Call and Email

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and say:

Work with Bus Riders Union and Support the BRU Clean Air and Economic Justice Plan

we need:

• 500 New Expansion Buses

• Reverse the 2007 Fare Increase

• $150 million fir Bus Only Lanes Plan

• No Cuts, Expansion, Not Reductions

(213) 974-2222    -   SecondDistrict@bos.lacounty.gov

Backround:

L.A. Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas New Force at the MTA Board of Directors. The Bus Riders Union looks forward to working with the newly elected LA County Supervisor and MTA Board of Director Mark Ridley-Thomas. L.A. bus riders need allies on the MTA Board to guarantee bus improvements. The Second District which Supervisor Ridley-Thomas represents stretches from South LA, Korea town, Compton, Mar Vista and many places in between. Supervisor Ridley-Thomas is a person with an impressive progressive history and roots in civil rights along with commitment to community empowerment, all of which are critical areas of unity. Our initial meeting with his staff was friendly and respectful.

MTA Staff Publishes Flimsy, Non-Committal Plan to Cement Transit Segregation. Measure R's ½ cent sales tax, approved by voters in November, will bring $40 billion to the MTA over the next 30 years, with $8 billion earmarked for the bus system. MTA will also receive $700 million from the federal stimulus package, creating further fiscal flexibility for MTA. Yet, MTA staff released a report earlier this week about potential use of Measure R bus funds that confirms the BRU's initial fears. The vague report was drafted with virtually no public input and the Board is not obligated to review it in public. Moreover, it lacks clear timelines for concrete improvements, it reiterates support for ongoing fare increases, and points in the direction of service cuts over time.

South L.A. Needs A Concrete Plan for Mobility to Access Jobs, Hospitals and Educational Opportunities. 44 years after the federal government's mandate, in the wake of the Watts Rebellion, that city and county leaders improve transit access in South LA, very little has changed. Transit conditions in South LA remain dismal and worse its design has restricted mobility for residents. Measure R, offers very little improvements in service to South LA. While MTA plans to invest billions in a West Side Subway extension, a Gold Line extension into the San Gabriel Valley, and a whole sleuth of rail and highway expansion projects, they have no concrete plan in place to improve bus service, which South LA transit dependant residents rely on to get around.

Bus Riders It's Your Turn to Work Toward Real Change