February 4 is Transit Equity Day!
Join us at Civic Center!
- Friday, February 4
- Morning (6-9am)
- Evening (3-7pm)
What is Transit Equity Day?
Transit equity day is a national day of action to commemorate the birthday of Rosa Parks by declaring that public transit is a civil right. Bus Riders United is excited to thank transit operators for their service, and help educate and organize riders on how we can push for more and better buses in St Louis.
We will be handing out hand warmers, paired with surveys about your bus ride. We hope to use these to inform our future action as a bus riders union. We hope that you will stop by, say hello, and learn more about how we can help in the fight for better buses in St Louis!
Why hand warmers?
Great question! In March 2020, due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Metro’s interior waiting areas were closed, and with good reason, given the nature of an unknown and new respiratory pandemic.
Even as other safety measures have been reversed (boarding at the rear door to prevent COVID transmission has been eliminated, for instance), Metro’s indoor waiting areas remain closed for the coldest part of the day. They have been reopened between 6am and 6pm, but with evening wait times compounded by the continued operator shortage (itself compounded by a failure to invest in our operators), and wickedly windy, cold, and snowy February, the issue approaches a public health crisis.
On the morning of Transit Equity Day, we talked to bus riders at Civic Center Transit Center. Many stood at an unheated bus bay, pacing back and forth in the cold, and most had no idea the warming center had reopened.
We’re a bus riders and we have no say over Bi-State’s warming center policy, or when they will fully reopen. But we do know that it is really cold! Hand warmers can help at least a little bit while you’re waiting on your bus.
If you join our effort you can help us push Metro to build a bus system we can actually depend on.
