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The workers who operate our transit system – and the people who depend on that service – rallied Tuesday in Minneapolis and across the nation for better funding at the state and federal levels.
“Transit Tuesday” is just one activity that Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005 is coordinating, said Local 1005 Vice President Dorothy Maki, who spoke at a rally in front of the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis.
“We want our riders to know we stand with them in the fight for more, better and safer public transit,” she said. “Together we can ensure that our voices are heard and elected officials understand that we want them to stand up for transit.”
Local 1005 represents bus drivers, light rail operators, mechanics and other employees at Metro Transit.
Thousands of transit workers, riders and advocates from 40 states, including Minnesota, were also on Capitol Hill to urge Congress to re-authorize the U.S. transportation bill, set to expire Oct. 1. Passage has become even more urgent as the trust fund enabled by the legislation will run out of money by August, advocates said.
“It’s time we let our policymakers know that transit is not simply a convenience for those who use it, it’s an economic and environmental imperative that benefits all of us. They must do all in their power to ensure our public transit systems not only survive but thrive,” said ATU President Larry Hanley.
In Minnesota, the Legislature adjourned Friday without addressing transportation needs, other than allocating about $500,000 for bus shelters and stations. Speakers at the Minneapolis rally said they will press for action in 2015.
The population of the Twin Cities metropolitan area will grow by 850,000 in the next 25 years, said Metro Transit General Manager Brian Lamb.
“The era of ripping up whole neighborhoods [for highways] is essentially over,” he said. “We’ve got to figure out how to move people, not just vehicles.”
State Rep. Frank Hornstein, who regularly rides the bus from his Minneapolis home to the state Capitol, said, “We made some progress in the last Legislature. With your organizing, we’re going to do even better next year.”
The Minnesota Transportation Alliance, a statewide coalition, supports funding mechanisms such as a gas tax increase to pay for roads and transit.
“People need transit from Rochester to Duluth to Virginia to Moorhead and all the places in-between,” said Alliance Executive Director Margaret Donahoe.
She said members of the Alliance will make transportation an issue in the 2014 elections, so that it is at the forefront of the Legislature’s agenda in 2015.