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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.

(Everyone knows that Dana is one of the Board members for the Southern California Transit Advocates, right?  Good. - DN)

In perhaps the strongest sign yet of just how politically potent the statewide high speed rail project has become, a bid by a Republican Assemblywoman to squelch the project has fallen flat (Assembly Bill 2121) and as a face-saving move the bill has been amended to merely mandate the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) submit funding reports as it goes forward with the project.

There seems real buzz for the 30 in 10 concept, even in policy circles back in D.C.

As the Los Angeles Department of Transportation prepares for five public hearings next month and in early March, activists are responding to their proposed series of cuts and fare hikes that will close the city's budget hole...at least when it comes to it's transit services.  Unlike the reaction we saw two years ago when Metro outlined a series of major cuts to its bus service, transit advocacy groups are not nearly as unified in opposing these cuts as they were two years ago.  For more information on LADOT's public outreach and other options to submit testimony, read the LADOT press release, available on Streetsblog here.

Sick of transit funding being stolen by the state and want to do something about it? You can help gather signatures for placing on the November ballot the Local Taxpayer, Public Safety and Transportation Act. A packet of petitions can be requested via this online form. They will come in the snail mail with detailed instructions. The deadline to get petitions in for validation is mid-April. I have some and will in the coming weeks be gathering signatures on buses, trains and at transit nodes like Union Station.

Local transit advocates are reacting with fury to the Governor's rumored plan to skirt a court ruling requiring that the state stop robbing transit funds dedicated in the gas tax by completely revoking the tax and reinstating it as an excise tax.

Two weeks ago, I celebrated that the Metrolink Board agreed to "look into other options" rather than raise fares by 6%.