In my recent piece on the proposed local takeover of the Pacific Surfliner inter-city rail route the pivotal question I poised multiple times was which agency would take on the responsibility of managing the service.
Besides repeating some of the goals the local stakeholders have given for seeking to take over managing the route, the staff report lays out the reasons why Metro believes it should be selected to manage the Surfliner:
Metro is a major member agency of the LOSSAN JPA. We are centrally located on the
LOSSAN Corridor. Our agency has the structure and staff capabilities to provide
management services to the JPA. In addition, we have sufficient office space to house
the management staff of the service and are centrally located to southern California.
If the Governor signs the Surfliner bill (he has until Sunday to decide whether to approve or veto it) the next stage of this drama will be acted out at the Oct. 15th LOSSAN Board meeting to be held at the Metro Headquarters Building. This should be when it becomes clear besides Metro which other of the LOSSAN member agencies are interested in being the Surfliner's managing agency.
It's a good time to take a peek at how sustainable transportation and related topics are showing up on legislators' priorities. Here's a very NON-comprehensive list.