[bru-info] For Immediate Release: Women Say No to Bus Fare Increase

[bru-info at lists.resist.ca]

September 28, 2004
For Immediate Release


Women Say No To Bus Fare Increase 

Bus Riders Union to reveal plan to stop fare increase 

Women from the Bus Riders Union plan on making September 29, 2004 a day that TransLink board members will not soon forget. The Bus Riders Union, a grassroots organization well known for holding TransLink accountable for their anti-democratic decisions, are declaring this Wednesday 'Women Speak out to TransLink Day'. "We are the women who ride the bus, and we will not be ignored any longer. TransLink needs to be held accountable for poor bus service and this outrageous fare hike" says Kirat Kaur, an organizer with the Bus Riders Union (BRU). 


"We are treated like sardines," protests one transit dependent woman. "I don't have equal access to transit because I can't stand with small children and there often isn't seating available," notes another. Yet another transit dependent woman says, "Don't cut this bus. It hurts my heart." Transit dependent bus riders are majority women and disproportionately people of colour and Aboriginal people. "When TransLink raises fares, cuts bus service and refuses to buy wheelchair accessible buses, it is women, particularly women of colour and Aboriginal women, who are hurt the most. We refuse to stand for this transit racism anymore" states Kaur.

Bus Riders Union organizers, in their bright orange t-shirts, have become a familiar sight on the buses of the GVRD since the launch of the union in 2001. Women from the BRU have talked to hundreds of women on the buses, in community centres, high schools, colleges and universities. Kaur stresses, "Women have many different experiences, but all the women we spoke to over the last 9 months were resoundingly united in their opposition to the fare increase. Women can't afford bus fares as they are!" 

"TransLink must improve bus service and centre it around women's lives" continues Kaur. "They must not raise the bus fares - it will absolutely be a disaster for the women who ride the bus. The buses are late, they are not wheelchair accessible, and they do not run where or when we need them. We will not accept this proposed fare increase ". 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." notes Jennifer Efting, an organizer with the Bus Riders Union. 

Women from the Bus Riders Union will be holding a press conference at 9:30am on September 29 at Coquitlam City Hall, where they will reveal their plans to stop the proposed bus fare increase, and outline the known impacts of the fare hike and bad transit service on women who depend on the bus to get around. After the press conference they will attend the 10a.m. TransLink meeting and make women's voices heard.

Media Contact:
Kirat Kaur, 604-215-2775 (BRU Office)

-30-

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.resist.ca/pipermail/bru-info/attachments/20040928/b04692f3/attachment.html>