Buses

Streetsblog Capitol Hill reported yesterday that the U.S. DOT would end a Bush-era mandate to reward new transit projects for using private contractors -- but a similar pro-privatization rule for bus service remains in effect, preventing local transit agencies from competing with private charter companies.

Even with Measure R, not even Metro is immune to bus service cuts.

Yesterday, a federal appeals court ruled in the case of the Bus Rider's Union (BRU) v. MTA over the matter of whether or not to extend the 1996 "Consent Decree."  At issue was whether or not Metro was in "substantial compliance" with the standards set out in the decree: i.e. whether Metro had expanded bus service, held down fares, and reduced overcrowding in poorer areas of the city where people were reliant on transit and service was sub-par. 

Following up on Sarah's post about transit funding woes in Illinois, this CNN segment from earlier in the month brings home the effect of service cuts and fare hikes in St. Louis. Similar scenarios are playing out all over the country. According to the latest tally from Transportation for America, 85 transit systems serving 22 million riders are facing some combination of shrinking service and higher fares.

Around the country, many of our largest transit agencies are dealing with massive deficits by cutting back service and laying off employees.  New York City Streetsblog has pretty much been devoted to round-the-clock coverage of NYCMTA's proposed cuts, the politics behind them and the effort to stop them.

Yesterday Dodgers owner Frank McCourt held court at a Town Hall Los Angeles luncheon where he addressed how the Dodgers are progressing in their $500 million renovation to Dodger Stadium and their $100 million spring training venue in Arizona according to a report in the Times.  He also mentioned that he believes it to be the city's responsibility to help deliver people to the stadium via public transit so he can turn a profit.

This morning, the Bus Rider's Union, including members from South and East L.A., and civic leaders from Koreatown gathered to ask the MTA to support the BRU's Clean Air and Economic Justice Plan.  Their plan calls for increased funding and expansion of Metro's bus fleet and a rollback fo the 2007 fare hike by using Measure R and federal stimulus dollars over time.  They also pointed out that while Metro staff had released a report earlier in the week that called for some short-term improvements, there was also language in the report that called for fare hikes in the next couple of years and long-term cuts in bus service as different rail projects come online.

Remember last year when the Dodgers announced that for the first time in years transit service would come back to Dodger Stadium?  It was a pretty great event, the Mayor was there and over 700 people a game used the free bus service to get the people to the stadium every day.  All in all, it was a pretty great story from last year.

Forbes Magazine recently conducted a survey to determine which cities are getting better and which are getting worse for commuters.  Surprisingly, Los Angeles appears on the list of top ten cities for improving commutes, coming in at #6.