Public transportation like buses, trains and light rail are vital functions of our communities. Thousands of folks in Durham who do not have cars (and many who do) have long relied on local transportation options like GoDurham, GoTriangle and services Duke University provides for its staff and students.

What would Durham be like if, in the words of People for Mobility Justice, "People have the freedom and resources to move in public spaces with love and dignity"? Without public transportation, thousands of folks could not get to work, do their shopping and visit others. Given all of the above, public transportation ought to be easy to use, safe, low or no cost, timely and reliable. As a key element of community mobility - traveling to the essential locations of our daily lives - we may even see it is a human right.

At the community level, where do families use public transportation most? Is it equally easy to use transit in each of our communities? What are the aspects of our neighborhoods that make it easier or harder to use buses and other transit options?

"Public transportation" in this national data set refers to buses, trolleys, streetcars, subways and el trains, railroads, or ferryboats. As with all measurements from the American Community Survey in the Neighborhood Compass, this data represents 5 years' worth of surveying. With each annual update, the 5-year period advances by dropping one year and incorporating the next. For this reason, annual releases of this ACS product are not suitable for true time series comparison until no overlap exists among the survey periods.

Source: American Community Survey (ACS)