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Agricultural
workers continue to face dangerous conditions on their way to work
everyday due to the limited transit options that are currently available
to them. Because the average annual income for agricultural workers is
$11,525, many face serious financial constraints that limit their
ability to afford a car, insurance, maintenance and fuel. In addition,
well over half of all farm workers in California lack proper immigration
documents and are ineligible for a driver’s license. Nonetheless, 39% of
all agricultural workers still drive their own vehicle, with or without
a license.
Due to these and
other constraints, 28% ride with others, and 4% ride in a bus, truck, or
van provided by their employer. Twenty-seven percent (27%) ride with a
raitero. Farm workers who ride with others, or especially raiteros, are
often subject to outrageous and inconsistent charges, dangerous driving,
and unreliable and unsafe vehicles. In 1999, a series of tragic
accidents in the Central Valley brought statewide attention to the
unsafe transit options that exist for agricultural workers.
First on August 9,
1999, a van transporting 13 farm workers collided with a semi-truck near
Five Points, a rural intersection in West Fresno County. All 13 workers
died. Most of the victims rode on three bare benches in the back of the
van. The workers were not wearing seatbelts. Just one month later, on
September 10, 1999, thirteen workers were injured or killed south of
Fresno when an unlicensed van driver failed to stop for a posted stop
sign and collided with another car. The van had seven seats – all with
seatbelts – but four more people were seated on the floor. Their deaths
brought the number of farm workers killed since 1994 while riding aboard
farm labor transportation vehicles to sixty-three. At the time of these
incidents 45% of work-related fatalities in agriculture were related to
vehicles. As a result, the State legislature approved AB 1165 (Florez)
and AB 555 (Reyes) which established strict farm labor vehicle
certification requirements, including seatbelts for every passenger.
Nearly two million dollars were appropriated to the California Highway
Patrol for the CHP Farm Labor Vehicle Inspection & Certification Program
to enforce these and other transportation safety laws. Although this
program has provided greater enforcement of existing transportation
safety laws for farm workers, it does not resolve the core problem for
farm worker transportation, namely a safe alternative.
A SAFE AND
AFFORDABLE ALTERNATIVE
In 2000, Congress
acted to provide safer transportation options for farm workers by
appropriating $4 million for innovative programs to address the unique
transit needs of this significant population. The pilot was targeted at
Fresno, Kern, Kings, and Tulare Counties, with a matching $4 million
from the State Public Transportation Account. From these resources,
Kings County Area Public Transit Agency (KCAPTA) received $5.8 million
and, through trial and error and a strong commitment to provide safe and
affordable transit alternatives for agricultural workers, KCAPTA
launched the Agricultural Industries Transportation Services (AITS) in
April of 2002 with 123 new 15-passenger vans. AITS has succeeded in
providing a safe and affordable alternative to help meet a significant
amount of the transit needs of agricultural workers in their service
area. This innovative transit system is a model that can be replicated
across agricultural areas of the State and nationwide. In 2006, the
State legislature approved a $20-million grant for more farm worker
transportation projects to help meet the transit needs of farmworkers.
AWHP advocates educate individuals and communities about their right to
safe transportation and work with local governments and transit agencies
to bring better and safer transportation options to farm workers.
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