Today, on the 62th anniversary of the formation of the Bi-State Development Agency, we are pleased to announce the formation of the Transit Riders Union of St. Louis (TRUSTL) which will fight for the public transit needs of the citizens of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area riding MetroBus, MetroLink, Call-A-Ride or Madison County Transit.
Members of the TRUSTL steering committee began meeting a few months ago to address a growing need for a unified voice for all transit riders in the St. Louis region. As riders, we have all complained to Metro about one thing or another sometimes getting positive results, other times as if our needs were falling on deaf ears. We decided the time to organize as transit riders was now to insure the needs of all riders are heard and respected.
We want to have a way to hear what other transit riders have to say about the quality of the service and insure Metro listens and responds appropriately to our needs.
TRUSTL’s purpose is to promote and defend public transit in order to:
- restore urban vitality
- ensure transportation equality
- improve overall quality of life
TRUSTL has established a Transit Riders’ Bill of Rights which we will use as a guide to our actions. We believe all transit riders in the St. Louis Metro Area have the right to:
- Equitably reliable, affordable and efficient transit for all riders
- Cooperation between all transit agencies in the region to allow for fluidity and simplicity of travel
- Transparent and easily used lines of communication between transit agencies and riders with mechanisms in place to address and respond to rider concerns
- Helpful, courteous service from employees of all regional transit agencies
- Safe, clean and regularly maintained transit facilities throughout the entire Metro region
- Accurate signage and up to date transit information made available aboard all buses, trains, transit stations and connecting bus stops
- Current schedules, routes and ridership data available online
Members of the TRUSTL Steering Committee include:
- Justin Chick (Transit Turning Point)
- Herbie Markwort (Gateway Streets & Next STL)
- Steve Patterson (Urban Review STL)
- Charles Purnell (STL Legend)
- Eddie Williams (Formally of MATRA-STL)
See you in transit!
-Justin, Herbie, Steve, Charles & Eddie
