[bru-info] Bus Riders Win Night Owl Buses!

[bru-info at lists.resist.ca]

Tuesday, March 23, 2004
***  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  ***

Bus Riders Win Back Night Owl Buses!


After over 18 months of organizing in the community, Bus Riders Union 
organizers were thrilled with today's victory at the TransLink Board 
meeting; a victory which saw the return of full Night Owl bus service 
seven nights a week!

"This is a very important victory for bus riders" says Bus Riders Union 
organizer Yang Chang.  "Winning back the Night Owl Buses shows that when 
working class and marginalized people work together we can effectively 
fight back attacks on our basic rights."

"This small step toward social justice in the regional transit system 
took over 18 months of hard work and the efforts of hundreds of bus 
riders who have been involved in this campaign.  Finally the curfew is 
lifted, and transit-dependent people have the late night bus service we 
need.  But there are many more barriers to overcome in public transit."

Bus riders have been without late night bus service for over 2 years 
since TransLink cut the Night Owl buses in October 2001.  The Bus Riders 
Union has documented the hardship experienced by bus riders, 
particularly low-wage late night workers in the report Night Owl Buses: 
Towards Social Justice in Our Region.  At the TransLink meeting today, 
the impact was driven home by delegations from the South Asian Youth 
Alliance, the Filipino Nurses Support Group, Vancouver Rape Relief, the 
Palestine Community Centre, the Canadian Auto Workers Local 111, Simon 
Fraser Students Society, the Canadian Federation of Students, Sam Bradd 
from SFU's Out on Campus, and the Women in Transit team.

"Women, particularly women of colour, are concentrated in low wage, 
night shift, temporary and part-time work," said Kirat Kaur of the Women 
in Transit team, "they already have to bear much of the responsibilities 
for household work and childcare.  A transit system that does not get 
them where they need to go, when they need to go there, further adds to 
their marginalized status in society.  The cuts to Night Owl bus service 
are an attack on women's rights to independence and mobility, an attack 
on our rights to employment and financial security, and an attack on our 
right to safety."

After an hour of powerful presentations from the community, TransLink 
Directors uncharacteristically voted against staff recommendations and 
responded to grassroots pressure to provide the much-needed late night 
service.  Directors told staff to find a way to include the Night Owl 
buses in this year's budget, but the timeline for getting the service up 
and running is still to be determined.

"This is a victory for all transit dependent people, in particular 
low-wage night workers, who are mostly people of colour from Aboriginal, 
immigrant and refugee communities," says Chang.  "The need in these 
communities for late night public transit was addressed by the 
delegations that spoke out at the TransLink meeting today.  These 
communities face multiple attacks on the right to public services such 
as public transit, health care, welfare, education, legal aid, women's 
centres and the list goes on."

"The Bus Riders Union looks forward to continuing the fight for more 
buses and lower fares for transit dependent people.  We support working 
class and marginalized communities in the struggle for social and 
economic justice."

Media Contacts:
Bus Riders Union Office 604 215 2775
Jennifer Efting 604 255 4745

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