The Long, Long Winding Road to Better Bus Service in Los Angeles

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For decades, bus service in Los Angeles' largely minority inner-city neighborhoods has been inferior to service in suburban neighborhoods. When the transportation authority decided to raise bus fares, eliminate monthly passes, and allocate more of its budget to rail systems to serve primarily white suburbs, the Bus Riders Union filed suit, charging that the transportation authority operated a separate and unequal public transportation system that discriminated against minority riders. Today, six years after the court approved a consent decree, the bus riders and their counsel are still fighting for the improvements that the decree promised.

By Erica J. Teasley From May - June 2002