Boroughwide

Riders Alliance forms new campaign to #RescueRiders

March 25, 2020 Jaime DeJesus
Riders Alliance forms new campaign to #RescueRiders
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#RescueRiders

BOROUGHWIDE — Transit advocacy group Riders Alliance is launching #RescueRiders a campaign to protect straphangers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ebrooklyn media/File photo
Riders Alliance

#RescueRiders is designed to give riders a voice, especially those who need the MTA to commute to work. It also seeks to secure the reliable, accessible public infrastructure we deserve in its aftermath.

Saving commutes for workers

The campaign is complete with a kit and remote tools meant for riders. The goal is to pressure Congress to save the commutes of over two million workers.

“With more than two million essential workers depending on buses and subways, public transit is public health,” said Riders Alliance Executive Director Betsy Plum. “As we fight and build back from COVID-19, New Yorkers will need transit more than ever to restore their livelihoods and the nation’s economy.”

#RescueRiders campaign will try to defend transit from economic headwinds that threaten fare hikes and service cuts at the same time that low-income, service-sector, and unemployed workers will need buses and subways the most.

Riders Alliance is also asking New Yorkers to contact their federal representatives in support of a public transit rescue package as part of stimulus legislation.

MTA losses

The MTA estimates losses of nearly $100 million per week from reduced fare and toll collection during the pandemic.

“Meanwhile, more than two million New Yorkers are still using subways, buses, and paratransit,” said the alliance in a statement. “With others directed to stay home, people continuing to ride transit are the essential workers on the frontlines confronting the viral pandemic. Citywide, majorities of all healthcare, childcare, and grocery workers depend on public transit to get to work.”

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