Call and Email:

Mayor Villaraigosa: (213) 978-0600, mayor@lacity.org

Councilmember Wendy Greuel: (213) 680-7895, councilmember.greuel@lacity.org

Councilmember Bill Rosendahl: (213) 473-7011, councilman.rosendahl@lacity.org

Tell Them:

1. L.A. City Council should front load the $27 million in 2008 to IMMEDIATELY begin implementation of the Wilshire Bus-only lanes!
2. The Federal Transportation Authority will fully reimburse L.A. City in 2009 and 2010
3. Don't wait until 2011 (their current proposed timeline)
4. C'mon Antonio, Wendy, and Bill--this is an easy financial arrangement to figure out for such a major improvement to L.A.'s mass transit system!

Please donate:

Help us get the Wilshire Bus Only Lanes on line THREE YEARS ahead of the LA City Council's footdragging. Click here for donate button.

Background information:

FTA Funds Wilshire Bus-Only Lane!

On February 5th, 2008 the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced its formal approval of an L.A. City and MTA proposal for $23.3 million over 2 years beginning in 2009. As one of its major advocates, the Clean Air, Clean Lungs, Clean Buses Campaign feels proud of being part of this important mass transit and environmental breakthrough.

Our Hard Work is Paying Off
This decision by the federal government to fund the Wilshire Bus-Only Lanes project is the reflection of an important collaboration between the Bus Riders Union, our allies, L.A. City Council and MTA elected officials and staff. We particularly want to recognize Councilmember Wendy Greuel for helping move this important transit and environmental policy forward. This breakthrough comes at the heels of a three-year hard fought public health and environmental justice campaign waged by the BRU to move MTA and L.A. City to prioritize bus-only lanes and reduce auto emissions of greenhouse gases and air toxins.

Putting the Bus-Only Lane Front and Center
The recommendation for Wilshire Bus-Only Lanes came out of a study for alternative transit options on the Wilshire corridor where a Bus Rapid Transit was recommended in 2000 and subsequently voted down by L.A. City Council who has the jurisdiction over the city streets. Later the project was de-prioritized by MTA and its funds were taken for the Exposition Light Rail. In 2004, a one-mile bus-only lanes project was implemented from Barrington to Centinela Avenues along Wilshire Boulevard championed by former Councilmember Cindy Miscicowski.

In 2005, the Clean Air, Clean Lungs, Clean Buses Campaign launched the Wilshire Bus-Only Lanes Campaign. We immediately hit the streets to organize in order to protect the threatened 1-mile bus-only lane from being cut and demand the project be expanded from Downtown to Santa Monica. We went organizing door-to-door and signed up over 150 local businesses along the Wilshire Corridor in support of the bus-only lanes. We built a broad coalition of community and health organizations demanding L.A. City Council, MTA and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for Bus Only Lanes to the Sea! Allies included Breathe California of LA County, Natural Resources Defense Council and SOULA 2006 (Security Officers United of Los Angeles), among many others.

The Global Warming Crisis Can't Wait until 2011
While the approval of this grant is historic in a county dominated by 7 million automobiles, we believe that MTA and L.A. City’s timeline of 2011 is too far into the future. Rather than wait for the federal grant to be issued, the city can begin construction sooner by upfronting the funds from its budget this year. The variables are too many to wait for a check from the federal government especially because this year is an election year that could extend the federal government's timeline even further.

Many city officials have been discussing the pending financial constraints in the upcoming City budget. During hard economic times, the most vulnerable communities are asked to “buckle-up” and prepare to bare the impacts of tough budget priority decisions – which often means the cutting of vital social services or the constraining of important public health related projects. We believe that the Wilshire Bus-Only Lanes need to be prioritized. We think City leaders could change the mass disconnect between the general consciousness that is calling for urgent action to combat global warming, and the lack of urgency to fund and implement structural policies needed. Bus-Only Lanes in Los Angeles can be one of the central tools for movement against climate change and global warming because they prioritize public transit and restrain auto use.