[bru-info] For Immediate Release: BRU wins 45 expansion buses!

[bru-info at lists.resist.ca]

April 18, 2007
For Immediate Release


Bus Riders Union Wins 45 Expansion Buses
 Urges TransLink to Buy 55 more buses in May

After over a year of riding the buses talking to bus riders, well-attended
monthly meetings and a poster campaign, the Bus Riders Union won a partial
victory today for its campaign Ride With Dignity: 500 Buses by 2010! Stop
Privatization!  The TransLink Board was persuaded to vote in favour of
buying 45 buses to arrive in late 2008 after hearing over 12 delegations
from BRU members and allies.

The Bus Riders Union's photo display of overcrowded buses and long line ups
was front and centre at this meeting, as a crowd of over a dozen orange-clad
BRU members waited patiently to make their case to the TransLink Board.
Allies from SIKLAB (a Filipino Workers' Organization) and the UBC Alma Mater
Society also spoke out for more buses.  The testimonies of the BRU members
and allies made it clear that this initial purchase of 45 buses is only the
first step in alleviating the crisis of overcrowding and long waits.

BRU member Shera Rael shared her experience of inadequate service in
Richmond, "There is no service along River Road although there are plenty of
people who cannot drive. When I cannot get a ride with my boyfriend to the
bus stop, I have to walk an hour to the nearest bus stop or take a taxi,
which costs $13."

According to BRU organizer Beth Grayer, "TransLink has a $50 million surplus
from its 2006 budget. This money must go into bus and service expansion, not
stockpiled to pay for the impending debt created by TransLink's private
mega-projects."  Rael also spoke out against privatization, declaring, "This
is no longer public transit. It is a money making machine for the private
sector."

In May, the TransLink Board will consider a report from staff on the
possibility of further bus purchases and service expansion in 2008. Says
Grayer, "This is TransLink's opportunity to make a significant impact on the
crisis of overcrowding and long waits. Seven years ago TransLink promised
riders a bus fleet of 1600 by 2005. Now they can start to fulfill that
promise and give bus riders a downpayment on the 500 buses needed to
alleviate the crisis.

Earlier in the day, the Bus Riders Union released an interim report on the
Ride With Dignity Community Research Project, which outlines the experiences
of transit dependent people in the region and the history of the
underfunding of the bus system. This report is available on-line at http:
//bru.vcn.bc.ca and from the Bus Riders Union.

-30-



-- 
Bus Riders Union
672 East Broadway St.
Vancouver BC
V5T 1X6
http://bru.vcn.bc.ca/
604-215-2775
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