San Francisco, CA: Bay Area Youth Evade Unjust BART Fare

Report from San Francisco in the Bay Area of California on fare strike actions on November 29th. Originally published to Indybay.org.

Today, Friday November 29th, Bay Area (born and raised) youth evaded unjust fares and hopped the turnstiles en masse, stating their concern for their communities and a desire to hold BART accountable for attacks towards them. They say that many people from the Bay regularly hop as a basic point of survival and likewise, they have no intention of stopping these evasions.

On Black Friday, majority black and brown youth, born and bred in the Bay Area evaded unjust fares and hopped the turnstiles en masse. “We care about our communities and are holding BART accountable for their attacks towards us. We have no intention of stopping.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5eG3NAhZZd/

The youth are evading fares to bring attention to three main issues: overpricing of fares, over policing on the BART and solidarity with fare strikes in Chile and around the world.

Overpricing of Fares: Public Transportation is necessary for working people’s survival (not to mention, the survival of the planet we live on at this point)! Bay Area locals use BART for everything from work to school to doctor appointments. Price increases make fare hopping unavoidable because the fares are too expensive. “We demand that BART lower fare prices for all people, so that Bay Area youth and the poor can afford them!” say the evasion organizers.

Over-Policing: The increased presence of BART police and predatory ticketing in BART stations makes youth, particularly black and brown youth, disabled, as well as homeless people unsafe. They are targeted by these well-known murderers every time they BART and share similar concerns for homeless people who are continuously abused at BART stations.

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Another short video from today's fare evasion action in SF. It's so empowering to see bay area youth organize a successful action and bring out a bunch of people to a demo!

A post shared by revolutionary anti racism✨ (@roar_ara) on Nov 29, 2019 at 5:10pm PST

Chile Solidarity: The protest is also an act of solidarity with Chile and other fare strikes being held around the world.

As families are displaced and more locals find themselves homeless in one of the country’s wealthiest regions, paying high fares is no longer an option, says one organizer: “If you are actually from the Bay Area, you can’t afford to never hop.”