Metroshare Unlimited - a little background

A former student asked yesterday where the idea for the campaign came from.  We met at a school for peace and justice, and so I knew he'd see the problem with a city that offers no transit assistance to lower-income residents.  Transit expenses are not optional, which means fare hikes burden people with lower incomes unfairly.  

Several things motivated me to make a campaign out of this idea. I have a long history of one-woman campaigns (vegetarianism, not using disposable water bottles, not ordering take-out, using the stairs instead of elevators). My excuse for going it alone, besides the fact that it's obnoxious to try to convince everyone of everything I believe, has always been that my work is my big campaign. But this year, I'm on sabbatical, which frees up about 65-70 hours a week.  I also get to go to school, and the metroshare logo was part of my final design project for a class I took this fall.

A friend of a friend remarked that if metrosharing becomes very popular, there is likely to be an institutional reaction to the loss of revenue.  She's right, of course, but institutional reactions tend to be really slow, which presents an opportunity for people to take action and lead the way. Among my goals are a cultural shift in favor of sharing resources more equitably (on an institutional basis and as a personal consideration, a la Peter Singer) and transit assistance for low-income people.

Obama's election definitely inspired me.  Community activism has always been important, but now it's enjoying a moment in the sun.  So step into the sunshine this February and metroshare.