Bus service in your community can be better in a wide range of ways: buses could run more often, they could run for more hours in the day, they could be more reliable, they could be faster, bus fare could be lower, the bus routes could be more convenient, and there could be more bus routes in total! Getting any of these changes in your community requires building political power and applying pressure to the appropriate decision makers.

Depending on what you want, the decision makers could be the board of directors of the bus system, a mayor or a city council, or state legislator, Governor or even your federal representatives. The key parts are to:

1) Have a clear demand of the decision maker of something that is within their power to do

2) Build & deploy the political power needed to get their attention and inspire them to act.

It is easy for them to ignore one person– you are more powerful when you get hundreds of people as part of a diverse coalition speaking out with a unified voice For more guidance on how you can get better bus service in your community, book a training session and check out these quick pieces for further reading:

• “Want better transit? Get people on the bus, literally!”

• “Tired of your bus being late? Here’s a way you can help fix that”

• “Rail and bus systems need organized support fighting for them!”

• “Transit agencies are fighting with one hand tied behind their back”

• “Questions are powerful tools for activists”

• “Storytelling is essential to win transit funding”

• “Sales lessons for transit advocates— taking a look at the California High Speed Rail”

• “Using your anger strategically to win bike & bus lanes”

• “How advocates redefine what is possible”

• “You can win more & bigger changes than you might think”

• “Want to win your bike or bus lane? Make nachos”

• “Disability and transportation advocacy”

• “A quick guide to communicate more compellingly as an advocate”

• “Fighting like an American for Dutch-inspired transportation changes”

• “Talk to strangers in order to win your transit or bike goals”

• “You are on the offensive; let’s look at how to strategically choose a fight”

• “The dishes always need doing– a lesson on starting your own local pro-bike/bus campaign”

• “Partying is an essential step of advocating for bikes & transit”

• “The secret weapon of transit, bike and anti-traffic violence advocates”

• “You can lobby too!”

• “A step-by-step guide to getting your permit to do bike, transit or safe street activism”

• “Existentialism and math around your potential political impact”

• “Using strategic audacity to overcome inertia and fear on transportation issues”

• “How to complain more effectively to get the bike and transit improvements you want!”

• “‘No one else cares about ____’ is a self-defeating lie”

• “What Leeroy Jenkins Can Teach Bike and Transit Activists”

• “Navigating politically difficult conversations as a bike or transit activist”