by BRU member Marlon Avelar

On Tuesday October 13th, the last of the four public scoping meetings was held regarding the Wilshire Bus-Only Lanes Project to hear from the public around their thoughts and concerns around this project.

The bus riders where not deterred by the rain that was coming down. About thirty people attended the meeting, over half of which where Bus Riders Union members.

I think one of the most important details about this meeting was that all who spoke were in favor of the full implementation of the project.

One woman spoke about how the asthma she suffers from is a direct result of the bad air quality in LA. She spoke about how air quality would improve if the Wilshire BOL was implemented as it would be a fast alternative to the automobile and would thus get cars off the street.

I spoke as a resident from Pico Union about how inefficient the Wilshire bus is when stuck in traffic. I lost a job opportunity because I was stuck in the 720 for more than an hour and arrived late to my job interview.

The BRU has been fighting for this project for four years, and now that it's finally moving forward, it is critical for us to show our full support and ensure the implementation of the Wilshire BOL. I decided to join in this fight because, personally, I've been affected by its inefficient serv-ice and it's not fair for transit riders, who least contribute to traffic, to  suffer the consequences of losing a job, or failing at school because they're bus service is stuck in traffic.

Overall, I felt encouraged by the amount of public support at the last meeting but we still have to get more community members engaged to support this project when MTA releases the draft Environmental Impact Report in the spring of next year. I look forward for this project to get completed so we finally don't have to be waiting for so long to get to our destinations on the Wilshire bus.