Streetsblog Los Angeles

Tonight is the last of the five hearings on the major service changes that have been proposed for LADOT's transit services, DASH, Commuter Express, City Ride and Charter Bus Service.  The first four hearings have seen crowds of various sizes, with packed house's at the hearings in the San Fernando Valley's hearing and the one at Caltrans headquarters in the Downtown.  However, the message from the hearings was the same: raise fares if you must, but don't cut service.

Echoing what a Metro rider survey showed just a couple of weeks ago, DASH and other riders are willing to pay more for better service...or in this case the same service.  Transit Coalition member Donna Gooley writes of the SFV's hearing:

The speakers spoke on different subjects including an increase in charter bus fees, Senior benefits, and changes to the 422 and 423 Commuter Express Lines.  A representative from VCTC spoke on that matter.  Two representatives from the Sierra Club spoke on the charter busses and about three seniors spoke on the senior benefits.  There were a few comments on the Northridge and Warner Center DASH lines.  The majority of the very emotional comments concerned the two Studio City/Van Nuys DASH lines.  There were representatives present from the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Asso, Greater Valley Village Neighborhood Council, Councilperson Krerkorian's office, So CA TA, and the TTC.

Southern California Transit Advocates Kymberleigh Richards tells a similar story from the Downtown.  According to Richards, almost nobody mentioned the fare increases but speaker after speaker rose to defend their favored bus routes.  Richards noted that the many of the riders had a greater degree of sophistication in their testimony than might be expected.  For example, riders of the Thousand Oaks service wanted to make certain the bus continued to run all the way to the end of its current line because stopping the bus at the county border makes it useless to them.

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As the Los Angeles Department of Transportation prepares for five public hearings next month and in early March, activists are responding to their proposed series of cuts and fare hikes that will close the city's budget hole...at least when it comes to it's transit services.  Unlike the reaction we saw two years ago when Metro outlined a series of major cuts to its bus service, transit advocacy groups are not nearly as unified in opposing these cuts as they were two years ago.  For more information on LADOT's public outreach and other options to submit testimony, read the LADOT press release, available on Streetsblog here.

Each of the three major groups in Los Angeles, Southern California Transit Advocates, the Transit Coalition and the Bus Rider's Union each take a different approach.

Kymberleigh Richards' statement on behalf of the Southern California Transit Advocates crystallizes the difference in how advocates view the LADOT's bus service as compared to Metro.  Remember that two years ago, Richards was one of the leaders opposing Metro's proposed cuts, even threatening the Metro Board with retaliation if they went through with their plans:

So.CA.TA is okay with a lot of this.  The three Commuter Express lines proposed for cancellation have very low ridership and displaced passengers still have options.  On the lines proposed for modifications, we believe 422 and 423 should continue to Thousand Oaks Transit Center (a hub location) and that late night service on 142 should continue at less frequency...

...We're also okay with the proposed fare increases. although we think DASH fares should go directly to 50 cents (no interim step) as it has been unrealistically low as a quarter for far too long.  We do think the interagency transfer (IAT) should be part of DASH's fare structure, though, especially to facilitate transferring to Metro where a DASH line has been canceled or realigned to avoid route duplication.  It may well be that adding the IAT will be a condition of LADOT becoming an "eligible operator" for county sales tax subsidies anyway, so we think they should just go ahead and do it.

Fellow So.CA.TA. executive Dana Gabbard also pointed to the need to cut waste in the DASH system.

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For much of the last year, Los Angeles' transit riders were spared much of the suffering caused by the Governor and legislature's decisions to eliminate transit funding in the name of partially closing the yawning chasm which is the state's budget deficit.  However, those days are long gone.  Already we've seen a large service cut plan passed by the Metrolink Board of Directors.  Today we see the outline of a coming massive service cut for LADOT's DASH, Commuter Express, Charter Bus, and City Ride bus services.

In a letter to Neighborhood Council's, LADOT General Manager reminds the communities of the $350 million structural deficit over the next decade for the transit lines, $23 million of which comes in the next year.  You can read the brochure included in the letter to the Councils here, or read on after the jump for a breakdown of the cuts and hikes by service. Prepare yourself, the word "draconian" came to mind while digesting the changes, although it's not like they have a lot of choice while our jet-setting state leaders terminate transit funding.  Oh, and good luck finding news of the cuts on the LADOT main site or transit services site.  (Update: You can now find them here: http://ladotlbl.tmdinc.net/recommend.htm)

To register your outrage or try to save your line of choice, you have three options.

1. Internet –Go to http://ladotlbl.tmdinc.net

2. Telephone & Leave Message – Call (213) 455-0880

3. Mail – Send your comments to
LADOT, 201 North Los Angeles St.,
Space 18B, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Public hearings have not been scheduled, but will probably be held next month.  A final review of the of the plan will come before the City Council this Spring and the changes will go into place in July.

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Despite the elimination of transit subsidies from our Greenhouse-Gas-Battling Governor and the Democratically controlled state legislature, Metro is pushing forward with plans to expand and improve bus service thanks to increased funding from Measure R.  A report to the Metro Board's Measure R committee shows that just because the state has bowed out of the transit funding game, all is not lost for those who supported Measure R because they wanted better bus service.

While specific plans aren't yet available, you can get an idea from both the report and the handout to the committee what Metro's priorities are.  For example, they aren't saying, "increasing number of buses at rush hour for the 704 line" but are saying, "Wilshire Blvd. to address existing crowding."  Metro is expressing these priorities for the 20% of Measure R that is going towards bus service:

Clean Fuel Bus Purchases
Added Fare Freezes or Reductions
Added Bus Lines
More Frequent Service
Longer Hours of Operation
Restructured Bus Lines

Not sure how Metro is going to both freeze or reduce fares and meet the stated goal of their draft Long Range Plan to have their farebox recovery ratio rise to 33% by 2010, but other than that these look like the kind of changes people expected when they voted for Measure R.

Meanwhile, the picture is less rosy for other municipal operators.  Thirteen of the sixteen local transit operators are going to use all or part of their Measure R subsidy to "replace lost funding" including Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus and the City of Los Angeles' DASH service.

Yesterday, LAist reported, based on an LADOT report, that roughly 1,000 people a night rode the Red Line during the expanded late night hours of the holiday season.  The report admitted that because the plan had been adopted so late in the year, that there was insufficient lead time to market the program.  Remember, the late night service was funded privately, so if we want to see the service again we have to convince them that the service can be even better in 2009.

A report on how late night DASH service was received was more dire.  The DASH Service ran for only 13 nights and attracted 1,847 people boarding the service, an average of 142 per night, or 5.4 boardings per bus per hour.  However, the time to promote the service was even more limited than for late nights on the Red Line, funding was secured a week before the program launched.  For example, LA Live, which needs several weeks lead time didn’t even run an ad for the service.

The future of late night Red Line and DASH service may be uncertain for now, but we can be certain that the quicker funding is found for the next holiday season, the more people will use the service.  I’m certain that Blogdowntown, which not only covered the late night service but helped bring about its funding, will have details on what we can do to make sure the service comes back.  In the meantime, feel free to leave your thoughts and experiences in the comments section.

Photo: Fire Monkey Fish/Flickr

News and opinion continues to come in on last week's horrific crash between a DASH bus and 58 year old pedestrian Gwendolyn Coleman.  The most important of which came yesterday when Steve Hymon reported at LA Now that the police have determined that Coleman had the right away and a green light when the DASH bus slammed into her.

Gwendolyn Coleman, 58, of Burbank was hit by a city of Los Angeles DASH bus at 5th and Flower streets about 6:35 a.m. Coleman had the green light to cross and the driver of the bus did not see her because of a blind spot, said Richard French, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department.

The DASH bus was turning from 5th onto Flower when the accident happened. First Transit, the company that operates the buses for the city, said Thursday that the driver of the bus had been put on suspension pending an investigation.

Putting aside my dislike of the word "accident," there is one other problem with this statement from the LAPD.  If Coleman was crossing the intersection legally, the "blind spot" is either such a severe flaw that the intersection should be closed immediately or is a result of a driver that wasn't paying close attention.  Either way, we're a long way away from a resolution to this issue.

In other news, last week LAist reported that an impromptu memorial to Coleman was erected at the crash site and today City Watch wonders how with pedestrians getting struck down the City Council can possibly be considering raising speed limits.

Photo: Tom Andrews/LAist

Hat Tip to alert reader Ingrid Peterson.

Yesterday morning, a DASH bus crashed into a woman in the crosswalk on Flower Street, just after 5th, in the cross walk that leads to LA public library.  First hand accounts of the crash were pretty graphic and the pedestrian is assumed dead since, in the words of one witness, "there were chunks of blood and brains smeared everywhere."  Despite the somewhat spectacular and graphic nature of the crash, it hasn't been reported on any traditional news outlet, print or broadcast, to the best of my, and google's, knowledge.

At this point, the cause of the crash hasn't been determined as a full investigation will be undertaken because the victim passed away. 

The obvious thrust of the investigation will most likely focus on whether or not the bus ran a red light.  Transit watchers county wide have long complained that Metro and other bus drivers can basically ignore red lights without any worry of being stopped.  A thread on Midnight Ridazz on bus driver behavior was full of complaints about red light running and The Bus Bench has already documented that Metro Rapids see red light laws as optional.

While any crash involving a pedestrian is a tragedy, perhaps this is the spark that local transit providers need to take the red light running more seriously.  At this point it's too early to know whether the driver, pedestrian, or other both were at fault, but what isn't debateable is whether or not traffic safety laws should apply to all vehicle drivers.

(Update: 10:32 A.M. - The LAPD has confirmed that details are being held until their investigation is finalized.  However, unless there is more of an outcry on the incident, there won't be any announcements to the press.  Also, LAist has more details on the crash here)

Tucked away at the end of last week's City Council meeting was an update on the Dodger Shuttle, the city-provided bus service to Dodger Stadium that ran for the second half of the baseball season and the playoffs.  In brief, the program was an overwhelming success.  Transporting over 700 riders each way, the program averaged 1,406 total boardings per game.

However, as often happens with transit programs, success breeds funding problems.  In this case, the need for more shuttles, and the Dodgers playoff run, ballooned the cost to the city, which provided the shuttles for free with no financial support from the Dodgers, from $70,000 to $150,000.  The cost of providing the shuttles for next season, even taking into account the new proposed fare of $3 for a round trip ticket is over $380,000.

For at least one City Councilman, that cost may be too high.  City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who was very critical of the Dodgers for not ponying up some funds for the pilot project this season, pressed the LADOT on Friday on whether the Dodgers were going to be any more giving next season, the answer?  Not likely.

With Downtown Businesses taking a lead by funding more the extended hours for DASH and Metro trains on weekends, the likelihood that the shuttle will continue during a budget crisis is somewhat dimmed.  With all of the public relations surrounding the launch of the shuttle, it's unlikely that the city would just let it fall to the wayside completely, but to have the transit service that the city needs it will probably involve some investment from the Trolley Dodgers, an investment beyond writing press releases and designing a trolley logo.

Photo: Los Angeles Streetsblog "Elected Leaders" Photostream

Tonight is the night that late night train service on the Red Line begins in Downtown Los Angeles.  Rising to the occasion, LADOT has also extended the hours for DASH service so buses will be in place to support the transit lines.  All of this is great news, LA is finally realizing that late night trains are a relatively inexpensive way to bolster business AND make our roads a more safe way to travel.

And Los Angeles is ready to celebrate this event with a party.  I received more than one invitation to take part in a "Red Line Barhop" in my inbox, and social planning website Thrillist even put together a list to help us all out.  As Thrillist notes:

LA barhopping sucks: take your car, and risk DUI, or take the subway, and discover both that we have a subway, and that it stops running before last call. Or at least it did: starting tomorrow, the Red Line from North Hollywood to Downtown's running every 20 minutes, 'til 3am on weekends through the end of the year. Here're some suggestions for each stop -- with the exception of Vermont/Beverly and MacArthur Park/Westlake, where getting off the train risks certain death and, worse, probable thirst.

I'll probably be skipping the festivities.  Maybe I'm getting old, or maybe I already have a way to celebrate non-motorized transportation by drinking; but you transit riding kids have a good time.  And don't be afraid to stay out as late as you want to.

Photo: Jon Shoemaker/Flickr

LADOT has officially joined in the effort to bring late night transit service to downtown Los Angeles.  A new report by the Department encourages the City Council to fund their proposal to run late night bus service along two routes in the Downtown.

However, while their is support for the bus routes, the proposal won’t move forward without private funding.  The cost of running the late night service will be $180,000 for 2009, and while LADOT will provide the buses for the service they are asking private business, who just coughed up over $50,000 for Metro’s late night train service pilot program, to  cover the cost of transit services that will benefit their businesses.  If only they would take the same stand with the Dodgers.

Blogdowntown has some information on routing and cost:

The added route travels east on 7th street, north on Main to 1st
street, south on Broadway to 9th and then loops back up to 8th street
before heading west to join up with the original line at the 7th/Metro
Red Line station.