[bru-info] Bus Riders Beat Fare Increase! Another grassroots victory

[bru-info at lists.resist.ca]

September 28, 2004
For Immediate Release

Bus Riders Defeat Fare Increase!
A $41 million dollar victory for bus riders in the GVRD

In the second victory in less than 12 months, bus riders once again struck
a blow for justice at the regional TransLink Board.  “Today we beat the
unjust fare increase that TransLink planned to impose on bus riders
throughout the region” states Kirat Kaur of the Bus Riders Union.  “We
struggled long and hard to have the voices of transit-dependant women
heard at the TransLink Board.  We organized women to speak out on the
hardships they face due to TransLink policy and planning, we spent time in
our communities hearing the experiences and ideas of transit-dependant
women, and we rode the bus and talked directly to women who are already
struggling to pay high fares.  Months of organizing transit-dependant
women in our communities have finally paid-off.  What bus riders have
achieved today is to keep 41 million dollars in the pockets of bus riders
throughout the Lower Mainland” explains Kirat Kaur of the Bus Riders
Union.  This is a tremendous victory for our communities.”

After hearing delegations from transit-dependant women, angry bus riders,
and organizers with the Bus Riders Union, the motion to move the planned
January 2005 fare increase ahead to public consultation was defeated in a
narrow 6-6 vote at the TransLink Board.  This vote quashed the fare
increase, which cannot proceed without public consultation.  “While
municipal Mayors and Councilors voted to defeat this increase, it was
ultimately the hard work of bus riders that achieved this momentous
victory for transit-dependant bus riders.  The Bus Riders Union
acknowledges and appreciates the support of municipal Councilors and
Progressive mayors,” says Jennifer Efting, a Bus Riders Union organizer,
“yet it was pressure from the grassroots and hard-hitting presentations
from the community that swayed the vote of four TransLink Board members
who had previously voted in favour of the increase.  It is important to
recognize that the community-based work of our organizers and the
commitment of the transit-dependant in this region ensured that justice
was done for our communities.”

“We are happy and relieved to see this fare increase defeated”, says Kaur,
“however, we know that women are still struggling to pay high fares.  We
know that children’s fares are still the highest in Canada.  We know that
women and our families suffer from inadequate bus service.  We will keep
on struggling until TransLink builds a public transit system that truly
meets the needs of transit-dependant women throughout the region!”

“We will be watching the TransLink Board with heightened awareness over
the coming month to ensure that this victory remains in the hands of the
people who rely on public transit for their daily lives” concludes Efting,
“and we will keep organizing on the buses throughout the region for more
buses and lower fares.  Until the fare goes down and the bus fleet is
massively expanded, we will be here fighting!”

Media Contacts:
Kirat Kaur:  604-215-2775 (BRU office)
Jennifer Efting:  604-255-4745

Bus Riders Union
407-119 West Pender Street, Vancouver
(604) 215-2775
http://bru.resist.ca/
bru at resist.ca