From the Monday, June 6, 2005 San Francisco Chronicle

Inequality still rides the bus

Barbara Lee Monday, June 6, 2005

Fifty years after the Montgomery Bus Boycott, mass-transit bus service unfortunately remains a symbol of inequality in our society. Instead of struggling over the right to sit where we please, however, the question today for many is whether the bus comes at all, and if it does, can they afford to ride it?

I remember 30 years ago, when AC Transit was a comprehensive bus system that could reliably move passengers throughout the East Bay to essential destinations. Today, AC Transit faces challenging financial circumstances that adversely impact its passengers.

Recently, AC Transit held a public hearing on proposed fare increases that would affect kids, seniors and the disabled. Nearly 80 percent of AC Transit's bus riders are people of color, and more than 60 percent of them have no other means of transportation. In short, they rely on the bus to get to work, school, medical appointments and child care.

Some AC Transit riders have cars, many of which are older, polluting vehicles that are costly to repair and that could be taken off our roads -- improving air quality -- if comprehensive, dependable and affordable bus service were a real alternative to driving.

Lower-income residents of the East Bay face unnecessary barriers every day simply to get to work and to school. Constituents tell me that they spend one or more hours each day waiting for crowded and sometimes late buses. AC Transit, lacking adequate funding, has cut routes or raised fares at least six times over the last 10 years. This week, bus riders will brace for yet another blow, as AC Transit Board members vote on eliminating monthly passes and transfers to close the district's latest multimillion-dollar deficit.

During my years in Congress, I have worked to bring federal transit dollars to the region. In the Bay Area, federal transportation funds each year add up to approximately $500 million, and it is the members of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission who decide how to spend them. The MTC should allocate those funds in a fair and cost-effective manner.

In 2003, the MTC allocated $132 million of federal funds to BART and $57 million to Caltrain, which carries about 13 percent of the passengers AC Transit carries. Yet the MTC provided AC Transit, the largest bus-only transit operator in California, only $21 million in federal funds. Just last month, the MTC received a windfall of $122 million in new federal funds; of the money set aside for transit, board members chose to spend nothing to benefit AC Transit's passengers, despite the fact that bus service is the most economically efficient kind of public transit to acquire, improve and operate.

This financial inequity has prompted a coalition of individuals and organizations to file a federal lawsuit last month, alleging that the MTC has intentionally discriminated against low-income people of color who have no transit alternatives.

Today, all Bay Area transit operators are hurting because of the sluggish economy, and workers and passengers are bearing the brunt of the adverse impact. In the long-term, more operating funds from federal, state and local governments could help lessen these woes. But regardless of whether the public transit pie is as large as we would like, MTC needs to serve up fair portions. Equity is paramount.

I believe it is the responsibility of the MTC board members to make sure that money for transit improvements, including federal funds, goes to each transit passenger in the Bay Area equitably. The MTC has the ability to provide efficient and equitable funding for improvements in AC Transit's service that will benefit thousands of people -- from children to seniors -- each day in the East Bay.

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, has served California's ninth district in Congress since 1998.

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URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/06/06/EDGM7C90I51.DTL 

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