Major reductions in L.A. bus service take effect Sunday

Several MTA bus lines are being discontinued as of Sunday morning as part of a reorganization, according to transit officials.

"The bus service changes are being made to reduce unproductive service, reduce duplication of service along key travel corridors and to right-size the Metro Rapid Corridor service," according to a statement released by the MTA. "Metro staff looked at several Metro Rapid corridors where the average passengers trip length on the service were not much longer or faster than the local service currently being provided."

The changes involve four local lines and five rapid bus lines.

"In addition some Saturday and Sunday service will be cancelled with some of the service being augmented by local service on the weekends," according to the MTA.

Here's a full list of changes:

• 42/42A--LAX City Bus Center to Downtown LA/Union Station via La Tijera Boulevard, Stocker Street, Martin Luther King Boulevard. Operate as a branch of Line 40 (refer to Line 40 timetable). Line 42A via La Cienega Boulevard operates evenings/nights only.
• 68/287-- Monterey Park via Cesar E. Chavez Avenue/El Monte-Indiana Gold Line Station via Garvey Avenue. Discontinue Line 287 service between The Shops at Montebello & Indiana Gold Line Station. Extend selected trips on Line 68 to replace service between Atlantic Boulevard and The Shops at Montebello.
• 71--Los Angeles - Cal State L.A. via Wabash Avenue & City Terrace Drive. Discontinue portion of route to Outpatient Clinic behind the hospital. Route will serve hospital on Marengo Avenue only.
• 121-- Imperial/Wilmington Station-Whitwood Mall via Imperial Highway, Telegraph Road & Santa Gertrudes Avenue. Operate as a branch of Line 120 (refer to Line 120 timetable).
• 165-- West Hills-Burbank Station via Vanowen Street. Discontinue route deviation from Empire Avenue to Thornton Avenue & Hollywood Way near Bob Hope Airport. Service will remain on Empire Avenue.
• 168-- Chatsworth Station- via Lassen Street & Paxton Street. Discontinue service. Alternate service available on Lines 158, 167 and a portion of Lines 233, 761 and 902.
• 177-- La Canada-Sierra Madre Villa Gold Line Station via 1-210 & California Boulevard & Walnut Street.
• Retain a.m. and p.m. peak hour service only and reduce the number of trips.
• 202-- Willowbrook-Compton-Wilmington. Reduce service to every 60 minutes between Willowbrook through Compton to Wilmington.
• 206-- Athens-Hollywood via Normandie Avenue. Change turnaround loop in Hollywood. Board southbound buses on Vermont Avenue at Sunset Boulevard facing north or on westbound Hollywood Boulevard at New Hampshire Avenue.
• 214-- Artesia Transit Center-Broadway/Main Street Loop-Harbor Freeway Station.
• Discontinue service. Alternate service provided on Lines 45, 52 and Torrance Transit 1.
• 220-- Beverly Center-Culver City via Robertson Boulevard. Discontinue Saturday service. Alternative service provided on Line 105 and Big Blue Bus 12.
• 212/312-- Hawthorne-Hollywood via La Brea Avenue Local/Limited. Operate Line 312 limited stop service in peak hours only, northbound in the a.m. and southbound in the p.m. (discontinue midday limited stop service).
• 256-- Commerce - Altadena via Eastern Avenue & Hill Avenue. Modify route at Hill Avenue & Washington Boulevard. Route travels via Washington Boulevard & Lake Avenue to current terminal at Lake Avenue & Mendocino Street. Discontinue segment north of Washington Boulevard on Hill Avenue, Holliston Avenue and Mendocino Street.
• 311-- LAX City Bus Center-Norwalk Green Line Station via Florence Avenue. New limited stop service replaces discontinued Line 711.
• 439-- Culver City Transit Center/Fox Hills-Downtown L.A./Union Station via La Cienega & Santa Monica Fwy. Retain weekday a.m. and p.m. peak period service only and operate all trips via Green Valley Circle. Discontinue segment on Sepulveda Boulevard south of Culver City Transit Center/Fox Hills Mall. Service on Sepulveda Boulevard provided by Culver City Line 6 and Rapid 6.
• 607-- Inglewood-Windsor Hills-Inglewood. Discontinue counter clockwise service, maintain clockwise service.
• 608-- Crenshaw Connection. Discontinue service.
• 620-- Boyle Heights via Cesar Chavez Avenue & State Street. Reduce service to 60-minute frequency.
• 625/626-- Green Line-World Way West via Imperial Highway (625), LAX City Bus Center-Green Line (626). Discontinue Line 626 and extend select Line 625 trips to Superior Court.
• 711-- Inglewood TC-Bell Gardens via Florence Avenue. Discontinue service and replace with enhancements to Line 111 service and with a new Line 311 limited stop service.
• 714-- Downtown LA-Beverly Hills via Beverly Boulevard. Discontinue service and replace with enhancements to Line 14 service.
• 715-- LAX City Bus Center-Downey via Manchester Avenue, Firestone Boulevard. Discontinue service and replace with enhancements to Line 115 service.
• 750-- Warner Center Transit Hub-Universal City Station via Ventura Boulevard. Discontinue weekend service and replace with enhancements to Line 150 service.
• 753-- Downtown L.A.-Imperial/Wilmington Station via Central Avenue. Discontinue service and replace with enhancements to Line 53 service.
• 762-- Pasadena-Artesia Blue Line Station via Fair Oaks Avenue & Atlantic Boulevard. Discontinue Saturday service and replace with enhancements to Line 260 service.
• 780--Pasadena-Washington/Fairfax Transit Hub via Colorado Boulevard & Hollywood Boulevard & Fairfax Avenue.
• Discontinue weekend service and replace with enhancements to Line 180 service.
• 920-- Wilshire Rapid Express. Discontinue service and replace with enhancements to Line 720 service.

-- Shelby Grad

Comments

[bigfed]

billions for trains and cuts to busses? thank you villaraigosa.

[Chatteress]

I don't understand why bus service is being cut when the voters voted to expand public transit in LA County.

[P J Evans]

and, as always, try to maximize the number of transfers needed to get anywhere other than into downtown LA.

[mediocre]

It is so sad that the LA mayor and city council favor illegals over employment and services. Have the voters of LA ever been polled about this?

[LMH]

When voters voted to expand public transit in L.A., where was it written that public transit would only consist of buses? Los Angeles had the largest electric rail line in the world back in the 1920's with the Pacific Electric Railway a system that served the southland well into the early '60's. If we could build a transit system back in the early 1900's that served the region well, we should be able to do it again.

[Ra-Gee]

Privitization ruined the post office and everything it touches. Buses are needed and should increase a thousandfold especially during distressed economic problems. Does anyone have a brain?

[Bill D.]

Yeah, I'm sure this will help instill confidence in the minds of those considering making the choice to use public transportation.

Consistency is key. You can tweak it, but not gut it.

[Yogi]

But, you will be able to go from Madera to Corcoran in record time. The bus could be FREE and people would still only take it until they had the money to buy a car.

[LAofAnaheim]

If anybody here is questioning the service cuts.........you should have rode those buses and noted that ridership was paltry. They were deserved to be cut.

[santafegirl]

Of course cut from what this city really needs. If it's not the schools, it's public transportation. We should be adding service to cut down on traffic, add better connections, think of better solutions for getting around in order to get somewhere around LA so that it doesn't take an hour and a half to get to work not even five miles away. I know this for a fact because i ride mta everyday and at times have to walk half an hour at midnight because the busses are done. god this city government is as stupid as lausd.

[Jim Q.]

MTA is still running lines that run 24 hours but do little more than serve as homeless shelters where drunks drink alcoholic beverages, curse and smell so bad you have to hold your nose and breathe through your mouth. Please MTA, get these people off your buses so decent folks can ride comfortably.

[James Banks]

Third World transportation system for a so-called World Class city. What a joke of a transit system we have here in L.A.

[sid]

I have ridden on some of these lines. The problem is they have to build ridership, which they will lose when they start cutting the lines. The 212 La Brea bus was well used. The 780 was definitely used - it was a great addition that went from West Hollywood all the way to Pasadena. I loved that route and thought it was great how they combined the 217 with the 180.

It is really stupid to cut buses in LA... They should be promoting the transport instead. The other problem is that all the MTA townhalls are held at 5pm or so and by the time one gets out of work and gets on a bus (ironic) to go to these things they are over.

I found that the buses had actually tremendously improved the last few years. Cutting back will sadly go to where it was before.