Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

As Transit Is Gutted in Orange County, Freeways Set to Expand

Communities around the country are bracing for the impact of fare hikes
and transit cuts, as jury-rigged funding mechanisms for vital local
transportation systems crumble under the strain of the weakening
economy. You already know about the MTA's woes in New York City; today, the Times had a report about the 75 percent fare increase that's going to be hitting Long Island bus riders. In Orange County, CA, Streetsblog Network member Orange County Transit Blog
reports on a similarly devastating situation. The local transit
authority there, OCTA, has voted to decrease service by 25 percent and
lay off 400 employees:

blog_octa_carshavewon.jpgCars are set to triumph in Orange County. Photo by Steven Chan.

What
no one is getting is that a LOT of people ride transit. They're too
busy driving 60 mph and crashing their Ferraris into lamp-posts along
Jamboree to notice. Commuters, families, workers, Vietnamese, students,
the disabled, and the elderly (which, I should point out, the AARP has just announced they're lobbying for complete streets and better transit)
-- all kinds of people ride transit. Line 79 is standing-room-only with
UC Irvine students in the morning. Line 175, too, is standing-room-only
with University High School students. And the senior inhabitants of
Leisure World take Line 60 to many places. Do the trolls in Orange
County have something against old people and (gasp) privileged Irvine
students?

What do you think? Any way to get out of this funding mess? As
I said in a previous post, OCTA's "doomsday scenario" is that 50% of
all bus service will be cut within a few short years.

The
blog's author, Steven Chan, is a UC Irvine medical student who depends
on the bus himself. He's outraged about the way transit is being gutted
while money is set to flow into highway expansion:

Iwouldn't have a problem with less service if Orange County weren't alsostudying a $3.8-billion tunnel to lengthen the 57 freeway under theSanta Ana River. Oh, and the 91 freeway expansion. And the proposal todouble-decker the 55 freeway through Newport Blvd. And the freewayexpansion along the 405-22 junction. The imbalance in transportationmakes me pissed beyond belief.

Elsewhere around the network: Bike Jax
links to the documentary "Taken for a Ride," which documents the
systematic destruction of mass transit by automobile interests in the
mid-20th-century; the WashCycle has the latest IRS guidelines on the bike-commuter tax benefits; and Transit Miami has an anti-sprawl action alert.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

July 2024 Metro Board Meeting: Ridership Up, Security Measures, LAX, and More

LAX station will open this November. Metro will expand security measures, from TAP-to-Exit to turnstile hardening. Plus more Metro action!

July 25, 2024

Covina to Begin Construction on Recreation Village

The new facility will be next to the Metrolink station and include a variety of opportunities for fitness and amusement

July 25, 2024

Incomplete Streets Part 2: in OC Caltrans Ignores Caltrans Policy on Bike and Pedestrian Needs

Caltrans has a policy requiring Complete Streets in its projects, but Caltrans Districts routinely ignore it

July 24, 2024
See all posts