Bus Rider’s Union

For part two of our interview, click here.  Or, see all our video from the event at our YouTube page.

Westsiders like to complain that for years their part of the city has been left out when it comes to transit expansion.  Now that Metro is proposing three high-profile transit projects, a rampant strain of NIMBYism is endangering all three in one form or another.

The long-term impacts to transportation funding as a result of the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) civil rights compliance probe of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) won't be clear for some time, but the action by the federal administration has transportation policy circles buzzing. Experts in civil rights and regional planning policy couldn't point to another instance of a metropolitan planning organization (MPO) like the MTC being required to submit to similar scrutiny from the FTA, while social justice advocates felt vindicated for their longstanding contention of discrimination in transportation funding.

Looking over the agenda for the Metro Board meeting Thursday I see no sign of any items being included relating to the impending fare increase and/or the holding of any public hearings to consider a delay or rescinding of same.

Saturday two transit events will be occurring that may be of interest, and by coincidence both commence at 9:30 a.m.

This Saturday, May 15th, the Bus Riders Union will hold its monthly meeting at Immanuel Presbyterian Church (3300 Wilshire Blvd. #1200 -- two blocks west of Vermont) starting at 10 A.M.

Yesterday, the Bus Riders Union rallied in front of City Hall with representatives from CalPIRG, the Los Angeles County Bike Coalition, the National Resources Defense Council, the Clean Air Coalition and Transportation for America Campaign as part of a day of activism against fare increases and service cuts for transit agencies around the country.  Their event was mirrored in ten other cities around the country as activists nationwide spurred their legislators to provide relief to the nation's struggling transit agencies.  As you would expect, the BRU and their allies focused their fire at Metro's planned fare increases that are on deck for July and repeated their demand that the agency hold a new hearing on the hikes and the nearly 400,000 hours of service cuts.  Hearings on the changes were held years ago as part of a "fare restructuring" proposal that was supposed to raise the fares last year.  Those increases were delayed with the passage of Measure R.

(editor's note: Everyone knows that a guest editorial, such as this one, does not represent an Official View of any particular group, right?  Good. - DN)

Earlier this morning, the Bus Rider's Union rallied at the Wilshire/Western Transit Station to urge the Metro Board to not go forward with planned fare hikes for Metro bus and rail services until a full public hearing schedule is announced and executed. In May of 2007, the Metro Board adopted a motion to increase fares on July 1 of that year and again on July 1, 2009. As part of Measure R, the 2009 fare increase was postponed until this year. As a result, the BRU is pushing for an open hearing process, because by the day of the new fares, it will have been over three years since the last hearing on the hikes. From their press release: