Metro is proposing a fare increase of an average 5.7% for regular bus and rail riders effective July 1 2012. The maximum rail fare will go to $6.00 for a one way trip on the rail. This increase is being put into place when many riders’ wages are being frozen or reduced. Meanwhile service on the rail system continues to deteriorate.
At the same time Metro is proposing to freeze the wages of its workforce and reduce their pension benefits. The federal government is proposing to cut capital funding for Metro so that many needed repairs will have to be delayed further in convening the riding public.
Public transit which is a necessary service to much of the working people of the region is under attack. The federal government, the local governments and the business community, all of which are major beneficiaries of the system are refusing to pay their fair share and are attempting to shift the cost of operating the system onto the back of the riding pubic and Metro workers.
The federal government, which had billions of dollars to bail out the banks, refuses to pay any of the operating costs of the system although a third of its workforce uses it daily to work. The local business community which thrives because of Metro will not pay for the services it receives. The local governments refuse to increase taxes on these businesses to make them pay their fair share.
Metro creates value for the region far in excess of the cost of operating and maintaining the system. A portion of this value which is currently going into the pockets of the 1% and their allies needs to be redirected to the transit system. If this is done, it will eliminate the need for a fare increase and create the basis for fare reductions.
To stop the fare increase, end the attack on Metro workers, and improve Metro service, riders and workers need to join together for this fight. The elected political leaders of the region will talk a good game about improving mass transit and protecting the riders and workers, but in practice they serve the 1%. They use racism to divide us. They pit riders against metro workers and the suburbs against the city. It is in all of our interests to overcome these divisions and fight back.
The Occupy Movement that has developed in the United States and around the world has taught us that when the politicians do not respond to our needs, we need to engage in direct action.
This can begin with attendance at the public hearing Metro will hold on Thursday, March 1 at 6:00 pm at Matthews Memorial Baptist Church, 2616 Martin Luther King Jr Ave. SE. This is near the Anacostia Subway Station.
For more information email movingforwrd689@yahoo.com
ATTEND THE PUBLIC HEARINGS
