Having a car of your own makes your life much easier than you think it would. You feel independent. You can go anywhere you want. You have more opportunities for self-care, childcare, shopping, and jobbing, etc. You don’t depend on public transportation, which is nothing more than a sort of continuous suffering. Having a car pushes you up the socio-economic ladder.
The situation is the opposite when you don’t have a car and this is a problem that low-income families are facing in our society. The poor community of our society is facing this problem as a result of income inequality. Income inequality is what makes the rich, richer, and poor, poorer. As a result, they face social and economic problems.
Transportation planners and experts have been reflecting for fifty years upon the idea of subsidizing vehicles, and whether they should be used for the economic and social mobility as well as the well-being of the poor in the United States. It is agreed that this is the best way of helping low-income families.
Vehicles For Change (VFC), the most established vehicle access program in the US, decided to publish in a journal on 9 September 2020. This article talked about the change that people felt in their lives after owning a car of their own with the help of this non-profit organization’s efforts.
30 people gave interviews and talked about their experiences about exchanging old cars with new ones, or buying new cars. They said that VFC had saved them from paying more money for less reliable cars in the open markets.
Interviewees explained how their lives have been changed dramatically. They have more opportunities since they are mobile now. The participants mentioned how they are now moving up the social and economic hierarchy and there is more ease in their lives. They are enjoying better lifestyles with more healthcare and job opportunities. With more mobility, they claim to be working in better and high-paying places. As a result of this upgrade, their children now study in better schools.
VFC has been working since 1999 for the welfare of the poor and has provided approximately 6000 vehicles to the people of Maryland and Virginia. The critics claim that providing cars on such a large scale will increase environmental pollution and will impose burdens on car owners, but the new owners do not agree.
VFC is the only company in the country that has been thinking about the welfare of the poor for years. According to VFC, providing vehicles to low-income families has greatly improved their standard of living.
