Guest blogger Carmina Ocampo
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Amidst tense negotiations and angry protests, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board of directors voted to increase bus fares Thursday in a decision that will hurt the poor communities of color. The plan came as a result of a compromise proposed by Supervisors Gloria Molina and Zev Yaroslavsky, after the Board rejected the Mayor's plan that called for lower fare hikes.
The LA Times reported that under the new MTA plan, bus fares will increase from $1.25 to $1.50; the daily pass will go from $3 to $5 on July 1 and $6 in 2009; and the monthly pass will go from $52 to $62 on July 1 and $75 in 2009. (The original proposal was much more devastating, proposing to raise the fare from $1.25 to $2 and the monthly pass from $52 to $120 over the next two years).
According to the Bus Riders Union, most of MTA's 500,000 bus riders are members of the black and Latino working class who rely on public transportation on a daily basis. According to the MTA, the median household income of a bus rider is $12,000. Given these facts, the new plan will no doubt have a devastating impact on the poor people of Los Angeles, who struggle to support their families, commute long hours to work, and face a lack of affordable housing.
The bus fare issue has also concerned API community groups, considering that there are many API immigrants, especially undocumented immigrants, that rely on the bus for daily transportation. One Filipino careworker I recently met told me that she relies on the bus to commute to work everyday and attend meetings at the Pilipino Workers' Center.
Members of the API community have supported the efforts of the Bus Riders Union in solidarity. The Korea Times on May 16, 2007 reported that Korean American organization leaders, led by the Korean American Federation, opposed the MTA fare hike. One of the Bus Riders' Union most active organizers is Hee Pok Kim, aka "Grandma Kim," a spirited advocate in her 80's that has been fighting for the rights of bus riders since joining the organization in 2001. The Bus Riders Union also allied with the Pilipino Workers Center in April in calling for the Mayor to adopt its Social Movement Platform that included, among its many initiatives, a rejection of the proposed bus fare hike.
One positive aspect of the story is the amazing community organizing that took place around this issue. The Bus Riders Union and its multi-ethnic community partners worked tirelessly to educate others about the fare hikes and surely played a significant role in the defeat of the more severe plan initially proposed. As a result of their efforts, a diverse group of over 1,500 students, organizers, bus riders and disabled community members showed up at the MTA building Thursday where the directors were meeting to protest the fare hikes. The efforts of the many people who lobbied against the fare hikes serve as an inspiring reminder of the power of community organizing.
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Carmina is a law student at UCLA.
Posted by rebecca at May 26, 2007 1:54 PM
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