[Busriders-van] Bus Riders Take the Street to Demand Night Owl Buses

[Martha and Aiyanas]

Bus Riders Take the Street to Demand Night Owl Buses


    On the evening of Wednesday, February 18, about 50 demonstrators 
blocked the busy Vancouver intersection of Broadway and Commercial 
chanting "night owl buses: end the curfew now" and "all day, all night, 
public transit is our right."  The demonstration, organized by the Bus 
Riders Union was called to draw attention to the curfew imposed on 
transit dependent people in the Lower Mainland since TransLink cut night 
owl bus service more than two years ago.  The curfew has been a major 
hardship for low-wage late night workers trying to get to and from night 
shifts.  It has also jeopardized the safety of transit dependent people, 
particularly women, youth, and gays and lesbians who are at greater risk 
of violence walking the streets late at night.

    "TransLink councilors say they can't afford to spend the 1.5 million 
dollars it would cost to bring back night owl buses, but this is a lie," 
said Bus Riders Union spokesperson Jennifer Efting.  "We know it's a lie 
because they have 1.5 billion dollars to spend on building a Skytrain to 
Richmond, a Skytrain that will primarily benefit big corporations like 
Bombardier and the Vancouver Airport Authority.   They have 1.4 million 
dollars to increase policing on Skytrain and buses, including $240,000 
allocated to purchase guns for Skytrain police.  We know this increased 
policing doesn't mean increased safety for transit dependent people, it 
means increased criminalization of poor people who ride the bus and 
increased harassment of people of colour in the transit system.    
TransLink could end the curfew tomorrow, but they don't prioritize the 
needs of bus riders!  We are here to tell TransLink to get their 
priorities straight! The needs of people come first!"

    Speakers from the Hospital Employees Union (HEU) and the 
Anti-Poverty Committee (APC) joined the Bus Riders Union in calling for 
reinstatement of Night Owl buses.  Fred Muzin of the HEU encouraged 
social justice activists to be united by "a vision of a better society".

    The program for the protest included a street theatre performance of 
Taking on the TransLink Monster in which two bus riders racing to catch 
the last bus home are blocked by a beast bearing the heads of three 
TransLink directors including Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell.  Campbell, 
who ran on a platform of increased bus service and a freeze on fares, 
has since voted to increase fares and to allocate the vast majority of 
new public transit dollars to the "Olympics" Skytrain project instead of 
to much needed bus services, such as reinstatement of Night Owl buses.

    Finally bus riders took the street, bringing 10 lanes of traffic to 
a standstill.  BRU organizer Yang Chang explained:  "In this society, 
where backroom deals and corporate interest shape the political agenda, 
the power of the people lies in our capacity to come together and to 
take the discussions out of the boardroom and back into our communities, 
onto the buses and into the streets.  Transit dependent people in this 
region will not suffer in silence.  We won't accept a business as usual 
attitude when people are facing attacks on our basic rights to health 
care, welfare, childcare, housing, education and transit.  We're going 
to continue to organize and mobilize for our rights."

For More Information Contact the Bus Riders Union at 604 215 2775 or 
bru at resist.ca

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