My name is Reggie Streeter and I'm a member of the BRU. I have spent a lot of my time on the 710, 754 and 720 collecting surveys from bus riders living in South Los Angeles asking them to grade the quality of MTA bus service and out of 2,600 Bus Riders surveyed the outcome of all of the reports demonstrated that bus riders were extremely unhappy with current bus servuce. The end results: bus service was given a D average and an F in night service.

I got involved in the Bus Riders Union because first of all I'm a bus rider and I depend on the buses. I feel that the bus system could be better and getting involved gives me the opportunity to show my energy and how much I would like to see a better bus service for all people who ride the bus. Our fight for the Clean Air and Economic Justice Plan gives me just this opportunity.

On September 1st, we kicked off our delegation visits with Supervisor Ridley-Thomas and set out to visit Mayor Villaraigosa and Councilmember Huizar at City Hall. To our surprise, our visit at city Hall did not end on Day 1 but would continue for Day 2 which Rosa Miranda will talk about.

Tuesday, September 2nd Day 1 at City Hall

On September 2nd, Day 1 at City Hall, we visited the Mayor and Councilmember to ask them, in their own home, to adopt the BRU's Clean Air and Economic Justice Plan. This plan calls for 500 new expansion buses, reversal of the 2007 fare increase, $150 million for bus-only lanes, and expansion of night and weekend service. City hall was an important place to make our demands known because 80% of all bus riders throughout the county live in the city of Los Angels. As Bus Riders it is our duty to put pressure on the Mayor Villaraigosas and Councilmember Huizar as members of the MTA Board. Gabe gives a full account of how Councilmember Huizar responded to our 1248 postcards presented. 

After speaking before the entire City Council during public comment, we debriefed, and got ready to make our next and final delegation visit to the Mayor. We knew we would ask to speak to Mayor Villaraigosa and if he wasn't there we would ask for his transportation staff. We waited about 20 minutes and there wasn't anyone available to come by and speak to us or collect the 100's of postcards addressed to the Mayor. We walked out of the Mayor's office and said that we would come back the following day. Outside of City Hall, we circled up and discussed next steps: Day 2, September 3rd, 1.) we would have two teams of  members ready to visit all City Councilmembers to drop off our Clean Air and Economic Justice plan 2.) pay a second visit to Mayor Villaraigosa...to be continued.

Thursday, September 3rd, Day 2 at City Hall 

On our way to visit City Councilmembers and the Mayor, on Day 3 at City Hall, we got a call notifying us of a press conference taking place on the City Hall lawn where we may run into the Mayor. Two of our members Rosa Miranda and Eulalia Camargo approached the Mayor and shared their concerns about his lack of leadership to push for a bus system improvement plan, meanwhile he is taling about accelerating the subway to the sea . He listened and said he had someone looking into the BRU Clean Air and Economic Justice plan. According to Rosa, he was upset that we would send someone like her to relay this message to him, Rosa responded "But Mayor, I am the real deal...I am the people who ride the bus, and as a mother I am concerned with the current direction of the MTA to expand highway and rail at the expense of bus."

It was an exciting moment to be able to approach the Mayor, hand deliver the 100's of postcards we had collected and have his attention for about 15 minutes. My heart pounding as I video-taped the moment. It almost felt like we were on a reality TV show but we were really organizers making informed decisions and calculated moves based on new information and responses to us. Wow, this was only the beginning of Day 3...then we hit the halls of City Hall.

Inside, our objective was to visit all 14 City Council members and ask to speak to transportation deputies to be able to introduce ourselves, since we were fresh on their minds and present them our plan. We were able to talk to many of the deputies and most agreed that public transportation needed improvements and expressed interest in figuring out how we could work together. Tony Cardenas' Planning Deputy, Daniel Skolnick, actually gave us some of his time and we shared our concerns and our plan. He explained to us the he also rides the bus and that his boss wants to discuss a plan to put bus-only lanes on Van Nuys, Sepulveda, and Lankershim and would like to see the one on Wilshire happen. We wrapped our delegation visits on Day 3, came together and did a summary of our visits and have developed a plan to follow up and set up meetings with LA City Councilmembers to try and get a City Council motion in support of the BRU's Clean Air and Economic Justice plan. We will continue the fight, its a long and you should join us.