[bru-info] Fw: For Immediate Release: Bus Riders are Getting Organized To Stop The Fare Incresae

[bru-info at lists.resist.ca]

September 24, 2004

For Immediate Release


Angry at Planned Fare Hike, Bus Riders are Getting Organized


Bus riders across the GVRD are angry and getting organized to stop the proposed bus fare increase. "The impacts of these transit fare increases will be simply devastating to the marginalized and working people who ride the buses every day. We deserve better than fare increases and bus cuts" explains Zailda Chan, an organizer with the Bus Riders Union. On September 29 bus riders will be at the TransLink board meeting, explaining the impacts of poor bus service and high fares on bus riders, particularly women.

"I spend $187 on bus passes every month. I could use this money on food, bills. Things are already tight. Transit is a major expense" explains one transit dependent woman in a testimonial to the BRU. "I cannot afford the price of buses - the salaries are not going up for ordinary people. Transit dependent bus riders are majority women and disproportionately people of colour and Aboriginal people. Chan continues, "The fares are already too high. Increasing the bus fares will be a disaster for bus riders. We are already hit hard by cuts to welfare, employment insurance and other social services". 

The proposed fare increase would be the third fare increase in five years. In the same time period bus riders have seen a decline in bus service. "TransLink claims they need to increase bus fares, but when it comes to building a privatized RAV Skytrain Line for the 2010 Olympics, money is no object. TransLink doesn't need more money. The board needs to re-evaluate their priorities and start respecting the rights of bus riders. TransLink needs to devote their budget towards lowering fares" notes Jennifer Efting, an organizer with the Bus Riders Union. 

The Bus Riders Union, founded in 2001, is a grassroots organization with over 550 members. Recent successes of the BRU include the March 2004 re-instatement of late night buses, won after a hard fought 18 month campaign. Reflecting on the proposed fare hike, Chan reflects, "We will stop this fare increase using the same means we used to win back the late buses. We are prepared to organize and fight. We will be on the buses. We will be in the streets. And we will be in the TransLink boardroom on September 29, demanding an immediate cancellation to the planned fare increase." 

On September 29, at 9:30am the Bus Riders Union Women In Transit team will be holding a press conference at Coquitlam City Hall (3000 Guilford Way) on the planned fare increase and the experiences of transit dependent women. After the press conference, women bus riders will attend the 10:00am TransLink meeting and make their voices heard.

**TO SPEAK AT TRANSLINK

Register to speak by 8am on Monday September 27 at http://www.translink.bc.ca/WhatsNewandBoardMeetings/Delegations/default.asp (For more info call the BRU at 215-2775)

**TRANSIT INFO TO COQUITLAM CITY HALL

8:13am at Main and Hastings take the #160 Port Coquitlam Station via Barnet 

to Coquitlam Central Station

9:05am transfer to the C28 POrt Moody Station via Noon's Creek

arrive at Coquitlam City Hall at 9:08am.

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