CLUE SB, COAST, SBCAN, AFSCME, Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee (SBWPC) and PUEBLO Education Fund worked together to come up with a proposal that with only a few tweaks was accepted by the MTD board at the public meeting on Sept. 8. Public testimony from the people whose lives will be most affected by fare increases played an essential role in persuading the board to reconsider its support for the proposal recommended by staff. CLUE SB got out the word to congregations in the Santa Barbara area and helped gather signatures in support of the coalition plan. This is a great example of the good work that can be done in Santa Barbara when congregations and community organizations work together to achieve a common goal.
Thanks to MTD board member Dave Davis of CEC who was proactive in making the motion to try this proposal. Thanks to the MTD staff and board for listening to the voices of community members and agreeing to a plan that addresses the needs of low income riders.
The final decision by the board was a creative compromise between the MTD’s proposal and the coalition’s proposal, and it also included a commitment from the board to work with community organizations to create a long-term plan to address concerns about the environmental and economic impact of diesel fuel dependency and the need to improve access to public transportation. This was a win-win solution in which all are willing to try in the next year to see just how costs and ridership play out, while also making strides in long range planning so we can indeed be fossil free by ‘33.<
MTD provides a needed service to the Santa Barbara community. We hope to continue to increase – rather than decrease! – MTD services in the years ahead as we all move away from dependence on our cars. In this respect, environmental justice and economic justice are one and the same.
Here’s some of the local media coverage from that event (with thanks to David Pritchett for compiling this list):
Daily Sound (by Eric Lindberg)
Independent (by Chris Meagher)
KEYT-TV3 (initial field report by Paula Lopez)
KCSB-FM91.9 (starts at timecode 1:55 min.)
-Nany Rowan, CLUE SB Board Member and Jennifer Bailey, CLUE SB Executive Director
