A member of the Bus Rider's Association writes: The Santa Cruz Bus Rider's Association brought some successful defense work to protect bus riders from the "harsh cuts" that initially threatened us riders and our bus system. These cuts started out looking like they would be a kind of conflagration that would burn down much of our bus system, taking a lot of jobs and bus line with it. We were alarmed, naturally.

The Bus Rider's Association worked independently, but also in close association with the bus driver's union throughout much of the short and intense campaign. We put out a limited and somewhat abrupt call for a group to form, and we got one, initially comprised of five people. We came together for our first meeting to defend the bus lines, jobs, and further threats to our environment. Later when disability organizers joined in, we realized that this was really about our survival, intense quality of life issues, and our freedom to travel by bus and public transit. This meant having the ability to travel at all for some of us.

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