The petition is a nice idea, but most likely, transportation and government officials will find it a meaningless collection of electronic signatures. Especially since some insist on not signing their full names!
Since most transit agencies receive at least a modicum of federal funding, the best way to get their attention is to have Congress making inquiries about these policies. This means contacting YOUR congressional representative.
As a BLET State Legislative representative, I would suggest the following:
1.SEND A TELEGRAM Yes, this will cost you less than 10 bucks, but is hundreds of times more effective than an e-mail. Considering that your representative receives thousands of emails daily (plus spam), the odds are that yours won't be noticed. Telegrams
are noticed and some offices require that they be immediatly answered. A representative receiving 20, 50 or 100 telegrams addressing the same subject will take notice.
2.SEND A WRITTEN LETTER Again it gets noticed. Find your low tech pen and paper and write a letter. Make it short and to the point. Express concern, and avoid name calling. It will get results. Avoid using a form letter (if someone helpfully posts one) since even the slowest clerk will see it for what it is. Use your own words (pretend you're chatting with your representative if all else fails).
To find your Congressional Representative, go to
http://www.congress.org
It is often best to send these communications to his/her local or main district office, rather than to the Washington DC office. The locals will certainly give it the full attention.
How about it? Is it worth 10 bucks to you?
