Originally published on Inside Policy & Politics on Chron.com on July 22, 2021.

Written by Mariela Rea

Mariela is an inaugural Harris Fellow and is working in the office of Commissioner Adrian Garcia.

Harris County is often most commonly associated with the city of Houston, given its economic revenue and endless prospects as the largest city in Texas as well as a leading provider in jobs, education, and healthcare services. However, there are still surrounding cities which lack access to crucial educational and job prospects within Harris County. In fact the city of Pasadena, the second largest city within Harris County, has no direct line to Houston whereas other surrounding cities are set to have a straight line of access with the implementation of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County’s (METRO) Next Moving Forward Plan.^[1] Additionally, Pasadena, while being home to over 150,000 residents, lacks complete access to public transportation.^[2] According to Teresa Vazquez-Evans, formerly associated with Pasadena’s Office of Development and Grants, around 11% of residents did not have access to a vehicle in 2017.^[3]

Whilst Pasadena does offer commuting services to the elderly as well as residents with permanent disabilities, there are no local transit services assisting members of the community who lack transportation. The nearest METRO stops located on Richey Street and Allen Genoa are all outside of Pasadena. These stops are an average 34 minute walk from the nearest area of Pasadena, not taking into account residents who don’t live along the west side city border. Currently METRO services are moving forward with the METRO Next Moving Forward Plan, granting neighboring cities such as Spring, Katy, Sugar Land, Fairfield, and Missouri City, some of which are outside of Harris County, new or improved transit to Houston.^[4]

In contrast, Pasadena has been without access to public transportation since 2012 when Pasadena’s bus services, which averaged 4,000 monthly boardings, was cancelled.^[5] Although Mayor Jeff Wagner proposed the reinstatement of public bus services in 2017, the plan never came to fruition leaving low income communities without access to affordable mobility within the city, and failing to “respond to the needs of the city’s Latinos,” which make up over 70% of the city’s overall population.^[6]

As the city of Pasadena continues to grow in population, access to public transportation is more crucial than ever. Either through local bus services or by utilizing METRO services, residents need reliable transportation. Raul Camarillo, Jr., a Pasadena resident and a member of Precinct 2’s community relations team, said a common denominator when speaking to residents was the fact that there’s no entity providing transportation to METRO’s bus routes that lie outside of the border of Pasadena.

Lacking mobility within the city as well as access to Houston not only impacts older individuals but students as well. University of Houston student Karla Rodriguez said, “I have had trouble commuting to the University of Houston for three years since I do not have access to public transportation. Usually I have to depend on rides or on Uber.” When asked about the availability and affordability of vehicles for students, Rodriguez replied, “Even if I did have a vehicle I would rather use public transportation since parking can be extremely expensive.”. Lastly, when asked about how transportation impacts her overall college experience, Rodriguez answered, “It has been hard as a student to be more involved with my campus since I have to figure out how I’m going to get there and back. I feel like having a bus line or having metro services implemented in Pasadena would make a great difference for students who have to constantly travel to Houston.”

As the second largest city in Harris County, Pasadena needs direct access to public transportation. Transit isn’t only a necessity for low income communities. It is also a requirement in expanding access to education and employment. As a growing community both in population and economic terms, it’s time for Pasadena to be on par with other neighboring cities. I strongly urge Mayor Jeff Wagner to implement public transit for the city of Pasadena and a direct line to the city of Houston.

The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author.

^[1] METRONext Moving Forward Plan | METRO | Houston, TX | Public Transit (ridemetro.org)

^[2] U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Pasadena city, Texas

^[3] Pasadena Residents Will Once Again Have Public Transit – Houston Public Media

^[4] METRONext-Moving-Forward-Plan-Summary.pdf (ridemetro.org)

^[5] Pasadena Residents Will Once Again Have Public Transit – Houston Public Media

^[6] Plan to revive public bus service in Pasadena stalls (chron.com)