Proposed Hike in Bus Fare Prompts a Fast

For 15 days as buses have rumbled by, Jose Mendoza has staged a hunger strike on an Echo Park bus bench to protest a proposed 25-cent fare increase.

Mendoza is determined to go without food at least until Saturday, when the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will hold a public hearing on its proposed budget, which includes the fare hike. Eustasio Castro, a fellow activist, joined Mendoza in the hunger strike for 13 days until he was hospitalized Saturday after becoming nauseated and disoriented. Now Mendoza is going it alone.

“I’m not doing this to get any notoriety,” said Mendoza, 37, spokesman for Grupo Latino Echo Park. “I’m doing this for the people, for the community--Latinos, blacks, Asians, whites.”

Hoping to balance its budget, the MTA last month recommended increasing bus fares for the first time in six years from $1.10 to $1.35. But the proposal, which may be decided later this month, has triggered vehement opposition. At one hearing, 200 protesters became so unruly that authorities summoned transit police--many toting riot gear--to keep order.

“Real people are now getting desperate,” said Eric Mann, director of the Labor Community Strategy Center. “As the reality of policies becomes more clear, those directly affected are going to take more direct and more militant reactions.”

Mendoza, who has lost seven pounds since he started the fast May 30, spends his days reading and praying that he will be strong enough to keep fasting. He drinks only fluids, such as Gatorade. He said he has used public transit for the past 10 years, riding buses three times a day.

Like the other members of Grupo Latino, Mendoza wants the proposed 25-cent fare increase reduced to no more than a dime. The group is also opposed to cutbacks in bus services, which have also been suggested by MTA officials to meet a $126-million shortfall.

Grupo Latino, which formed a year ago to protest MTA bus drivers’ alleged mistreatment of passengers, has expanded into a community action group that addresses school and social issues. President and founder Barbara Gonzales said the group of 250 plans to hold a demonstration today outside the MTA offices.

“We’re going to put (up) some signs to say, ‘Hey, you have to get conscious that there is a human being’s life at stake,’ ” said Gonzales. “I think that they’re going to listen to us. They’re going to think about it real hard.”

Mendoza, who is self-employed, and Castro, who is unemployed, started their fast at a bus bench on Sunset Boulevard at Echo Park Avenue. During the days, the two men would talk to fellow bus riders, explaining what they were doing.

They spent their first two nights inside a tent a few blocks south in Echo Park, but were evicted by park rangers. Finally, the pair ended up sleeping in their cars. But this past Saturday, Castro--a father of three--was too weakened to continue fasting.

Mendoza said he plans to keep the strike going as long as it takes to get the MTA to back down. He hopes, too, that he will be able to speak at Saturday’s hearing.

Meanwhile, he continues his vigil, keeping a diary of his feelings.

“It’s very hot in the car,” said one entry. “This is now the ninth day, going to 10th. No food at all. . . . I thought I won’t make it. God willing (I am).”

Staff writer Nora Zamichow contributed to this story.