Last Wednesday, the Transit Riders for Public Transportation campaign took action all over the United States. Big cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Portland, Chicago and Atlanta participated in the rally. The motivation for the day of action was to get Congress Representatives to co-sponsor H.R. 2746 which is a bill introduced by Representative Russ Carnahan that would provide funding from the federal government for public transit operations.  The day of action was to inform congress that public transportation is a huge necessity for cities all around the country and if it is not funded then mass transit will not be able to operate, affecting millions of public transit users and commuters who travel via bus or rail.

The Carnahan bill is an important issue. It can either make or break the infrastructure of public transportation, it can be a decision on whether or not transportation can can be operational or whether or not it can only be an exhibit of buses and trains that will not be able to run. This is the biggest gamble, and it would mean that if funding is not provided then public transportation could become obsolete. The hugest cities in the U.S. need this bill to survive these harsh economic times and  it is not an issue of whether or not the federal government has enough money to pass the Carnahan bill, its whether or not the government wants to, but it shouldn’t even be an issue of wanting to or not it needs to be passed. You cannot have a sustainable system of transportation without mass public transportation. If it does not pass, it will soon become an issue of whether or not the working poor will have to decide to buy a car, over buying groceries for their families. It will become an issue of whether or not a 50 mile commuter will have to make a decision to drive their high fuel emission cars to work along a high populated freeway.

H.R. 2746 needs to pass, it can only bring positive and more possible ideas for a better tomorrow, if the government can bail out corporations that have been irresponsible and contributed to the largest global economic crisis,  then they can bail out mass transit.

Organizing on the bus is always intense. It begins to get better once one gets back into the swing of things. I continue to learn about myself each and every time I get out there and organize. The two days I’ve organized this week, I have found that I draw myself to only organize women. I had out the flyer (the content in which we use to organize with) to both male and females but I only approach women. I believe that it is my thought that men have a different “agenda” when a women approaches them. To avoid being “hit on” or flirted with while organizing, I just stay away from men.

I met a Jamacian mother who had split thoughts on students getting truancy tickets. She thinks students should be get the truancy ticket. I then guided the conversation to a scenario in which a student left home 2 hours early to get to school only when the student lives 10 minutes away from school, rides public transportation, and still arrives late to school. I asked the woman, “is that fair that this student is being given truancy tickets because of public transportation?” The woman said that is not fair but she is still caught up with students who are not making their way to school. The key to organizing is being able to disagree then draw the bus rider with other common thoughts.

The book Just Transportation is about justice in the transportation system for people of color, the working class, the poor, women, the elderly, and the disabled. Just Transportation clearly illustrates that the struggle for just transportation is not over. Two of the most historic movements surrounding just transportation are the Freedom Riders and Rosa Park’s refusal to give up her seat to a white man on the bus. Although those are two historical moments for Black folks, the fight for just transportation goes farther back to after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1^st, 1863. Even with the freeing of slaves, they were not truly free, forced to ride in rail carts in the back or standing up.

Freedom riders of the 1960s challenged transportation “laws” in place during the time period. They challenged interstate traveling even if it resulted in their death. Rosa Park’s refusal to give her seat is also a significant catalyst in history, for she challenged the racist Jim Crow laws in place.

Though landmark decisions such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 were made, the scars and strains of racism are still profoundly embedded in America’s society today, even with a historic shift on November 4^th, 2008.

As stated in the book, unjust transportation policies keep poor people and minorities separate and apart from reaching their full potential. I agree that public transit too often does not link urban job seekers with suburban jobs. It’s no secret that urban job seekers want the white collar, upstanding jobs just like suburban job seekers. We too want a livable wage job. Since transportation isn’t connected, urban folks lose out on opportunities.

It’s not rocket science to find out that transportation affects every aspect of our lives and daily routine. Mobility directly influences where we live, work, play, shop, go to school, and attend medical appointments. The role transportation plays in shaping human interaction and human settlement patterns should be taken into consideration when deciding just transportation policies.

Grassroots community groups across the country have come together to put an end to transportation discrimination. Freeway construction, transit services and investments and facility siting are issues these groups are combating. A Los Angeles-based community organization, the Bus Riders Union, understands that just transportation can only be realized if poor people and people of color receive their fair share of transit services and investments. It is important to view transportation as an environmental, civil rights, and social justice issue. In order to end transportation discrimination, a link needs to be made between unequal treatment on buses and trains with violations of constitutionally guaranteed civil rights.

Well luckily the Bus Riders Union of Los Angeles was able to make that link. In doing so they sued the MTA in 1994. They filed a class action civil rights suit. The plaintiffs of the suit were the Labor/Community Strategy Center, Bus Riders Union, the Korean Immigrant Workers’ Advocates, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference all represented by NAACP Legal Defense. The plaintiffs challenged the use of federal funds in building an expensive rail system and challenged the allocation of public funds in Los Angeles’ two-tiered (bus vs. rail) public transit system.

Some statistics: 90% of Los Angeles transit riders use the bus system (hmmm) the bulk of the dollars were being expended to build a rail system. There were questions of expenditures of  over $700 million on the newly opened Green Line. ( “the line to nowhere” LITERALLY). Fares Decrease- Ridership Increase; Fares Increase- Ridership Decrease (funny ratio)

After some years of court battling, an out of court settlement was reached (not surprised). The Consent Decree of 1996, which expired in 2006 sadly and was not renewed, was reached. In the Decree, monthly passes were kept, biweekly and weekly passes were implemented at reasonable prices, and the MTA promised to keep fares low, purchase 102 new buses over the next 2 years, use CNG fuel, expand bus service to new areas, and implement the Rapid bus service.

Well this seems like a great victory, (it is), but the fight continues with the 2007 fare increases and the continual allocation of funds to an unneeded rail system. Funds are needed more than ever to be put into the bus system. We need to be able to have just transportation as a human and civil right. According to Just Transportation, “a socially just and ecologically sustainable transportation has the potential to increase job and income opportunities, create environmentally safe communities, decrease fossil fuel energy consumption and improve overall social, economic and environmental quality of life.” Of course I agree. A final quote from Just Transportation: “transportation programs that continue to support suburban commuter needs and development at the expense of the urban core contributes to patterns of institutional racism, class bias in urban poor, working poor, and people of color communities.”

Give just transportation for education not long waits on the block where correctional handcuffs await young Tyrone.

In my eighteen years of life, I’ve had many life changing experiences. The one experience I’m most thankful for takes place seven months ago. I was sitting on the back of a bus when a woman approached me, handing me a flyer. I look at the flyer, it said something about buses, they don’t run as frequently as they should and there are not enough of them to commute.  I stopped reading the flyer when the woman sat down next to me. She said her name was Lorena, she told me she was a member of the Bus Riders Union. She also read me the demands of the bru’s clean air and economic justice plan: five hundred new buses, bus only lane, the reversal of 2007 fair increase, and expansion of service. She also said something about becoming a member of the bru. I thought it was joke; MTA is not so generous when it comes to bus riders, so I willingly gave her my contact information. I wasn’t expecting to hear from her again. About a week later I got a call, the voice on the other side of line said “Hi, my name is Gabriel. I’m from the bus rider union.” He continued the conversation where Lorena had left off. We talked about the lack of public transportation in areas where minorities live. He asked many questions that were all related to the bus. The next two weeks Gabriel kept in touch with me. Our phone conversation consisted of topics such as global warming, police in school, and oppression. After having three or four conversations on the phone, Gabriel invited me to the bru’s monthly meeting.

I decided to go to the meeting unexpected of what it was going to be like. The meeting was full of people wearing yellow. I sat through meeting listening to people talk about the buses. People shared stories about the poor bus service. It made me realize that I was experiencing the same situations. The bus is always running late, the fairs are too expensive, and the bus is always overcrowded. I suddenly realize that I had to become a member of the bru in order to join the fight to have a high quality bus service. And so I became a member of the bru. Ever since I feel like a new person. My whole outlook on life has changed. I’ve learned to appreciate the things like nature, time, and the people who work hard everyday. I seen and felt what it’s like to be oppressed by the people who have power. I’ve talked to people on the bus that don’t have enought money or have to choose between food or a bus pass. I’ve also seen disasters around the world caused by global warming, somthing that humankind has created. The struggle for civil rights and environmental justice have become a part of me. I will continue to fight until my eyes see a new day where oppression and global warming don’t exist.