Mad about Antonio
By Carl Kozlowski 07/08/2010
If recently raised mass transit fares don’t come down, LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who also serves as vice chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors, can expect much the same treatment he received July 1.
That was the day the fare hikes went into effect. It was also at 5:30 that morning that 45 activists from the Bus Riders Union (BRU) and various tenants’ rights organizations marched in front of the mayor’s mansion in Hancock Park to protest fare increases.
“This is the kickoff of our summer resistance,” said Esperanza Martinez, lead organizer of the BRU. “We’re targeting Mayor Villaraigosa because he’s a powerful force and he controls four votes on the MTA board and he could very well reverse the fare increase.”
Martinez noted that while the BRU hopes to convince the MTA to reverse the increases, the organization plans to protest again outside Villaraigosa’s home on Aug. 1.
The average fare increase imposed by the MTA is 20 percent, although student, senior and disabled fares remained unchanged as a result of funding provided by Measure R, which was passed by voters in November 2008 and committed $40 billion to traffic relief and transportation upgrades throughout the county over the next 30 years.
Fares on the Metro Silver Line, which connects the San Gabriel Valley to the South Bay, were also unaffected.
Regular base fares increased from $1.25 to $1.50 per ride, while day passes increased from $5 to $6 and weekly passes increased from $17 to $20. Metro-to-muni transfers, which enable riders to switch from MTA to municipal bus lines at lower rates, cost 35 cents.
“What’s very distinct about the 2010 fare increase versus the 2007 increase is that at a time when the country’s in recession and some say moving into depression, so-called progressive politicians like the mayor, who we’d expect to be an ally of working people and families of color, has over and over turned his back on people,” said Martinez.
For more information, visit thestrategycenter.org/project/bus-riders-union.
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