On Rosa Parks’ Birthday Riders Need New York’s Mayor to deliver 30 miles of #BetterBuses!
On Thursday February 4th New York bus riders are uniting online to honor the legacy of Rosa Louise McCauley Parks, a courageous bus rider, and an essential garment worker, who helped desegregate city buses in Montgomery Alabama!
More than sixty years ago Rosa Parks stood up and refused to obey an unjust city order seeking to place black and brown bus riders last on our public streets. In 2021 New Yorkers can do justice to her memory by demanding City Hall leaders deliver on their promise to put working-class bus riders first on city streets!
Mayor Bill de Blasio came into office promising to end the tale of two cities but in his final State of the City Address the Mayor left bus riders out in the cold! He promised new help for small business owners and landlords, but forgot about the promise he made to riders back in 2019 to speed up buses by 25% and the pledge he made bus rider Beth eight months ago on New York Public radio where he promised to “double down” on buses!
The Mayor owes working class riders like Rosa, and New Yorkers like Beth, a plan for at least 30 new miles of bus lanes and busways that will bring #betterbuses to the New Yorkers still riding: mostly Black and brown essential workers on the frontlines fighting the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and powering our response!
Here are three ways you can demand Mayor Bill de Blasio create 30 new miles of busways, bus lanes, and priority for working-class bus riders on New York’s streets right now!
STEP 1: TWEET AND TELL @NYCMAYOR TO START PRIORITIZING BUS RIDERS ON NEW YORK’S STREETS NOW!
Sample Tweet #1
Hi @NYCMayor, in honor of #RosaParks can bus riders count on you to deliver 30 new miles of #betterbuses before the end of 2021?!
Sample Tweet #2
Tell @NYCMayor to put black and brown bus riders FIRST with 30 miles of #betterbuses in 2021! The Mayor promised to end the tale of two cities and he CAN’T leave riders out in the cold!
Sample Tweet #3
It’s @NYCMayor’s final year in office! What will his legacy be? He promised to end the tale of two cities and speed buses up by 25% and still has a year left to deliver #betterbuses!
STEP 2: START SHARING THIS GRAPHIC NOW ONLINE!
STEP 3: SEND AN EMAIL TO THE MAYOR DIRECTLY TO DEMAND #BETTERBUSES NOW!
[EMAIL THE MAYOR IN ONE-CLICK HERE]
Finally, we’re releasing a new bus report card today together with our partners at Transit Center, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, and the Straphangers Campaign.
[READ THE REPORT HERE AND GET MORE INFO ABOUT THE BUS TURN AROUND COALITION]
