May 21, 2007 11:16 am US/Pacific
Politicians Urged To Vote Against Bus-Fare Hike
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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At a public hearing Thursday, the board will consider sharp increases, raising the $3 daily pass to $5 and then $8 while the $52 monthly pass would go up to $75 and later to $120.
AP
African American leaders urged local politicians Monday to vote against increases in bus fares when the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority meets later this week, saying such hikes would constitute "serious civil and human rights violations."
At a public hearing Thursday, the board will consider sharp increases, raising the $3 daily pass to $5 and then $8 while the $52 monthly pass would go up to $75 and later to $120.
"We reject MTA CEO Roger Snoble's proposal to force working class bus riders of color to bear the burden of the MTA's self-imposed budget crisis," a statement issued on behalf of a number of African American community leaders said.
"If approved, this fare increase would cause serious civil and human rights violations that South L.A. residents should not have to endure. We are united in the effort to defeat this ill-conceived and racially discriminatory fare policy. We call on our elected representatives to vote for the interest of the most vulnerable communities of South Los Angeles."
The statement was issued on behalf of Ericka Smith of Strategic Concepts Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE/AGENDA); Marqueece Harris-Dawson of the Community Coalition; Rev William M. Campbell of Mount Gilead Baptist Church; and Minister Tony Muhammad of the Nation of Islam.
Except for Muhammad, they were expected to take part Monday in a mid-morning news conference at Leimert Park, where they planned to press their objections to bus fare hikes.
The statement urging MTA board members to vote against fare hikes specifically named three, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles Councilman Bernard Parks and Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke.
"The bus system serves as a lifeline for working class blacks to gain access to employment, education and health care throughout L.A. County," the statement said. "Imposing these racially discriminatory and draconian fares will have devastating impact for our people."
It said bus riders, including some 100,000 African American Angelenos, have an annual family income of $12,000, with many earning less than $7,500 a year.
Hikes in bus fares will also have a harmful health and environmental impact by inducing people who now ride buses to get around in high-polluting "clunkers," the statement said. Already, "the black community is disproportionately impacted by air pollution," it said.
Another rally against the proposed rate hikes was scheduled to take place Monday at Cleveland High School in Reseda starting at 12:30 a.m. Participants planned to focus on plans to raise the price of an MTA student pass from the current $20 to $45 by July and to $72 by January 2009.
A statement announcing the event said that, given that the majority of students in the Los Angeles Unified School District are people of color, "we think that there are serious civil rights implications if this fare increase is implemented."
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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