From Just Economics press release:
The People’s (VOTE) Voice on Transportation Equality, a group of concerned Asheville area residents, emerging from Just Economics of WNC’s Voices for Economic Justice Leadership Training Program, will hold a State of the Transit Campaign Press Conference and Rally on Tuesday, January 26th at 3:50 p.m. at the ART Transit Station on Coxe Ave.
At the event, the group will celebrate campaign victories during 2015 and lay out its priorities for 2016 including evening bus service. Campaign members will also sound the call for people to join the campaign in order to continue to accomplish each of the 19 Points on the People’s Transportation Agenda. In addition, necessity bus riders will share their stories of how a lack of evening bus hours has made their lives more difficult from job loss to struggles to find work. And the People’s VOTE will release the findings of a study the campaign did in conjunction with UNC
Asheville on the need for evening bus service.
Members of Just Economics who ride the bus out of necessity launched this campaign in January of 2014 and have diligently advocated for improvements to the bus system by including the voice of people who ride the bus by necessity in changes to this important public asset. The campaign initiators developed a 19 Point Agenda for Transportation Reform which can be found at www.justeconomicswnc.org/transportation-campaign/. Campaign members and JE staff have worked with City staff, Transit Committee members, and City Councils to help create change and advocate for ‘Better Buses Together’. The People’s Transit agenda focuses on five major areas of change:
- making sure there is proper representation in decision-making from non-elective riders
- making sure that planning prioritizes the needs of the people who use public transit out of necessity
- advocating for equality in terms of a clean and safe bus system including bus stops
- supporting policies that are consistent, courteous, transparent and hold everyone mutually accountable
- encouraging route reform focusing on the most efficient access for non-elective riders to meet their basic needs and get to and from work
Just Economics of WNC is a local non-profit promoting economic justice through living wages and all citizens being able to meet their basic needs. Our mission is to educate, advocate, and organize for a just and sustainable local economy that works for all in Western North Carolina. Our partner organizations who have joined us in the organizing of this campaign include the Access Cluster of the Food Policy Council, BeLoved Asheville, Center for Paticipatory Change, Children First Communities in Schools, Just Folks of Asheville, Party for Socialism and Liberation, The Success Equation, Women’s Wellbeing & Development Fund, and Youth Empowered Solutions (YES!). For more information go to www.justeconomicswnc.org.
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