If we don’t change the conversation, if we don’t deal with the systemic problems of capitalism and come up with a viable alternative, our goose is cooked.
In principle, free transit advocacy can also be an element in a broader vision to reorganize urban life and restructure the social order along red (working class-based, working toward socialism) and green (environmental) lines. This requires working through a host of open questions that go far beyond lowering the cost of fares. These include:
Last year something shocking happened in Seattle — people voted to paint “Bus Lane” along seven major arterials, onto what was space for parking and driving cars. And there was not much of a fuss.
A decade ago, this would have been seen as a wildly radical move and pundits across the continent would have set their hairpieces on fire. But now, gradually re-allocating road space from general purpose and parking use to exclusive 24/7 public transit lanes is becoming normal in many cities — even in the United States.
Why did the BC Liberals prioritize a project that could harm local communities, the Fraser River and farmland?
On the 601 bus to my hometown of Tsawwassen, I watch as bulldozers uproot the evergreens adjacent to the farmland along Highway 99, making way for a costly ten lane bridge built in the interests of industry. I imagine dredgers forcing themselves on the river bed, scraping at the sediment and defiling the critical salmon habitat.
