Transit Riders for Public Transportation invites you to join us on Tuesday, June 9^th from 9 to 4 PM for our first advocacy day in D.C. on the reauthorization of the Federal Surface Transportation Act (FSTA). We will spend the day on the Hill meeting with congressional representatives about their priorities for the next FSTA. We are also excited to be working with Congresswoman Grace Napolitano to host a Congressional briefing in the afternoon.

Meeting with Congressional Representatives

 Throughout the day, Transit Riders for Public Transportation (TRPT) members and allies from Chicago, Atlanta, New Orleans, St. Louis, and the states of California and New York and many others will be going door to door to meet with their congressional district representatives to speak with them about their priorities for the next reauthorization of the federal surface transportation act. 

There is no way a transportation act can be 80 percent for highway, freeway and roads and only 20 percent for public transportation without escalating the global warming and public health onslaught.  TRPT believes this formula must be turned on its head-80 percent for public transit, 20 percent for the maintenance of infrastructure. Transportation agencies across the country are in dire need of operating assistance in both rural and urban areas. Many small cities, towns, and rural regions have limited access to employment, educational and health centers and basic services because of the lack of public transit options. Facing operations funding deficits up to $2 billion, public transit systems throughout the country are falling apart at the seams. They are drastically cutting transit service and increasing fares. We believe that a minimum of 50 percent of the entire act's allocation for transit must go to operating purposes, with at least half of that restricted to bus operations. Capital preservation must be prioritized over expansion, with at least half of all capital funds restricted to bus fleets. We need programs to reduce auto use, programs that can cut fares in half, and implement bus-only lanes, auto free zones, and policies that advantage bike riders and pedestrians over cars. Measures to protect civil rights and regulation to restrict greenhouse gases and air pollution are also at the core of the TRPT program.

In a period shaped by the hope of a new Obama Administration, the growing awareness of the climate crisis, and daily conversations about stimulating the economy during a time of rising unemployment and cuts in social services, there is a growing opportunity to make strategic legislative interventions. Bus and train riders, public health providers, environmental and civil rights groups, trade unions and community organizations must lead the effort to shift the terms of the debate in favor of a mass expansion of public transportation and a reduction of the automobile.

Congresswoman Grace Napolitano

Congressional Briefing (hosted by Congresswoman Grace Napolitano and TRPT)

 "The Crisis In Mass Transit Operations Funding and the Next Federal Surface Transportation Act: New Opportunities to Improve Public Health, Climate Change, and Civil Rights"

On Tuesday, June 9, 2009, Congresswoman Grace Napolitano along with Transit Riders for Public Transportation will be hosting a Congressional briefing featuring public health officials, transit union representatives and environmental justice advocates. Representatives from our TRPT-member organizations-civil rights and environmental justice organizations-will also join you from across the country, from Chicago, New York City, New Orleans, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Texas and St. Louis. 

Our objective is to give the most comprehensive set of arguments on the importance of expanding transit operations funding in the next federal reauthorization from the perspective of public health, global warming, transit and jobs.

We invite you to join us Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at  3  PM in House of Representatives Building located at 2253 Rayburn House Office Building. 

To confirm your attendance please contact Francisca Porchas, Lead Organizer of Transit Riders for Public Transportation  at francisca@busridersunion.org or call 213-387-2800 ext. 21