On May 27, the Bus Riders Union stormed the MTA board meeting demanding a public hearing on the racist fare hike and chanting "A Thousand More Buses!  One Less Tunnel!  Mil autobuses más! ¡Un túnel menos!"  The MTA board members may have refused to listen to the BRU's protests, retreating behind closed doors, but the media picked up the story.

Breaking the silence

According the the LA Times [1],  "Demonstrators effectively shut down the meeting and interrupted a hearing involving the 710 before authorities ordered union members to clear the room."  Glendale News Press [2] and La Opinion [3] also recognized the BRU.

Pasadena Star News [4] and the San Gabriel Valley Tribune [5] ran the same story, which quoted Eric Mann, co-founder of the BRU: "It's a victory in a way but also a bit of a defeat.  Having a public agency meet behind closed doors is moving towards dictatorship."  Despite protests, the MTA board members voted to go ahead with the 710 freeway project, effectively taking away funds from the LA buses.  "MTA officials were quick to point out Thursday that all funding [for the 710] will come from Measure R, the half-cent county sales tax voters passed in 2008. That means the money could not go toward operating costs that might have helped the agency avoid a bus fare increase."

Noticias Canal 62 [6] interviewed Manuel Criollo, who blasted MTA for denying people the democratic right to speak. Univision 34 [7]'s Teresa Quevedo also covered the Hunger Fast for Justice.

89.3 KPCC [8] quoted BRU member Esperanza Martinez: "The board for the last four months has basically lied to us, saying they were going to hold a public hearing on the fare increase.  They crossed the public, they crossed bus riders and instead had a sham of a meeting."