Please attend a press conference on the steps of City Hall on Monday, February 28 at 1:30 p.m. to protest planned Muni fare hikes and service cuts. Join drivers with TWU Local 250-A and riders at this press conference and then attend the Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors hearing at 2 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors chambers (room 250). Also, contact the Board of Directors and tell them you oppose Muni fare hikes and service cuts. Please urge them to adopt the recommendations of the Coalition for Transit Justice below and attached. Contact the Board of Directors through their clerk: Roberta Boomer <roberta_boomer@ci.sf.ca.us> Platform for Transit Justice The ability to access transportation is a basic human need. Public transportation remains the City�s only feasible method of providing this basic need to all of its people. As a matter of social, economic and environmental justice, the Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) should seek to fund public transit using monies gained from those most able to pay. Individuals who opt out of the public transportation system should be asked first to sacrifice for the good of the general public. In addition, as a �transit first� city, San Francisco should encourage use of public transit instead of cars as a means of improving the environment. Based on these values, we oppose the use of any fare increases or service cuts to close the upcoming $15 to $18 million deficit for the 2004-2005 fiscal year. Rather, the MTA should adopt a combination of these revenue-rising measures: a) Increase garage rates; b) Increase parking fines and fees; c) Increase residential parking permit fees and expand geographic areas where permits are required; d) Increase parking meter rates in downtown areas of major commercial centers; e) Increase use of Class Pass and expand use of unlimited access passes that could potentially raise revenue; f) Expand enforcement of the current parking tax; g) Expand enforcement of parking violations, particularly in public transit lanes; h) Impose a vehicle registration surcharge; and, i) Add new meters in downtown areas and major commercial centers. The MTA can easily close this fiscal year�s budget gap by implementing a combination of the above revenue-raising measures based on information released by the MTA itself. Fees and service cuts are not necessary. The following organizations and individuals have endorsed the Platform for Transit Justice: Board of Education Commissioner Mark Sanchez Central City Progressives Central City SRO Collaborative Chinese Progressive Association Coalition on Homelessness Community Leadership Academy and Emergency Response (CLEAR) Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council (HANC) Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club La Raza Centro Legal Living Wage Coalition Misson SRO Collaborative Mission Agenda POWER Religious Witness With Homeless People Richmond District Democratic Club San Francisco Community Land Trust San Francisco Day Labor Program San Francisco Green Party San Francisco Peace and Freedom Party San Francisco Youth Commission Senior Action Network Sierra Club South of Market Community Action Network Supervisor Tom Ammiano Supervisor Chris Daly Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi San Francisco Tenants Associations' Coalition TWU Local 250-A Transportation for a Livable City Walk San Francisco Young Workers Project __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - You care about security. So do we. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail