Dana Gabbard
Recent Posts
Electric Bus Company BYD Offers Private Tour with So.CA.TA. on Friday
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(In the absence of a “Week in Livable” Streets Events, we’re going to highlight some of our favorite events coming up this weekend – DN) Electric bus manufacturer Build Your Dreams (BYD) has kindly offered Southern California Transit Advocates an opportunity to tour their electric bus manufacturing plant in Lancaster this Friday, July 11th. The […]
Metro Memo Quietly Responds to Board and Public Fare Increase Concerns
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On March 29th, Metro held a public hearing on its proposal to restructure fares. At that meeting, I presented the position of Southern California Transit Advocates. Among other stakeholders at the March 29th hearing was the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter Transportation Committee, represented by its co-chair Darrell Clarke. He pointedly asked why Metro would raise fares […]
Ride the New sbX BRT with So.CA.TA. Tomorrow
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Tomorrow, Friday May 2nd, Southern California Transit Advocates (SoCATA) is touring of Omnitrans’ sbX Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) express service. Omnitrans sbX started operating Monday. Our hope is by highlighting its key attribute, dedicated stations along an exclusive bus lane, that sbX will inspire aspirations in Los Angeles County as Metro studies corridors for a proposed BRT […]
Metro’s “Short Range Transportation Plan” Meetings Start Today
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Starting this evening and continuing during the next two weeks Metro is holding community meetings seeking input on its Draft 2014 Short Range Transportation Plan and the companion technical document. Metro describes the plan thusly: … a ten-year action plan that guides our programs and projects through 2024. It advances us towards the long-term goals […]
Thoughts on Metro’s Fare Restructuring
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(I want to be explicit this is solely my own opinion, and in no way endorsed by either Streetsblog or Southern California Transit Advocates – DG But I can’t help notice that So.CA.TA. has a special meeting just to discuss the changes this Saturday. – DN) Metro staff recently released two options for fare restructuring […]
Feds. Coming to Town to Talk SCAG, Regional Planning
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Four years have passed since the last time the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration conducted a certification review and evaluation of the region’s transportation planning process carried out by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) and its partners, and that means it’s time for the process to begin again. A fairly full […]
FlyAway Bus Service to LAX Will Expand to Hollywood, Santa Monica, Torrance
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FlyAway Board of Airport Commissioners Presentation Dec. 2, 2013 by dgabbard2 The Monday meeting of the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners included a presentation on the status of the expansion of FlyAway to develop eight new FlyAway sites by 2015 as part of a settlement I mentioned previously. The big news is the expansion […]
A Peak Behind the Curtain: Metro Posts Revised Organizational Chart
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Metro Revised Organization Chart Oct. 17, 2013 by dgabbard2 For those of you with a Kremlinologist-like focus on the internal workings of Metro, here is a real treat: the revised organization chart for Metro management dated Oct. 17, 2013 that outlines impending changes therein. The most informative section is “General Questions and Responses” (pp.15-20) which […]
Metro Meeting Wednesday Provides Opportunity for Input on New Colors Proposed for Rail
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As our friends at The Source have previously noted, Metro is in the midst of creating “distinctive styling and graphics for the new [Kinkisharyo] rail cars as well as the entire rail fleet”. A presentation on the light rail vehicle color paint scheme by Jorge Pardo, Director of Art & Design for Creative Services at […]
How the Changing Face of Transit Ridership Could Impact Next Year’s Labor Negotiations at Metro
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Last year, I began subscribing to Trains Magazine. As one of the perks, each Monday I get an e-mail with links to the news items appearing during the past week on its online News Wire. Any stories about the Pacific Northwest or involving Amtrak’s Empire Builder I dutifully cut and paste for e-mailing to my […]
The Bamboo Inn, One of Many Great Places to Check out at CicLAvia
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I was gratified recently when I spoke with Ramon who owns the HMS Bounty to learn during the Iconic Wilshire Blvd. CicLAvia in June the place was so busy he was helping out the bar staff serving drinks. Since that was one of the three eateries I gave a shout out to I was gratified […]
City Remains Vigilant on Bus Only Lane Parking Scofflaws
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To its credit, the City of Los Angeles is working hard to keep the Wilshire Bus Only Lanes (Bike OK!) open for business. Dana Gabbard grabbed this picture yesterday of parking enforcement hard at work. Wilshire, south side of street between Coronado and Carondelet this morning at about 7:51 a.m. The car had a disabled […]