The latest issue of the Transit Reader, TRU’s official newsletter, is out! Can you distribute copies on your buses or leave some at your neighborhood coffee shops or library branch? Email us at contact@transitriders.org or leave a message at 206-651-4282 and we’ll figure out how to get you some copies.
On July 31, public school students from Rainier Beach High School and other schools in Seattle marched from SPS Headquarters to City Hall to draw attention to the transportation challenges they face and to call for free ORCA passes for all public school students.
Currently, only high school students who live more than 2.5 miles from their school are eligible for a free ORCA pass subsidized by the school district. The distance cut-off for middle schoolers is 2.0 miles. Not only is five or more miles (the distance is measured “as the crow flies”) a long way to walk to and from school, often there is no safe route to walk, due to dangerous traffic or neighborhoods.
Since 2011, Metro fares for youth have risen from $0.75 to $1.25 and now to $1.50, or $54 for a monthly pass. This is not affordable for low-income families. It’s time for our city to provide free transportation for all students to get to school!
Primary ballots are here! If you’re a registered voter, you should have gotten yours in the mail already. Now, you just have to remember to cast your vote (take a look at TRU’s endorsements!) and get your ballot in the mail or to a dropbox by August 4.
But why vote alone when you can join in TRU’s two-night Voting Extravaganza?? Bring yourself & your ballot, schmooze with the candidates, enjoy drink specials, and hear some comedy from stand-up comedian and local political commentator Brett Hamil (check out his take on the Dist. 3 race here!).
Plus, stamps are expensive these days. We’ll have a box for ballots if you want us to take yours to the dropbox for you, and some stamps if you prefer to put it in the mail yourself. So come, bring your friends, and above all don’t forget to vote!! Details above and below, you can RSVP on Facebook.
TRU Voting Extravaganza Day #1
Monday, July 27, 7:00 PM – close
@ Neighbor Lady Bar, 2308 E. Union St.
TRU Voting Extravaganza Day #2
Tuesday, July 28, 7:00 – 10:00 PM
@ Vermillion Bar, 1508 11th Ave
One more note on why voting by August 4 is so important. Turnout in primary elections tends to be very low, especially in odd years – as low as 25% of registered voters have actually voted in primaries in King County in recent years. A few of these primary races could come down to extremely thin margins. Your vote really counts!!!
Check out the trailer for this new documentary from Undrgrnd Productions about traffic and transit in Seattle! It should be out in August, so stay tuned for a public screening.
This month, TRU is getting out the vote for candidates we’ve endorsed in the primary elections for City Council. Want to help? Email contact@transitriders.org or leave a message at 206-651-4282.
As part of a broad campaign to push Amazon to be a better neighbor, TRU’s General Secretary Katie Wilson wrote an open letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, published in Crosscut this week:
Dear Mr. Bezos… Seattle is changing. Fast. And Amazon, which could employ 70,000 in our city by 2019, is indisputably a major driver of that change. But where exactly are we headed? And what will life in our city be like when we get there?
These are questions more and more Seattleites are starting to care about, especially those of us who don’t bring in six-figure – or even five-figure – incomes. And these are questions Amazon has good reason to care about too, since what happens to our city and the people who live here will determine the sustainability of Amazon’s growth.
I think a lot about the future of our city through my work with the Transit Riders Union, an independent, democratic member-run union organizing to improve public transit in our region. Seattle is rapidly becoming a world-class city, and we urgently need a world-class transit system. But our transit infrastructure and service are struggling to keep up with growing ridership…
The Transit Riders Union is an independent, democratic, member-run union of transit riders organizing for better public transit in Seattle, King County and beyond. Through our organizing efforts we won a low income fare! We invite you to join us and fight for the future of public transit!
On Monday, June 29, the new Our City Coalition will hold a rally, candidate speak-out and sleep-out starting at 5:30 PM at Hat ‘n Boots (Oxbow) Park in Georgetown, 6430 Corson Ave S.
You’re invited! RSVP on Facebook here.
Over a dozen candidates for city and county council will be there to speak about the crisis of homelessness and what must be done to end it.
In July 2005, with great fanfare, King County launched a “Ten Year Plan” to end homelessness. At the end of June 2015, those ten years come to a close. So, how are we doing?
The January 2015 One Night Count showed 3,772 homeless people were sleeping on the street without adequate shelter, an increase of 20% over last year. Including those in shelters and transitional housing, over 10,000 people in King County are known to be homeless. This is unacceptable. We can do better.
With this event we will be marking the end of the Ten Year Plan – and the beginning of real solutions to homelessness, solutions that start with homeless people and community allies, organizing, advocating, and helping ourselves and each other.
The rally and speak-out will begin at 6:30 PM, preceded by a community meal at 5:30 PM, and followed by an overnight sleep-out. We invite supporters and candidates to spend the night! Mats and blankets will be provided.
The following morning, Tuesday, June 30, the Our City Coalition (formerly Occupy CEHKC) will proceed to march to the Governing Board Meeting of the Committee to End Homelessness, 8:30 AM, 6737 Corson Ave S.
On June 19, Transit Riders Union members rallied at Westlake Park with allies from SEIU Local 6 and marched in solidarity with janitors to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Justice for Janitors campaign.
The Seattle City Council has declared June 15, 2015 as “Justice for Janitors Day”. You can read their proclamation here, including some history of the Justice for Janitors movement.
June 15, 2015
Dear Sound Transit Board Members and Seattle City Councilmembers:
The Transit Riders Union strongly supports a Northgate Pedestrian/Bike Bridge over I-5. We urge you to develop a realistic finance plan for this bridge to ensure that it is designed and built in a timely manner as part of the Northgate station construction.
We also urge Sound Transit to site a station at 130th Street along the north corridor light rail extension, to improve access from Pinehurst, Lake City, Bitter Lake and other North Seattle neighborhoods using local transit connections; and to put the south Shoreline station at 155th Street with no parking garage. This will keep the station away from the I-5 interchange at 145th to minimize conflict and delay from congested traffic.