On Thursday November 19th, the Transit Riders for Public Transportation Campaign and the Bus Riders Union hosted a transportation briefing event, "Re-Envision Urban Transit: Los Angeles and Beyond." 

I don't normally write to newspaper columnists but, over the past few weeks, Bob Herbert at the New York Times has been writing some really sharp OpEd columns that have caught my attention. What hooked me was a column where he put his finger on a question that's been bothering many of us: where is the anger, the outrage, the action? where is the hope for changing the world? 

There is an excellent 7-minute film that travels to Bogotá, Colombia to show you how the city runs a bus-centered transit system that is modern, inexpensive and efficiently moves 1.3 million people a day, integrating bicycles and auto free zones--and all without relying on rail or subways.

BRU wins two major policy breakthroughs to protect bus riders' Civil Rights at the MTA's monthly Board meeting! After months of pressure from the BRU, Mayor Villaraigosa requests that MTA staff present a plan for bus system improvements and Supervisor Ridley-Thomas introduced an amendment to the 2009 LRTP that included language to protect the 20% of Measure R funds exclusively for bus expansion.

We have just finished with our teatro / rally / action at the MTA headquarters, but we are repeating our performance on Wednesday 10/21/2009 at 12:30pm at the corner of Wilshire / Western.  Don't miss our performance!  The Bus Riders Union, bus riders and their allies will be urging the public to call on MTA Board of Directors to reject the 2009 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) draft that calls for permanent fare increases and bus service reduction.

BRU member Julian Lamb reports on the monthly meeting.  "For me, the highlight of the meeting, was when Mike de la Rocha, community activist and strong supporter of the We are Alex campaign, spoke passionately on the plight of Alex Sanchez."

MTA approved to support H.R. 2746 (Carnahan Bill) at the September MTA board meeting. This bill will allow local transit agencies to use anywhere from 30-50% of the transit funding they receive from the federal government to operate their public transportation system.

MTA approved to support H.R. 2746 (Carnahan Bill) at the September MTA board meeting. This bill will allow local transit agencies to use anywhere from 30-50% of the transit funding they receive from the federal government to operate their public transportation system.

With the recent news of the extension of the Federal Surface Transportation Act, Rosa Miranda, organizer, mother, and member of the Bus Riders Union reports back about her visit to Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard's office on September 8, 2009. In our third delegation visit of the summer, Rosa speaks extensively on the ways public transportation and specifically, buses affect her daily life and the role of Congressional representatives in the debate around public transportation.

E-action Committee's first ever BRU Monthly Membership Meeting web-report, bringing you the newest and greatest from the BRU Monthly Membership Meeting.  This month featured updates of the Clean Air and Economic Justice plan, as well as an update on the implementation of the Bus Only Lane.

Clean Air, Clean Lungs, Clean Buses Campaign organizer Sunyoung Yang promotes "CRUDE" for its excellent portrayal of Ecuador's indigenous groups and colonial rainforest dwellers' fight against U.S. oil giant Chevron Texaco. 

In the second part of our series of delegation visit reportbacks for the Transit Rider's for Public Transportation National Campaign, Bus Rider's Union members, John Bell and Maria Paz Jaen, visited the office of their congressmember, Xavier Becerra on Thursday September 3, 2009.  They urged Congressman Becerra to co-sponsor and support H.R. 2746 and the TRPT campaign platform for better low fare bus service for low income communities of color.

BRU takes it to City Hall Chambers and the County Board of Supervisors Hearing Room! A week after we held a press conference to unveil the results of our 2300 person survey that gave MTA bus service a D average, the BRU Action Committee decided it was time to step outside of the MTA Board room and visit Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Councilmember Jose Huizar and Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas in their home turf.

BRU member Rosa Miranda shares her experience of our run in with the Mayor.

BRU members spend 2 days at City Hall doing delegation visits to LA City Council and have a surprising encounter with Mayor Villaraigosa where they hand deliver 100's of postcards grading MTA bus service.

Tuesday, September 1st- Bus Riders Union members conduct a delgation visit to LA City Council. They deliver over a thousand report cards to MTA baord member Jose Huizar.

After months of resultless waiting for Supervisor Ridley-Thomas to champion bus rider's needs, the BRU addressed him directly during the public comments section of the County Board of Supervisors Meeting, presenting the appalling MTA bus performance results from the BRU Survey and urging him to adopt the BRU Clean Air and Economic Justice Plan as a basis for the 20% of Measure R funds that were dedicated to improvement in the bus transit system.

With the reauthorization of the Federal Surface Transportation Act (FSTA) still pending in Congress, the first delegation of Bus Riders Union members visited House Representative Watson's office to meet with her district transportation staffer, Ken Bell, last Thursday August, 20th, 2009.

The BRU held a press conference to release a 2600 person survey that revealed the strong dissatisfaction that bus riders have with MTA bus service. The results gave MTA a "D" grade in almost every category...

Dozens of BRU members worked to collect close to 3000 postcards from bus
riders who were asked to grade their bus service in LA County. People were asked
to grade MTA bus service anywhere from an A for excellent thru an F for
extremely poor, on the following aspects: fares, night service, on-time
performance etc.,.