[1]Yesterday on the front page of their local news section, the LA Times ran a strong story on our fight [2] to stop MTA's racist fare hikes.
We also saw excellent coverage in La Opinion [3], by radio and on television (so far we have confirmed coverage on Channel 7, NBC Channel 4).
The Times article [4] quoted BRU Co-Chair Barbara Lott-Holland and lead organizer Esperanza Martinez:
"The monthly pass is going up by $13. That's a meal on the table. The typical transit rider only makes about $12,000 to $17,000 a year," said Barbara Lott-Holland of Los Angeles, a member of the Bus Riders Union who relies on the county transit system.
Holland attended the protest with about 25 other people, including representatives from the Natural Resources Defense Council, Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition, Coalition for Clean Air, Transportation for America Campaign and California Public Interest Research Group, or Calpirg.
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For Terri Thorpe of Norwalk, who regularly uses buses and trains to get to work at a Borders Bookstore in Pico Rivera, the cost of her daily transit pass could go up about 20%, increasing the pinch on her pocketbook.
"Its unfair," Thorpe said as she headed to catch the Red Line subway at Union Station on Tuesday. "They are going to stick it to the little blue-collar worker who can't afford a car."
The sentiment was the same at the nearby protest, where the Bus Riders Union and other transit advocates demanded that the MTA cancel the fare increase and redirect funds from other projects to help close the budget gap.
They also called on U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) to support pending legislation in Congress that would grant local transportation agencies more flexibility in the use of federal transportation funds.
"People struggle every day, scraping together their change, just to buy a daily pass," said Esperanza Martinez, an organizer for the Bus Riders Union.
"MTA has the money. It is all about choices."
MTA officials say, however, that they cannot transfer funds to the operations budget that are earmarked for construction projects. Though it appears that the agency is flush with cash, they say, there are restrictions on how the MTA can use the revenue from county transportation sales taxes.