By Dr. Aisha Thornton
If we are serious about cutting greenhouse gas emissions, we must talk about cars. Not electric cars, not self-driving cars—cars, period. In the United States, transportation is the single largest source of carbon emissions, and the vast majority of that comes from personal vehicles.
The common climate narrative is that replacing gas-powered cars with electric ones will solve the problem. But even the cleanest EVs take up the same space, perpetuate sprawl, and demand the same resource-intensive infrastructure. Without a fundamental shift toward public transit, we risk locking ourselves into a future that is lower-carbon but still unjust, inaccessible, and unsustainable.
The Inequity Built into Our Streets
Transit is not just a climate issue—it’s a justice issue. Poor and working-class communities, particularly communities of color, are far more likely to rely on public transportation, yet they receive the poorest service. Bus lines in low-income neighborhoods often run infrequently, with long waits and unreliable schedules, making it harder to get to work, school, or medical appointments.
Meanwhile, wealthier suburbs are more likely to receive road expansions and highway improvements—investments that further entrench car dependency. This creates a vicious cycle: the communities that would benefit most from robust transit are the ones least served by it.
Why EVs Won’t Save Us Alone
Electric vehicles are often presented as a climate silver bullet. They’re not. Replacing the entire U.S. car fleet with EVs would still require massive amounts of lithium, cobalt, and nickel—minerals often mined in ways that harm both the environment and vulnerable communities abroad.
Worse, a wholesale EV transition leaves the inequities of our current transit system intact. Those who can’t afford an EV remain stuck with inadequate options, while sprawling development patterns continue to sprawl.
Transit as Climate Policy
Expanding and improving public transit is one of the most effective and equitable forms of climate action. A full bus can replace 40 cars on the road. Frequent, reliable trains and buses not only reduce emissions—they create economic opportunity, improve public health, and free up urban space for housing and green infrastructure.
The numbers back it up: in cities where transit frequency increased by 10 percent, ridership climbed by nearly 15 percent, even without major fare reductions. The climate benefits compound when better service attracts drivers out of their cars.
A Plan for Transit Justice
True transit justice requires coordinated action on three fronts:
Investment – Federal and state funding must prioritize bus rapid transit, light rail, and high-frequency service in underserved areas.
Integration – Fare systems, routes, and schedules should be seamlessly linked across city and regional boundaries.
Inclusion – Planning processes must actively involve the communities most affected, ensuring that new infrastructure serves their needs first.
Climate policy that ignores transit justice is climate policy that will fail. We cannot build a sustainable future on a foundation of asphalt, congestion, and inequity.
If we want a climate plan that works for everyone, we need to remember this: the road to a livable planet may not be a road at all.
