In recent weeks, Jim Ferner from Kalamazoo Township has been at the downtown Kalamazoo transit center gathering signatures.
His petition for a transit riders’ union seeks to increase service, lower fares for low- to moderate-income riders, and offer free rides for seniors, students and the disabled.
Ferner used to live in Portland, Oregon, where he said public transportation was more efficient than in Kalamazoo.
"I rode it for 10 years in Portland, Oregon. It was a pleasure, mass transit," he said, adding that during rush hour, the bus or train came every 5 or 10 minutes.
Now 80, Ferner says he's been a regular rider in Kalamazoo for a couple of years.
“After putting up with certain things for two years, I said, ‘I wonder if there's anybody else that feels the same about their travels as I do.’ I said, ‘Well, I guess the best way to find out is start a petition.’”
Ferner said he’s gotten more than 250 signatures so far and recently put the petition online.
It is not a new idea in the United States. In Detroit, riders started Transportation Riders United in 1999.
Katie Wilson is the general secretary of the Transit Riders Union in Seattle. She’s been with the group since it started in 2011 and has been advising Ferner on how to start one in Kalamazoo.
Wilson said that in some cities, public transportation is treated as an afterthought.
“The basic idea is that as transit riders we have a shared interest in having a good public transit system, one that gets to where you need to go fast and reliably and safely.”
Wilson said among its accomplishments, the Seattle union successfully lobbied for free rides for students and reduced fares for low-income riders.
Metro Transit’s Sean McBride said a riders’ union would benefit the bus system.
"Getting feedback directly from people that are really invested in public transit on things that are working well, things that are working not so well, and things that we can improve on and think on" would be helpful, he said.
"They are really good group to get that feedback from because they're so committed to public transit."
McBride also said a riders’ union could also help rally support when it comes to funding public transportation.
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