MBTA?s 120 bus moves through East Boston. New legislation proposed by Rep. Ayanna Pressley would help cities make transit fare-free. | Photo by Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

?You can?t do the work of equity and racial justice without centering public transit.? As the daughter of a single mother without access to a vehicle, riding public transportation was not only a part of Representative Ayanna Pressley?s daily life growing up in Chicago, it shaped her perspective of the world. ?Using trains to get to school, to access fresh and healthy foods ? which was always a challenge because where there are transit deserts, there are food deserts as well,? she says. ?My own experiences have informed my understanding of how important transit is.? Now the congresswoman ? and Squad member ? represents Massachusetts? Seventh Congressional District, a diverse swath of the Boston metropolitan area home to enviable transportation assets like handsome brick sidewalks, bike highways, and a bustling regional rail system. Yet the Seventh District is also one of the most unequal places in the country: In Boston, the median net worth for white households, which make up a third of the population, is $247,500; for Black households, which make up a quarter of the city?s population, it?s $8. Yes, $8. For Pressley, connecting those economic disparities with the availability of transit options was obvious.
?I do believe that a lack of access to transportation ? to accessible, a...