More Service Cuts Coming Before the End of the Year

If I lived on Beverly, cancelling the 714 would make me bitter. Photo: biofriendly/flickr

Amidst the discussion of Metro's impending fare increase previous
Streetsblog posting have noted even with additional funds from the
state along with the addition fare revenues Metro still has a deficit
and plans to close it (in part) with service reductions.

Now the details on these are becoming available. Metro is presenting to
the various Governance Councils details on staff's proposals for
service changes to be implemented in December. Public Hearings will be
held during the month of August at each scheduled Governance Council
meeting to receive public comment on the proposals. Following the
public hearing, staff will return in September to the Councils with a
report summarizing all public comments received along with revised
staff recommendations. The Councils will have the final say as to what
changes (if any) are to be implemented except that any proposed changes
to Tier 1 services, which include Rapid Bus, must come before the MTA
Board for its approval before they are implemented.

Kymberleigh Richards summarized the proposals in a posting on the
SO.CA.TA member board, which she has kindly given permission to
share below. It should be noted a number of the lines proposed for
cancellation have faced a similar fate in the past and ducked the
bullet. This is because the Councils generally have some wiggle room as
to what the package of changes they agree to consists of. Community
input has a large impact on what changes occur. In the coming weeks
Metro will gear up its publicity machine regarding the proposal
hearings, but I though it would be useful to provide an early heads up.

Lines proposed for complete cancellation:
168 (Lassen-Paxton)
177 (Sierra Madre Villa-JPL)
214 (Broadway-Main Loop)
220 (Robertson Blvd.)
439 (Downtown-LAX Express)
608 (Crenshaw Connection)
620 (Boyle Heights Shuttle)

Lines proposed for partial cancellation or restructuring:
202 (Willowbrook-Compton-