Thread by @GalvinAlmanza

TIL and also this is *awesome*

https://twitter.com/runolgarun/status/1387164398448349184

I mean, do you know how many people I've defended for failing to pay (or being unable to pay) for a bus ticket??? It's SO COMMON and such a stupid reason to arrest someone.

When you consider that every arrest puts lives at risk--especially for BIPOC who are most likely to be arrested for failure to pay AND most likely to be harmed during arrest--transit fares are like this weird, secret little fast track to police violence.

So eliminating this is cool, and pro-safety, and pro-economic mobility (more people able to make it to work and school and job interviews hoooooraaayyy!!) and also maybe could save the planet so well done everyone.

My second trial ever was for this, btw. A Black girl, tiny, had failed to pay and a cop violently dragged her off the bus and then claimed that *she* assaulted *them*. And we had to take it all the way to trial. We won, but she spent a year of her life on that trauma.

o if you're reading this @PeteButtigieg you could totes tie some federal grants to local innovations like this, which, while hard to fund at a federal level, *can* be incentivized locally by making other funding (think highways!) contingent on fare equity.

And if you're reading this and just into thinking about how transit can create equity, push for racial justice, and save the planet, here is more good reading.

cnbc.com/2020/03/02/fre…

There is momentum for this building across the country, and if you're looking for a distraction from the pandemic, this is a solid cause to get behind as cities think about reopening.

nytimes.com/2020/01/14/us/…