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Community blocks Baltimore bus cuts
By
Sharon Black
Baltimore
Published Aug 4, 2005 9:45 PM
Community anger and protests
have blocked a plan to cut bus service in Baltimore city. The plan would have
left thousands of low-wage workers without access to jobs in the surrounding
county and stranded seniors and the poor without transportation.
The
original plan, called Greater Baltimore Bus Initiative, would have cut Baltimore
bus routes by 14 percent and taken 90 buses a day off the streets during peak
evening hours. Its implementation was also planned to take place on the
anniversary of the Million Man March and the Million Worker March, this Oct.
16—a fact noted by community organizations.
Renee Washington, a
community organizer with the All Peoples Congress, was excited. She stated,
“This would not have happened if we had not threatened to boycott and shut
the buses down if the MTA implemented this plan. It was outrageous. We collected
hundreds of names on petitions, distributed thousands of fliers, and have
received dozens of letters and calls from riders who wanted to
organize.”
Both the All Peoples Congress and the Baltimore NAACP had
called for major protests and picket lines in August, with the intention of
organizing direct resistance in October. The Amalgamated Transit Workers,
representing the bus drivers, along with community groups also charged the state
with racism because this plan overwhelmingly impacted African American
riders.
Washington added, “We will continue to protest. This is a
victory but we expect that the state will try to phase in partial cuts in early
spring. We are being watchful and are continuing to mobilize.”
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
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