Getting up to speed, June 27
MTA buses don't show up on time. Surprised?
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority found its on-time performance was the worst among nine other regions it surveyed. In those other regions -- including New York, Chicago and Boston -- the average on-time performance of their buses was 79%. In L.A. County, it was 63%. The MTA board voted Thursday to hire more supervisors to try to improve that number, reports my colleague Joanna Lin.
Car-crazy Santa Clarita votes for more bike funding
The City Council votes to spend $14 million on 11 miles of new bike paths, 13 miles of new bike lanes, bike routes to be shared with motorists, and a staffer to get the job done in the bedroom community. The Santa Clarita Valley Signal quotes one councilwoman saying, "It's about time." Um, yes.
House of Representatives votes for more transit funding
The Saving Energy Through Public Transportation Act passed the House on a 322-98 vote Thursday. The bill would provide $1.7 billion to help transit agencies pay higher fuel costs, limit fare hikes and expand service, reports my colleague Rich Simon, and California would receive about $266 million. Breaking down the vote, 231 Dems were for the bill and none against, while Republicans were split, with 91 for and 98 against, according to the online federal bill tracker.
Higher gas prices, fewer accidents
The auto insurer Geico says clients aren't crashing as much because they're not driving as much. But repair costs have gone up due to inflation, reports Reuters.
He couldn't afford the gasoline to drive, but....
A man in Berlin parked his 1995 BMW on the lawn in front of the convention center, doused it with gasoline and then torched it. Why? Couldn't afford to gas it up anymore, he told authorities. USA Today.
Remember gas siphoning?
For all the talk of high gas prices, I haven't heard much about the art of gas siphoning lately. If memory serves, in 1970s-Cincinnati, where I grew up, there was quite a spate of gas theft via siphoning during the Arab oil embargo. I Googled the term this morning and found there are several YouTube videos on siphoning (none worth watching) and I was pleased to see the ever-resourceful WikiAnswers has a how-to.
"The easiest way to siphon gas without getting a mouthful is to use a long, clear hose," the website advises.
--Steve Hymon
MTA runs a lot of very long routes along very busy streets. Examples: Commerce to Santa Monica thru downtown LA, Sylmar to downtown via San Fernando Rd. What are the chances that a bus will be on time along the latter half of such 90 to 120 minute routes? Driver certainly needs a break after such a run so return trip will be late right from the start. Miss a connection and you may wait 40- 60 minutes. Supervisors can't eliminate traffic tie-ups, high volume traffic, accidents or construction.
Posted by: Francis Flaherty | June 27, 2008 at 11:22 AM
My thoughts on a disorder name for people running out of gas... Gastooexpensivitis
Posted by: Bruce Amstutz | June 27, 2008 at 10:44 AM