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Hi Oregon! Did u know that @TransitRidersUS is holding a day of action TODAY to demand local/federal funding to #SaveTransit and more transparency/rider participation in the budgeting process? Here's a quick look at what's going on nationally & locally! #TrustRidersFundTransit
The good news is that the current draft of the HEROES Act, which passed the House last Thurs., includes $32B in emergency funds for the transit industry, including urbanized, rural and paratransit formula funds. https://www.masstransitmag.com/management/article/21156296/revised-heroes-act-includes-32-billion-for-transit
Grievances with the "industry" aside, this is crucial to keeping public transit/paratransit up and running during our national crisis. Budget cuts are razing public transit nationwide, and the impact is greatest on people of color, low-income workers, and people with disabilities
Naturally, this is also harming transit workers who are seeing massive layoffs, dangerous working conditions, and lack of proper access to PPE. And consequentially? Death. Lots and lots of death. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/transit-workers-are-paying-heavy-price-in-the-coronavirus-pandemic/2020/05/17/d7251b18-8edc-11ea-a9c0-73b93422d691_story.html
Hey, speaking of PPE: Remember when Trump made a big deal of "saving" Trimet back in May with $184.9M (which had nothing to do with his actions)?
He also did this. https://www.mic.com/p/the-trump-administration-rejected-a-federal-mask-requirement-to-protect-transit-workers-37476846
He also did this. https://www.mic.com/p/the-trump-administration-rejected-a-federal-mask-requirement-to-protect-transit-workers-37476846
Anyway, the Trust Riders have made the following demands at the national level:
1. Fund transit now and into the future. Not only do we need the HEROES act to pass the senate, we need to ensure that funding for this essential service continues throughout/after the pandemic.
1. Fund transit now and into the future. Not only do we need the HEROES act to pass the senate, we need to ensure that funding for this essential service continues throughout/after the pandemic.
2. Give riders a real seat at the table. Public transit agencies need more public oversight/participation in their budgeting to ensure that transit spending reflects community needs. This includes making spending plans required for HEROES Act grantees publicly available.
Check out Trust Riders' website for more info: https://trustriders.org
So what does this mean for Portland? Well, the general public demands of TriMet riders have been pretty clear and public on social media for some time now, but here's a quick refresher:
So what does this mean for Portland? Well, the general public demands of TriMet riders have been pretty clear and public on social media for some time now, but here's a quick refresher:
TriMet riders have been demanding free public transit for years now. This is in line w/ both broader community needs (note what I said about impacted communities) and w/ City Hall's insistence that we're "green leaders" (search "Zenith Ted Wheeler" to see why this is bullshit btw
Instead we have been plagued with TriMet's "fare enforcement officers"-- a.k.a. transit cops. They are notorious for racial profiling, harrassment, assault, and failure to wear PPE on the job. Typical cop shit, now in an enclosed moving vehicle. https://www.wweek.com/news/2019/11/09/a-homeless-street-roots-vendor-was-fined-175-by-trimet-for-not-tapping-his-hop-card-when-he-boarded-the-max/
Here's an excellent thread from @tristan__isaac on the continued militarization of TriMet fare enforcement that debunks some of what TriMet has had to say in its defense: https://twitter.com/tristan__isaac/status/1307131701605400577
In response to the George Floyd uprisings, two things happened this June:
1) Portland Police were removed from Trimet's beat. All this really means is that Trimet cops are now composed of state troopers and hired thugs from private agencies like G4S. https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2020/06/09/28523728/portland-police-are-leaving-the-transit-division-what-does-that-mean-for-trimet-security
1) Portland Police were removed from Trimet's beat. All this really means is that Trimet cops are now composed of state troopers and hired thugs from private agencies like G4S. https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2020/06/09/28523728/portland-police-are-leaving-the-transit-division-what-does-that-mean-for-trimet-security
2) Trimet has reallocated $1.8M in funding from fare enforcement into "community-based services that preserve public safety." So far this has translated into an online survey about policing and a vague promise about "mobile crisis intervention teams" https://news.trimet.org/2020/06/trimet-reallocates-1-8-million-in-funding-from-transit-police-and-additional-sources-to-community-based-services-that-preserve-public-safety/
Note that the statement I linked above is full of misleading statements about "equity steps Trimet has taken". Apparently they "discontinued routine fare checks" in 2018, which has only really served to highlight their TARGETED fare checks.
(Also, I'm just gonna throw in here that I'm white and I never see transit police anymore unless I'm going farther north or east. Funny how that works.)
