The Bus Riders Union (BRU) in 1996 obtained a Consent Decree with Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) about bus overcrowding on selective bus routes. The BRU states that at that TIME, more money was being spent on Rail, even though that money was directed by the voters to pay for rail, and was being used to help the affluent at the expense of the poor.

Metro figured that by agreeing to the Consent Decree, it would only cost a few million dollars a year, and be less expensive than to fight the BRU in Court. Little thought was given on how the ridership should be counted, and since then, Metro has been pouring million of dollars for additional buses and service.

The BRU states that all money used for rail, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Rapid Bus, Articulated Buses and even the 45-foot buses should be spent on 40-foot or shorter buses.

The BRU has constantly demonstrated that they do not care about improving transportation in Los Angeles. They only want to purchase more small buses for a select group of transit users than solve our transportation problem.

The BRU wants Los Angeles to be The City of Hope.

Quoting from the "Metro Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library" Transportation Advocacy and Selected Research Organizations page:

Also related the to the ... group of local transit advocacy websites is www.brutruth.com which seeks to provide the "other side of the story" to that promulgated by the BRU. An additional source of information about the BRU is GuideStar, the national database of non-profit organizations. Users can view any non-profit organization's annual IRS form 990 filing which details sources of funding, investments, financial statements, its board of directors and executive salaries. BRU is a project of the Labor/Community Strategy Center. Their Employer Identification Number (EIN) is 95-4201669.

The Bus Riders Union (BRU) - The Bus Riders Union (BRU) is a transit advocacy group dedicated toward fighting bus overcrowding on Metro Buses. The BRU was founded around 1994 by Eric Mann and is a project of the Labor/Community Strategy Center of which Mann is the Executive Director. Essentially, the BRU believes that Metro bus service should be frequent and extensive as possible, while enabling most patrons to have a seat on the majority of trip with minimal fares. They are against any investment in urban rail, commuter rail and even rapid bus service contending that they only serve affluent white people while ignoring the core market of Metro’s transit service – poor people of color. Because they view this as a civil rights issue, they sued Metro in 1995 in Federal Court over these issues and entered into a consent decree agreement with Metro, gaining concessions on fares, bus passes, expanded bus service and improved bus frequency on the most crowded lines. The BRU derives its funding from numerous foundation grants and individual contributions, while receiving legal support from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and other civil rights groups. The BRU is also involved with pro Palestinian activities, and other causes which do not appear directly related to Metro bus service.

The Transit Coalition takes a neutral stand on political issues. The information presented on this website is for your information since it was presented above. This material was distributed by the BRU as well as being available on their own website until mid 2004

The Bus Riders Union Asks the U.S. and Israeli Governments:
Let the Palestinian People Go

• Original Draft - Notice of BRU Meeting to discuss (5 pages)
• Final Flyer - English (2 pages - each 0.4M)
• Final Flyer - Spanish (2 pages - each 0.4M)

For additional BRU information please visit the San Fernando Valley Transit Insider - Bus Riders Union Facts page.

You can view the annual Labor/Community Strategy Center IRS form 990 filing which details sources of funding, investments, financial statements, its board of directors and executive salaries in the PDF file format. Please note that Eric Mann is the Executive Director for both the BRU and the Labor/Community Strategy Center. (All tax returns are in Adobe PDF format)

• 2006 tax return - 1.09MB
• 2005 tax return - 1.10MB
• 2004 tax return - 1.09MB
• 2003 tax return - 1,06MB
• 2002 tax return - 647KB
• 2001 tax return - 701KB
• 2000 tax return - 787KB
• 1999 tax return - 690KB
• 1998 tax return - 724KB
• 1997 tax return - 809KB