Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Streetsblog

El Paso Congressman Holds Town Hall Meetings on the Bus

Congressman Beto O'Rourke takes constituent outreach seriously. Not satisfied that he was reaching a broad enough segment of his El Paso constituents with traditional town-hall meetings, the freshman Democrat has taken up an unorthodox approach: holding discussions on local buses.

false

Americans for Transit's Rider's Blog caught up with O'Rourke recently and asked him to explain:

When I campaigned for Congress I campaigned on accountability and transparency and said I would host monthly town hall meetings and quarterly veterans town hall meeting, both of which we’ve done. So we were around the office saying, these meetings are great, we get a lot of people at them and great questions, are reaching a lot of people, but what’s the next step? How can we do better?

We came up with the idea of taking the town hall to a population that typically do not show up to our regular town halls, and these are the customers on our public transit system. In El Paso, unlike some other communities, people who ride the bus do so, for the most part, because they can’t afford a car. Unlike DC or NYC or Boston, there are no parking issues, but it (public transit) is really an affordability issue. I felt like this was a population that was very underrepresented in our town halls and I wanted to have a chance to reach them.

The Congressman says he holds the town halls just like he would a regular one, explaining what he's been working on in Congress and then opening the floor to questions. And he reports that transit riders have been pretty engaged:

During the portions of the route that were less busy I had a chance to sit down and introduce myself to each rider, ask them if there was anything we could help them with, and we got a lot of takers. There was a woman who is a US citizen, was born here, her mother is not, but her mother has been living here for 35 years. She wanted us to help with her mother’s citizen application process, which we are very happy to do.

How many Congress members ever set foot on a bus, let alone go out of their way to get in touch with riders?

Elsewhere on the Network today: Peninsula Transportation Alternatives explains how the San Francisco Giants reduced car trips to games by almost one half. Bike Portland reports that the city is starting to see a market for high-end, car-lite housing. And Boston Biker relays that a family grieving for their son, who was struck by a truck driver while biking, will sue the trucking company, alleging negligence.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Spooky Stuff: On Halloween, Some Places Have Deadlier Roads Than Others

New York City hasn't proven to be that scary on the candy-filled holiday. But it's still a bad idea to mix kids, darkness and cars.

October 31, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: After the Flood Edition

Flooding that would happen once in a while now happens a few times a year. Plus other news.

October 31, 2025

Amtrak’s Penn Station Plans Assume Gateway Tunnel Will Happen Despite Trump ‘Termination’

Andy Byford's Penn Station plans assume a capacity boost from the Gateway Tunnel project that President Trump insists is "terminated."

October 30, 2025

Judge Lets Court Street Bike Lane Live … For Now

Businesses sued too late to stall the redesign, a judge said. But a wider ruling will come as soon as next month.

October 30, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines: Janno’s Speaking Edition

Local news outlets had a field day after MTA CEO Janno Lieber reiterated his longstanding skepticism of Zohran Mamdani's free buses platform. Plus more news.

October 30, 2025

Decision 2025: Ben Chou Hopes to Unseat Vickie Paladino on Street Safety

Chou, who grew up biking in and around the district, called out his opponent's anti-bike "fear-mongering."

October 30, 2025
See all posts