Metrolink

My last Metro Transit Access Pass (TAP) related post detailed the vexing situation regarding TAP and Metrolink's patrons and the ongoing inability of Metro and Metrolink to find a means for Metrolink riders to be able to pass through the Red and Purple Line station gates after they are locked. I couldn't hide my incredulity that after all these years of dancing around this situation the solution being proposed involved temporary paper TAP cards being distributed by hand to Metrolink patrons daily for three months after which temporary plastic 30-day TAP cards would be provided by Metro for distribution to Metrolink’s riders who purchase a monthly pass.

Temporary Solutions for Metrolink's TAP Issue Shelved

When you look over the list of 90 some posts I have contributed to this blog over the past few years, certain recurrent topics become apparent like the Wilshire bus lanes and the statewide bullet train project. Recently I have been quite involved in covering the effort by local agencies to assume management of the Pacific Surfliner intercity rail route.

One of the powers of the Chair of the Metro Board of Directors, is the right to appoint three members to the Board of the Southern California Regional Rail Authority, commonly known as Metrolink.  Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who took over as Metro Board Chair on July 1, wasted no time in exercising that power, replacing Glendale City Councilman Ara Najarian with Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.

(High Speed Rail is a hot topic on the Streetsblogs.  For more check out CA Senate Approves Funds for High-Speed Rail, Commuter Rail Upgrades at Streetsblog San Francisco, A Victory for CA High Speed Rail but Still a Long Fight Ahead by  "Streetsblog.net" director Angie Schmitt)

(This is the first in a three-part series from Stephen Box.  In the coming weeks he'll be discussing the bike (and passenger) friendliness of Metro Rail and Amtrak. - DN)

Earlier this week, The Source announced that it is adding a pair of bike cars to the Antelope Valley Inland Empire Line.  While this is generally considered good news, even though some Source readers have some pretty valid concerns, I hate The Source's picture.  One bike, one lonely and clearly posed bike, alone on a giant car.  To be fair to the Source, it's not their picture.

The Southern California Transit Advocate's Ken Ruben reports from today's Metrolink Board meeting that the agency is moving forward with some of the proposed service cuts that the agency first proposed in the fall of 2009.  As you may remember, debate raged and eventually the Board asked staff to look at other options, which of course included a rate hike.  The Metrolink Board voted for these cuts instead of a fare hike.

Last week, the Metrolink Board of Directors punted on the decision on how to balance their budget through either fare hikes, service cuts, or a mix of both until sometime in 2010.  While some riders breathed a sigh of relief that Metrolink didn't fill their Holiday Stockings with some regressive transportation policy; it seems inevitable that the Board is only delaying what will ultimately be an unpopular and difficult decision.