the State of Israel- aiming at shifting transport policies in the national level, Sustainable Transport in Local Municipalities- promoting alternative transport systems by local authorities, Green Commuting project is encouraging employers to expand the choices of commuting for their employees, and Walking Towards the Future- promoting safe and pleasant walking environments within urban space. In The United Forum of organizations- we gathered different organizations promoting public transport from the perspectives of sustainability, social equity, and user's populations such as the religious sector or people with disabilities, to join forces and start working together. In Transport and Justice Forum active citizens, local agents of change, are gathered to create a nationwide network for civil action- the first of its kind in the field of transport.
Transport Today and Tomorrow is in cooperation with The Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Institute of Transport Research in the Technion, the magazine “Traffic & Transport”, “Hadera” cities union, the Porter School Internship Program in Tel-Aviv University, and the following organizations: Life and Environment, SPNI, Adam Teva V'din, Green Course, Merhav, Sikui, Bizchut, Association of the Deaf in Israel, and others.
Project’s integration within our activities
The project is aimed at promoting sustainable transport in peripheral towns in Israel, and by doing so will realize our vision’s principles of just and equal accessibility as well as of environmental improvement. The project is complementary to our current projects, yet crucial for the fulfillment of sustainable transport vision in Israel.
Project’s main goal
The project's main goal is to empower citizens for active involvement in the promotion of equally accessible public transport in Israel.
Short term goals
• To support citizens acting independently to bring their common needs to attention.
• To develop a dialogue, solidarity, and networking between citizens of different social groups.
• To promote the equal accessibility of excluded social groups.
Long term goals
• To strengthen civil society and civil involvement in planning and decision making.
• To decrease social gaps and social exclusion.
• To reduce air pollution and improve quality of the environment.
Objectives
1. Sustaining an active forum of 30, and not less than 20, active members from different towns in Israel, representing the variety of gender, age, ethnic, and geographic groups. The members will participate bi-monthly sessions, work independently outside the sessions, and hold a continuous contact through the web-based forum.
2. At least 10 continuing activists from the 2011 forum will participate, while deepening their commitment and leadership. At least 5 of them will undertake defined roles in the group.
3. At least 10 new activists will join the forum, of which some will integrate into the ongoing teams and some will initiate new projects.
4. Continuing projects will start the process of implementation of their projects.
5. New projects will be initiated in additional towns, including needs mapping and consolidating work plans.
6. The forum will get coverage by the media.
