The BRU new bus service plan would require MTA to buy and operate 576 new buses for freeway bus service, expanded Rapid Bus, night and weekend bus service, and community shuttles

Los Angeles-On Tuesday, January 18, 2005, the Bus Riders Union filed its Five-Year Plan for Countywide New Bus Service with the Consent Decree Special Master, Donald T. Bliss. This is the next big ticket item in the 1996 BRU/MTA civil rights Consent Decree-MTA is obligated to implement a five-year new bus service plan to improve transit dependent communities' access to jobs, schools, health care, and recreation countywide.

In Los Angeles, the "car capital of the world," the absence of fast, efficient, affordable countywide public transportation means that transit dependent residents and communities of color remain segregated from many areas of the county and have limited access to work, school, health care, and personal needs (grocery shopping, recreation, etc.). As just one example, the BRU did a sampling of trips comparing bus and car cross-county travel times-the sample showed that "transit segregation" is not a mere expression but a reality. Cross-county travel by bus can take two, three and even four times longer than travel by car in Los Angeles.

• The BRU plan will remedy this problem by implementing an integrated three-tier bus service program with 576 new buses and approximately 2.4 million additional annual hours of bus service:
• Freeway bus network: including frequent bus arrivals, night and weekend freeway service, freeway bus stop stations, and the elimination of freeway bus fares
• Expanded Metro Rapid Bus: including bus-only lanes, night and weekend service on all Metro Rapid lines, more frequent daytime service, restoration of all cut Local bus services
• Neighborhood and general services: including community shuttles in L.A.'s canyons to improve the job access of domestic workers and other low-wage workers, and an accessible discount student bus pass.

In contrast, continuing high bus fares, cancelled night and weekend service, and shortened bus lines reflect MTA's reduction-oriented approach to transit dependent bus riders. All the while, new rail cars, late-night subway service, freeway expansions, and large subsidies to suburban municipal bus operators define MTA's expansion-oriented approach for suburban residents and rail passengers. The BRU New Bus Service Plan would require MTA to reallocate funds from its rail and freeway priorities to the inner city transit dependent communities who rely on buses for all their life needs.

Bus Riders Union Press Conference
January 19, 2005 10 AM
BRU Headquarters
3780 Wilshire Blvd, 12th Floor (Western and Wilshire)

Contact: Manuel Criollo or Deborah Orosz (213) 387-2800

Bus Riders Union
For Immediate Release