Video from May 27th MTA Board Meeting
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by April Wong on Wednesday, June 2, 2010
The BRU's campaign to defeat MTA's racist fare increase reached a fever pitch on Thursday, May 27, when 150 BRU members and allies shut down the MTA Board. Since February, MTA has denied our basic rights by refusing our two reasonable demands: a legitimate public hearing and a Board vote on the proposed increase. This budget includes a 20% fare increase and 388,000 hours in bus service cuts.
In spite and because of this pattern of subterfuge and disrespect, we went determined to be heard. We once again confronted a Board equally determined to keep us silent. We brought the MTA Board meeting to a halt for 4 hours. In the process, two of our organizers, Sunyoung Yang and Gabriel Strachota, were arrested in an act of civil disobedience.
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I've worked for the MTA for about 17 years. I mention that because I want to say that we owe the BRU far more than most of us are willing to admit.
This fare increase is bad timign and bad business. At a time when people are losing their jobs, can't afford gas prices, a time when more people would ride the bus and so increase the fare revenue naturally. The MTA is raising the fares and making it even harder for the unemployed to find work.
You don't need a fancy education or a degree to cut services and raise fares, what about using skill and innovation and imagination to make transport efficient and affordable.
Keep up the pressure, tell the MTA to take care of the "Sense" and the dollars will take care of themselves.