Phone as Transport

For as long as I can remember starting in undergrad, I was hearing about the death of distance theory and how technology would bring us closer together. Telecommuting was going to be the answer to our transportation problems but as we learn more from the impacts of the pandemic it can be a double edged sword.

As technology use increases and more things are done online, the more important it is to be able to call a real person if something isn’t working. You all KNOW that many times those bots or automated phone trees don’t have the answer you’re looking for.

The early telecommunications revolutions of the telegraph and telephone could put you in touch with a real person who likely knew how to get things done. And since then it’s been one part of a larger system for those who did not benefit from a car oriented transportation system.

Many more people are non-drivers than we realize as our friend Anna Zivarts notes in her book When Driving is Not an Option which we discussed with her and SPUR’s Laura Tolkoff last summer. This knowledge makes some of the cuts that the Trump administration is making more confounding.

Cuts to the IRS, cuts to phone service for social security for seniors. These are systems that benefit from human interaction but many have a hard time getting to an office in person. Driving is not an option for them. So they must ask a friend or family member. And sometimes that creates shame or insecurity.

We shouldn’t be reducing people’s options to connect but expand them. Create more opportunities to talk with real people on the phone or the internet. More transportation policy that benefits everyone no matter their ability. More care, more trust, more humanity.