Going from transportation education to advocacy in 3 steps
“Educate, Agitate, Organize” -- a classic formula for winning
If YouTube channel views and likes were calls to elected officials, we would have high speed rail networks across the US by now. A search of “high speed rail america” brings up dozens of videos about why our country should build high speed rail and what it could look like. These videos have tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of views and thousands of likes. Meanwhile, the High Speed Rail Alliance’s petition calling on federal funding for High Speed Rail has under 16,000 signers.
While petitions are far from the only tool for pressuring elected officials to take action, it’s a telling example of how the transportation movement is great at educating people and getting them wanting more. But our movement has difficulty translating that education into action. This is a vital area of potential growth because education doesn’t win change– action does.
(I also don’t mean to pick on High Speed Rail alone, the dynamic is similar in other car-free/car-lite transportation areas as well)
Big transportation changes like bike lane networks, new rail lines, and significant service improvements entail bucking the status quo, and often cost millions to billions of dollars. That takes a lot of hard work to do. Politicians don’t do that sort of thing unless they are consistently pressured to do it.
Applying that sort of pressure takes a lot of people taking a lot of action. The great news is that we have a lot of people on our side already. This is in part due to the transit, bike, and street safety content creators who put out media like YouTube channels, technical explainers, and infographics.
These content creators get people excited for change by explaining the flaws in our transportation system and how it could be better. Whether it’s via TikToks or think-pieces, they are creating an entryway for an audience to join the transportation movement. That’s a powerful first step. So let’s take a look at some additional steps that can help move people from being information receivers to action-takers.
Name the names of the authorities who have the power to fix things today. Whether it’s a missing sidewalk or a missing transit line, someone is responsible. Someone has the official power to address the problem. Educating members of the general public about the problem gets people energized, but people’s energy needs to be channeled somewhere for it to have an impact. When we name names, (or at least titles like Mayor or County Supervisor), we make it easier for the newly energized audience to direct their energy towards the responsible parties. E.g. “This intersection is dangerous and the Mayor can fix it.”
Equip and encourage people to contact the person responsible. Getting people riled up about something and telling them who is responsible for fixing the problem is good. It’s even better when you help people make that direct connection to the authorities. Whether they want to call, email, or show up at their office to do it face-to-face; help people make their demands to the right person! The person who needs to step up is likely a public figure so their contact information (or their office’s contact information) is public information. Share it. E.g. “This intersection is dangerous and the Mayor can fix it, and the Mayor’s phone number is _______”
Focus the demand on a specific action. Politicians don’t have a magic wand and transportation problems are often convoluted issues involving a variety of decision-makers. You don’t want a politician to just agree with you that something is a problem and “somebody should do something.” You need them to use the power they have to move the situation forward. Even if they can’t fix everything themselves, make specific actionable demands of them to pressure them to do their part. Do not let them wriggle out of responsibility by pointing out the inaction of others. Hold them to account for the actions that THEY can take. E.g. “This intersection is dangerous, the Mayor can fix it, their office phone number is _________, and ask that they direct the public works department to do a Curb Extension so cars slow down and people have more space.” or “This intersection is dangerous, the Mayor can fix it, so please sign this petition asking that they direct the public works department to do a Curb Extension so cars slow down and people have more space. Once we hit ____ signers, we’ll deliver it to the Mayor directly!”
With these three simple steps, transportation content creators can help their audiences take action and make change a reality faster. It is great that our movement generates so much excitement among people and the more we channel that energy into pressure on politicians the more we’ll win!
Need help winning transportation changes in your community? I’m here to help! Whether you want a 1-on-1 training session or a group workshop, let’s talk. Email me at Carter@carterlavin.com to set something up. Here’s a bit about what training sessions are like
Upcoming Bay Area events:
The Craft of Transit: Craft Ride from Lake Merritt to San Jose Flea Market
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