Transit Union Local 757 sounds alarm to 'Save Our Ride'

By DON McINTOSH, Associate Editor

Ridership is steady at mass transit systems around the United States, yet transit districts are cutting service and raising fares. The reason: Most local transit systems rely on dedicated taxes for most of their funding, and those revenues are down in the recession.

In Gary, Indiana, and Clayton County, Georgia, the shortage is severe enough that bus service may be eliminated altogther, says Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Legislative Director Jeff Rosenberg. ATU, which represents workers in mass transit, is teaming up with fellow transit union Transport Workers Union (TWU) to advocate federal rescue of mass transit.

To sound the alarm, the two unions are holding rallies around the country. The rallies call on Congress to allow transit districts to use federal money for operations and maintenance. Right now, in most cases, federal mass transit funds can only go toward buying new equipment like buses and trains.

“It makes no sense to buy a new bus and then leave it sitting in the garage because it lacks a driver,” said ATU President Warren George at a June 11 “Save Our Ride” rally in Portland that drew about 350 people. “What we’re asking for is the money that’s already been appropriated. We ask that local decisions be made at a local level.”

A survey released April 1 by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) reported that 59 percent of public transit systems have raised fares or cut service since the beginning of 2009. Local examples are plenty.

C-TRAN, which serves Vancouver and other Clark County, Washington, communities, cut 6 percent of its bus runs in January, and laid off 12 part-time workers.

“Your system gets to the point of irrelevance if you cut too much,” Jim Quintana, senior manager of development and public affairs at C-TRAN, told the Labor Press. “In the worst case scenario, our system would get cut in half in the next five years.”

C-TRAN, like most transit systems, is funded by a local sales tax; C-TRAN’s is 0.5 percent.

On the Oregon side of the Columbia River, TriMet — the Portland metro area transit agency — is unusual in that it is funded largely by an employer payroll tax — 0.006808 percent. But the result is the same: Revenues fall when times are tough.

On June 6, TriMet instituted its latest round of service cuts, reducing frequency on 13 major bus lines. It will mean an additional two to five minutes between buses at rush hour. Mid-day, buses that ran every 15 minutes now run every 20, while buses that ran every 20 minutes now run every 30.

Fares account for only a quarter of Tri-Met’s revenue. But they’re going up, five cents. At the June 11 rally, that brought a reaction from Shannon Olive, lead bus organizer for the Transit Justice and Health Campaign at OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon.

“Stop the fare increase. Stop the service cuts,” Olive said. “Give us what we need: more buses.”

Rosenberg, the ATU legislative director, is hopeful Congress will move to relax the restrictions on spending federal funds.

HR 2746 in the House has 131 co-sponsors (including Portland-area Democrats Earl Blumenauer and David Wu). The bill would give urban districts the flexibility to spend some federal matching funds on operations and maintenance. A companion bill in the Senate, S 3189, is co-sponsored by Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)

At the Portland rally, a long line of politicians spoke in support of transit funding, including Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Kitzhaber; Metro president candidates Tom Hughes and Bob Stacey; representatives from Congressmen David Wu and Kurt Schrader’s offices; and state senators Betsy Johnson and Richard Devlin.

While the union’s short-term agenda is stopping cuts, its longer-term agenda is for the nation to make major investments in mass transit.

“People need public transportation for life-sustaining activities, like doctor visits, child care, shopping, socializing, and independence,” said Jon Hunt, president of Portland-headquartered ATU Local 757. “Employees need to get to work so they can feed themselves and their families …. As public transportation shrinks and becomes more costly, more and more vehicles are put on the road, bringing pollution, traffic jams, and wear and tear on our streets.”

“You’re not going find a greener job than a bus driver,” says Rosenberg. “These are solid jobs that you can’t contract out overseas. And the environmental impacts of mass transit are significant.”

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