[bru-info] Huge Banner Promotes Fare Strike to Main Street Bus Riders

[bru-info at lists.resist.ca]

Huge 15 ft Orange Banner Promotes Fare Strike to Main Street Bus Riders

 
 At 7am this morning a group of bus riders supportive of the Bus Riders Union (BRU) fare strike hung a large 15-foot long banner off the side of the Georgia Street Viaduct over Main Street to promote the system wide fare strike going into effect next week.  The banner proclaims, "Fare Strike! November 14-18".  In keeping with the BRU's recognition that many transit dependent people speak languages other than English, the message is also translated into Chinese, Punjabi and Spanish.  
 
"This fare strike is an opportunity for bus riders to show our collective strength and demand that TransLink make transit dependent people the first priority" says Zailda Chan, BRU organizer.  The BRU, known for their distinctive orange t-shirts and innovative, grassroots organizing style, is making three demands of the TransLink board.  Explains Chan, "Lower fares and more clean air buses are our first demand.  Our second demand is: Safety Now: Reduce Overcrowding, Increase Service.  And our third demand is Justice for Riders: No Racial Profiling and disband the Skytrain Police Force".  
 
The BRU organized a fare strike in January 2005 that saw 5000 bus riders participate in one day. The strike next week is anticipated to have even more impact on TransLink's bottom line.  Notes Chan, "bus riders are deeply impacted by the right wing decisions of the TransLink board since their inception in 1997- we need to fight back collectively".  In the last 5 years fares have gone up 40% while overall bus service hours have decreased.  At the same time, 1.9 billion dollars is promised to a privatized rapid transit Line to the Airport - while 80% of transit users ride the bus exclusively. The Bus Riders Union has a membership of over 850 people and has been organizing in the GVRD since 2001.

Call 604-215-2775 or email bru at resist.ca to get involved in the fare strike as an organizer or supporter.



 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.resist.ca/pipermail/bru-info/attachments/20051109/874cf144/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: IMG_0082.JPG
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 79764 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.resist.ca/pipermail/bru-info/attachments/20051109/874cf144/attachment.jpe>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: IMG_0081.JPG
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 103923 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.resist.ca/pipermail/bru-info/attachments/20051109/874cf144/attachment-0001.jpe>