Bus accident video checks

Busy day at the MTA, which also approved its budget for the next year, with a few last-minute changes that affect bus service:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board today unanimously approved a $3.1-billion budget for the coming fiscal year. Before the spending plan was approved, board members were granted some last-minute requests, including $4.5 million for 22 bus mechanics and 11 electricians. At the request of Supervisor Gloria Molina and Duarte City Councilman John Fasana, the agency will also spend $975,000 to install video cameras on all buses to monitor accidents and near-misses. The most debated motion was one put forth by Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke, who asked that the agency continue bus line 442, between Hawthorne and downtown Los Angeles, for one more year at a cost of $332,000. The line was scheduled for cancellation because of low ridership, but Burke asked that it be given a reprieve after complaints from riders. If the line does not reach 60% capacity in the next year, it will be canceled. Some board members voiced concerns that the motion would undermine the power given to local service sectors, which usually make the decision to discontinue a line. "This is the beginning of opening up the flood gates," Molina said. "There are many lines that we could talk about, and as we look, we don’t have enough budget to operate all of our lines. We committed ourselves to sector governance -- they have their responsibilities and duties." (CNS)

Comments

[Pete McFerrin]

Oh, and Richard, the Red Line has been a relative failure because the wrong segment was built first. The Wilshire subway should have been built first at least to Westwood. Instead, for purely political reasons, the San Fernando Valley got a subway line. Comparing the Red Line's ridership to Wilshire bus line statistics is seriously apples-and-oranges.

[Pete McFerrin]

Richard H., before you'd written your rant, you might have done well to note that Line 442 mostly duplicates service provided by the new 940 Rapid Express line, and at a higher cost to riders (thanks to MTA's silly zone pricing policy for freeway bus lines). There's no reason not to cancel it. The riders who are complaining are probably ignorant about the new line, which speaks more to poor outreach by MTA than anything else.

You're right about the Gold Line; it should be cancelled. It won't be, though, and instead more money will be poured into it to meet the New Urbanist fantasies of wealthy towns in the northern SGV whose needs would be better met by HOT lanes in the median of the 210. How pitiful is it that Phase III of the Gold Line probably has the upper hand on phase II of the Expo Line, even though the latter would serve actual existing activity zones rather than residential-only transit-oriented developments that may never come to fruition?

[Richard H]

To Quote:

"The most debated motion was one put forth by Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke, who asked that the agency continue bus line 442, between Hawthorne and downtown Los Angeles, for one more year at a cost of $332,000. The line was scheduled for cancellation because of low ridership, but Burke asked that it be given a reprieve after complaints from riders. If the line does not reach 60% capacity in the next year, it will be canceled. ..."This is the beginning of opening up the flood gates," Molina said. "There are many lines that we could talk about, and as we look, we don’t have enough budget to operate all of our lines..."

So bus lines will be shut down if they do not reach ridership of 60% of capacity. I get it now. Massively raise fares to discourage transit ridership in order to cancel and discontinue bus service wholesale, eliminating the required bus subsidies as well and redirecting millions dollars away from buses to other purposes. Probably so that MTA will be able to keep the crown jewel of Los Angeles, Metrorail, operating at a huge loss. Also so that LACMTA's massive debt payments, primarily from building Metrorail but also from building such obscenities as the MTA building, can continue to be made in the face of diminished financial support from Sacramento and D.C. Brilliant strategy. Got to hand it to Snoble, he is a sharp operator.

Shouldn't this 60% capacity minimum be applied to all of MTA's lines, rail as well as bus?

Do any of MTA rail lines run at more than 60% of capacity?

Probably the Blue Line does. In fact, it had to be expanded. So we do have a light rail success story in Los Angeles.

Reason Foundation ( http://www.reason.org/lightrail/ ), please take note of this.

But the $4.6 billion dollar Red Line has the capacity and was projected to carry AT LEAST 300,000 passengers a day, No? In May, 2007, according to the MTA.net website it only carried 128,087 riders on an average weekday, DOWN from 143,830 a year ago. Isn't that less than 60% of capacity? Shouldn't the Red LIne be shut down? Or is somebody going to argue that the Red Line only has capacity for 200,000 riders a day? Little more than twice the ridership of buses on Wilshire Blvd. Bad argument for "the subway to the sea."

The Green Line? My prime candidate for shut down if service cuts are the order of the day at LACMTA.

Of course, there is the Gold Line. Wasn't it predicted before it opened that it would be carrying 38,000 people on an average weekday by 2007? According to MTA.net, in May, 2007, 19,000 riders used the Gold Line on an average weekday. That's 50% less than projected, and, I assume, of capacity. Julian Burke, the MTA CEO that was brought in salvage MTA after the disastrous Franklin White regime, did try to kill the Gold Line at an early stage, to MTA's credit, but unfortunately was outmaneuvered by Sacramento politicians hellbent on building a train through Pasadena. All these little "Authorities" created by all these Sacramento politicians for all these light rail projects. How about a separate "Authority" for bus line 442. Meet the operating expenses through bonded indebtedness, as only a "public authority" or some such legislatively created public entity seems to have the ability to do with incredible ease.

The Orange Line? That BRT thing? Running to capacity, unfortunately. Not a candidate for closing using the 60% threshold criteria. Sorry, Railfans.

[yours truly, johnny dollar]

Whose brother in law is getting the contract to install these bus cameras to monitor bus related accidents/near misses? Like the contracts at LAX during the Tom Bradley administration, research the MTA/RTD contracts to see you is sleeping with whom.