Ramya Vijaya

Low-income Americans have borne the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic. They may also get left behind in the recovery. Steep declines in ridership during the crisis have pushed public transit systems across the U.S. into deep financial distress. Though Congress included allocations for transit in the CARES Act, cities said it won’t be nearly enough. Even major systems in large metro areas like New York City and Washington, D.C., have serious concerns about long-term survival without more sustained support. Failure of transit systems would be a disaster for the large proportion of low income households that depend on buses and…