In a victory for poor people and the environment, activists got a group of local governments in the Valley to reverse its plan to raise the local bus fare. The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) wanted to hike the fare from $1.25 to $1.50. About 370 people attended public hearings about the scheme. The vast majority spoke out against the fare boost. At the most recent hearing, on June 27 in Springfield, city resident Aunush Dawidjan led the audience in a chant: “Tax Mercedes,” she said. “Not old ladies,” the people replied. Mercedes Corporation makes cars for rich people. Immediately following the June 27 hearing, the PVTA board, which includes the mayors of Springfield, Holyoke, Northampton, and other towns, voted to keep the bus fare at $1.25.

Cars cause global warming, acid rain, and smog, which causes lung cancer. Buses and trains reduce these problems, and they encourage people to live in existing population centers, rather than in remote houses built on farmland and forestland.

The web sites for two groups that helped organize the opposition to the PVTA fare increase are: www.a-dp.org and www.MassSeniorAction.org

In other transportation news, construction is underway in Keene on a pedestrian- and bicycle-only bridge over a dangerous intersection. The bridge, at the corner of routes 9, 10, and 12, is slated to open this autumn. A drawing of the bridge is at:

www.ci.keene.nh.us/departments/parks-recreation/naming-bridge