[bru-info] 6 BRU Organizers arrested for standing up for their rights!

[bru-info at lists.resist.ca]

Public Service Announcement
6 BRU Organizers Arrested for Standing Up for their Rights!


October 18, 2005
10:30pm

Vancouver -- 6 Bus Riders Union organizers were arrested today for
participating in a sit-in at Vancouver City Hall. The organizers were part
of a group of transit-dependent people who held a rally outside City Hall
calling for Transit for All!, and later went into Council Chambers and
disrupted a City Council meeting.

The peaceful protestors were demanding that the City of Vancouver cancel
the $29 million it has committed to building RAV line stations, and spend
the money on lowering transit fares and putting more buses on the roads -
things that bus riders sorely need. The protestors also drew attention to
the hypocritical stance of the City of Vancouver wanting to portray itself
as a "Peace city" and welcoming the world to the World Peace Forum in
Vancouver next year, while it commits to doing business with war profiteer
SNC Lavalin - the Canadian multinational corporation that has been given
the contract for RAV.

The protest and sit-in came after months and months of negotiations with
TransLink directors and Vancouver City Councillors to lower fares and make
them affordable for everyone. Bus riders and community organizations made
countless presentations about how high fares affect us, and the Bus Riders
Union met with TransLink board members to pressure them to lower fares.
TransLink board members' inaction to prioritize affordable transit has
forced bus riders to up the ante and hold them accountable through
nonviolent civil disobedience.

The Bus Riders Union will be continuing to take action for lower fares in
the upcoming weeks leading up to the municipal elections. We are calling
for a week-long fare strike from November 14th to 18th. This fare strike
will allow bus riders to voice our protest to high fares and send a
message to TransLink that we are organized and ready to fight for our
right to mobility!



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