Safety Through Support: Why Public Transit Needs Investment, Not Punishment

Charlotte has been in the news recently for reasons no city ever wants to be. What happened on our public transportation system a few weeks ago was a tragedy. It was horrific, and it should never happen to anyone. I will not dwell on the details; they are widely reported elsewhere. Instead, I want to reflect on what this event reveals about public transit, equity, and investment in our city.

The loudest calls in the aftermath have centered on pulling or withholding transit funding as a form of punishment. This is not a solution. Years of underfunding and neglect are part of what brought us here, and removing resources now will only deepen the challenges. Public transit safety does need urgent attention, but financial starvation is not a path to safer systems.

Events like this do not occur in a vacuum. They expose social conditions, both longstanding and recent, that shape who relies on transit, who feels safe using it, and who gets to influence how it is funded and designed. Too often, transit is built in corridors that were once overlooked, near neighborhoods with little political clout. Over time, these same areas become targets for private investment and gentrification, pushing aside the very communities that relied on transit in the first place. We cannot ignore this cycle of inequity when we talk about safety and infrastructure.

The reality is that people need public transit for jobs, healthcare, school, and the basic functions of daily life. Suggesting that cutting funding is a way to fix problems ignores that fact. It also disproportionately harms lower-income riders, who are the least able to absorb the impact of reduced service or unsafe conditions. The broader crises we already face, including unemployment, reliance on social programs, and worsening mental health, will only intensify if transit becomes less safe or less accessible.

Yes, stronger safety measures are required: better oversight, more staff presence, and improved infrastructure. But these must be coupled with consistent, long-term investment and with an acknowledgment that transit safety is tied to housing, social services, and community design. Demonizing transit or using it as a political weapon feeds fear without producing solutions.

If Charlotte, and cities like it, want safer and more equitable transit systems, the answer is not to pull away support but to strengthen it. Investment, transparency, and a recognition of transit as essential infrastructure, not as a political bargaining chip, are what will truly move us forward.