Portland, Oregon is experimenting with a way to provide a wide range of transportation options if people surrender their parking pass. | Shutterstock.com

Guaranteeing Americans universal access to opportunity would be transformative ?I believe in the concept of universality,? said Sen. Bernie Sanders at last night?s Democratic presidential debate. ?And one of the crises in America today is people are sick and tired of filling out forms.?
Universality has come up a lot in the current presidential campaign. Candidates have proposals for universal child care, universal health care, universal rent control, and, what prompted Sanders? comment, universal free college. And, of course, there?s entrepreneur Andrew Yang?s universal basic income proposal to give every American over 18 a ?freedom dividend? of $1,000 per month. What we?re not hearing much about are proposals for universal transportation access, which could arguably have a much bigger impact on the country than these other programs.
Reorganizing our transit system to be accessible, equitable, and sustainable for all could solve many of the everyday problems faced by Americans. Our current transportation system is the U.S.?s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, a leading cause of death, and a massive financial burden on American households?the lower-income the family, the greater the percentage of their income is spent on transportation.
But efforts to make transportation more financially accessible, like ...