The BRU, Communities for a Better Environment, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, and Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles have sent this letter to Mayor Villaraigosa and the Board of Directors of MTA calling for swift action on climate change. We demand restoration and expansion of bus service and a halt to the multi-billion dollar expansion of the I-710 freeway as two immediate actions that would benefit the health and well-being of LA's low income communities of color while reducing LA's carbon footprint.

Check out news coverage on the new report co-authored by the BRU and 14 other civil rights, labor, environmental, public health, and housing organizations from around los Angeles. The report Transit Civil Rights & Economic Survival in Los Angeles: A Case for Federal Intervention in LA Metro details the 4 year storm since the end of the consent decree.  LA Opinión, LA Weekly, and Streets Blog report.

Civil rights, labor, environmental, public health, and housing organizations argue bus service and fare increases result in civil rights harms for transit-dependent people and obstruct economic recovery for low-income transit-dependent Angelenos.

On Tuesday, October 11th, the Bus Riders Union held its first Tea Time
with Korean elders in two years. Eleven Korean bus riders attended the
Tea Time to listen to a presentation that provided historical and
political context around the Bus Riders Union, and the environmental
justice campaign, Clean Air, Clean Lungs, Clean Buses

On Tuesday, September 20th the Bus Riders Union and Transit Riders for Public Transportation, joined with the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) to send a call to local allies and advocates in 13 cities around the country. Together we sent a message to President Obama and Congress, that protecting the funding for public transportation should be a national priority.

On Tuesday, September 20th the Bus Riders Union joined in the APTA National Day of Action to urge President Obama and Congress to protect funding for transit. Joined by transit riders, transit and environmental advocates, and community organizations, the BRU, using the slogan "Put Yourself in our Shoes!" gathered on the corner of Wilshire and Vermont.

With a federal review of MTA's civil rights record still in progress, a standing room only-crowd of over 200 and an all-star panel exposed LA MTA's civil rights crisis at the Transit Justice Town Hall meeting Saturday. Overo 100 bus riders people gave three hours of testimony on the harms caused by deep cuts in bus service, inadequate bus service, increases in fares - all of which will be used for a report on the crisis to be released in September. The event was organized by the Bus Riders Union and sponsored by a city-wide multi-racial coalition of 35 organizations.

Saturday August 20th, the BRU and members of over 30 ally organizations packed Parish Hall at Immanuel Presbyterian Church with over 250 members and allies for our Transit Justice Town Hall!

 Over 100 people gave compelling testimony on the adverse and disparate impacts that the elimination of critical bus lifelines have had. The expert panel spoke amazingly of the intersections of race/the environment/gender/ public health and public transportation.

From bus benches to bus lines, transit-dependent Angelenos are being left stranded. Facing the scrutiny of a federal civil rights review for disappearing bus service and an exploding controversy over disappearing bus benches, LA's political leaders are straining to convince the federal government and the public that the region's transit policies genuinely protect the needs of vulnerable transit-dependent people

On August 20th, the Bus Riders Union will be hosting a Community Forum on Civil Rights and transit to access the real impacts of the MTA's bus service policy. The event will be held at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church at 3300 Wilshire, starting at 9:30 am.

Today at the MTA board Mayor Villaragoisa and the MTA board passed a motion calling
for a suspension of cuts in Tier 1 bus service and for a report on
expanding Bus Rapid Transit improvements throughout the county.

With the MTA subject of a civil rights compliance review by the Federal Transit Administrations, a new pamphlet report from the Bus Riders Union exposes the policy and human sides of the crisis created by MTA slashing bus service and raising fares. 

On July 4th, the New York times ran an article highlighting the impacts of service cuts on daily riders. Using the Line 305 as a example, the article tells some of the stories of riders whose line is targeted for elimination.

Friday, June 24th the Bus Riders Union, Unite Service Workers West representative Marx Guitterez, and Xiomara Corpeño, Organizer Director with CHIRLA, gathered on the steps of the Los Angeles regional office for the Federal Transit Administration

After six years of campaigning, the Wilshire Boulevard Bus-Only Lanes
project took an important step forward, with the Los Angeles City
Council voting to approve the project and move it forward.

After six years of campaigning, the BRU scored a major environmental victory today: the Wilshire Boulevard Bus-Only Lanes won the resounding approval from the LA City Council and cleared the last major political hurdle for it to become reality

Planners from UCLA, USC and across the city weigh in on Bus-Only Lanes debate with a clear message: the complete 8.7 mile project is clearly the best choice.

Tomorrow, our six-year campaign for Bus-Only Lanes on Wilshire Boulevard will finally face a vote at the Los Angeles City Council. We are close to sealing the deal on this important project, but not before overcoming continued efforts to cut down the project at the behest of wealthy West Side homeowner groups.

With the battle lines drawn, the 5-member committee could not agree on any option and ended the meeting taking no action at all.

We need a strong showing from the broad coalition we have built for this project to come out tomorrow, Wednesday, June 8th at 2PM at the City Council Room 1010.