[Busriders-van] TransLink Opts to Continue Curfew on Bus Riders

[Martha and Aiyanas]

*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ***
JUNE 25, 2003

TransLink Opts to Continue Curfew on Bus Riders


    In a showdown with the TransLink Board of Directors, the Bus Riders 
Union called on the regional transit authority to lift the curfew on 
transit dependent people, by reinstating full 7 day/week Night Owl bus 
service.  During today's TransLink Board meeting, as Board members opted 
to extend night bus service on only Fridays and Saturdays, BRU organizer 
Beth Grayer rose to condemn this decision which leaves bus riders in the 
cold 5 day of the week.  Following a public statement by Grayer, members 
of the Bus Riders Union walked out of the meeting in protest.

    "We demand an end to the curfew now!" said Grayer, 22, who works for 
a grassroots women's organization.  "Bus riders can't wait for studies 
and these delays when our time, safety, and economic livelihoods are at 
stake.  This curfew is systemic racism in practice, an attack on 
marginalized people and communities in this region.  The Bus Riders 
Union will not stand by while TransLink perpetuates this injustice 
against bus riders. Bus riders all over this region are enraged at this 
complete disregard for their rights and well being, and we will take 
action. If you do not have the political will to do the right thing, to 
bring back the night owl buses, there will be no peace in this boardroom!"

    Earlier in the meeting Bus Riders Union delegates made presentations 
to the Board, attempting to impress upon them the importance of Night 
Owl bus service to low-wage night workers, who are mostly women and 
disproportionately from immigrant and refugee communities.

    "The central problem here is that TransLink is disconnected from the 
experiences of actual transit users," said Cameron Dean, a Bus Riders 
Union delegate and student at Simon Fraser University.  "How many of you 
are enslaved to low-wage jobs? How many of you have no choice but to 
rely on the bus? How do you engage with the transit users whose lives 
are affected by your decisions? I'd like to remind TransLink that public 
transit is a human need in our region and your transportation policy 
should reflect that."

    Dean's presentation to the TransLink Board summed up the anger and 
frustration felt by hundreds of bus riders.  "An example of our transit 
system's failures is the walk home - which seems to be a frequent 
experience of people who can't afford cars. Walking from Burnaby to Port 
Moody on the Barnet Highway for 3 hours at night is not fun, I can tell 
you that myself. I suspect, besides killing our social lives that you 
are also trying to kill us."

     "Eighty percent of transit users use the bus exclusively. Before 
TransLink spends a cent on Skytrain, it is reasonable to argue that they 
should first allocate billions for buses. It's important to recognize 
that social justice and public health should be the guiding principles 
behind transportation policy, not the 2010 Olympic bid. That means more 
buses and lower fares and it means, today, a vote on a plan for full 
night owl bus service and public transit that runs 24 hours a day, seven 
days a week. Otherwise, I'm afraid that TransLink appears to be unfit to 
be making transportation decisions."

    Over the next month the Bus Riders Union will be collecting 
testimonials from people impacted by the Night Owl cuts, gathering 
endorsements for the campaign, and organizing bus riders for the next 
TransLink meeting - which they have vowed to attend in greater numbers.

BUS RIDERS UNION MEDIA CONTACTS: MARTHA ROBERTS OR AIYANAS ORMOND - 604 
215 2662.

 

 

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