MetroRiderLA

[tags]los angeles, mta, bus rapid transit, beverly hills, santa monica[/tags]

The alternative title of this piece is, “F— Beverly Hills. F— everything about Beverly Hills. F— Beverly Hills with the business end of a rake and Ann Coulter’s head.” This would be a good time to turn away the kids.

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[tags]los angeles, mta, bus rapid transit, west hollywood, beverly hills, santa monica[/tags]

Having to do a ride report for a Santa Monica Boulevard Rapid bus line was a time I was dreading. I had remembered a couple of times when I had taken Line 4, on Santa Monica, to Santa Monica. Sure, there’s slow, but this was the kind of slow where time melted into an incomprehensible stew and shivering set in - when it was 85 degrees outside.

Now, about 11+ years after that unforgettable, unforgivable ride, Santa Monica Boulevard has a Rapid bus. I had to be back, if only for a Ride Report I had no relish for doing. Heck, a Rapid bus on Santa Monica was not even a real bonus, since Line 304 had already been providing 7-day limited-stop service. Waiting for over 20 minutes for the bus to show up at Union Station was already making the trip look bad before it started.

Yet, riding 704 - for the entire route - was surprisingly enjoyable.

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Since I went to the trouble of checking out one of the new Metro Rapid Express lines, I’ll give you faithful readers a Ride Report.

The line was line 920, which has terminals at Ocean Boulevard in Santa Monica and at Wilshire/Vermont. This is an even faster version of the very popular Metro Rapid line 720, or at least a portion of it.

Right now the line only runs during rush hours, from 6-10 AM, and 3-7 PM, but when it does run, they’ve got one coming every five minutes. This is about a 13 mile line. Riding the 720, along (almost) this same route, takes 1 hour 16 minutes, according to the published timetable. Riding the 920 took me one hour exactly: 60 minutes. 16 minute savings.

Along the 720, the line has 18 stops. On the 920, the same distance has only 7 stops. (The local stop route 20 probably has…gee, I don’t know…150 stops? It stops every other block.)

I got on at 4th and Wilshire in Santa Monica, the second stop, mere steps from the Pacific Ocean. As I boarded the bus at 3:58 P.M., only one other person was on board the bus with me. I stretched out and luxuriated in comfort, taking up three seats. The next stop was Westwood Blvd., miles away. I waved out the window at the queue of people trying to wave down the bus at Bundy Drive, Barrington, and at the VA Hospital, where almost 50 passengers were waiting to board. Their shook their fists and ground their teeth at the passing bus. The driver had to stop at Barrington due to a red light, and a few upset passengers banged on the door. The driver would not let them on. It was only the first day of service, so I guess they’ll adapt.

At Westwood Blvd., well over 50 people boarded the bus, quickly filling it to near capacity, at least as far as seated passengers went. Some more people boarded at Beverly Drive, maybe 20, and about 10 at Fairfax. A few people disembarked along the way. By the time the bus arrived at its end terminal at Wilshire/Vermont, it was still fairly crowded. The bus driver had to announce several times it was the end of the line. About a dozen people continued sitting on the bus until the driver waved them off in person after walking to the back of the bus. They probably didn’t understand English. It was 4:58, exactly one hour after I had boarded.

I would find this ride to be a near-perfect trip to Santa Monica for me, if only it continued on to one more stop in downtown Los Angeles, either 6th/Hope or 6th/Broadway. As it is, I had to transfer to the Red Line to continue downtown. I would imagine that people using it to go to work downtown from the westside would have the same complaint, and that this line will be extended to downtown some time soon.

SUMMARY: Exactly as I had thought. Speedy, not too crowded and does what the Rapid Bus is supposed to do: save time. My only quibble is the end point at Wilshire/Vermont. That has to be changed.

[tags]los angeles, mta, bus rapid transit, vernon, huntington park, south gate, lynwood, compton[/tags]

First off, some readers of this blog may have been curious as to my absence for almost two months. I have not quit writing, and I am doing OK. I just decided to take a sabbatical from active blogging to work on a couple of things. I’m not returning full-time yet, but these reports have been popular and I thought about contributing on the major new lines after Sunday’s shake-up. Also, WordPress is being ditzy, so I couldn’t add photos and fortified link goodness at this time. Update: Photos and links are added.

Metro Line 760 is not new, per se. Until Friday, it was limited line 360. It does, now, operate outside of rush hours — and every day, to boot. And yes, it is considerably faster than local Line 60. It may even help relieve some overcrowding on the Blue Line. But 760 is merely a standard limited-stop line in a pretty red dress that promises more than it delivers.

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[tags]bru, metro, transit racism, hypocrisy, eric mann, damien goodmon, get la moving[/tags]

Yes ladies and gents, yesterday I finally met up with the renowned and very well compensated leader of the Bus Riders Union, Eric Mann, in the boardroom during the fare increase public comment period. I started the conversation - okay okay scolding - telling Eric how much I loved rail and hated seeing him use the blood and struggle of my ancestors to push his personal self-aggrandizing and enriching agenda. I then proceeded to apologize for not being able to afford to attend his recent gala at the Crystal Ballroom of the Biltmore Hotel, explaining I had to put food on my table and buy my bus pass instead. You know how life is for we commoners.

I then handed him my card and encouraged him to personally contact me to discuss the issue further. I asked for his card in return, but being the celebrity he is - he was all out of cards! I was so befuddled by his presence that I forgot to request he write down his info on the back of one of my cards. Darn - maybe next time.

The highlight of our interaction came a few minutes later when I got to personally present him with one of the dozens of flyers I made [above], which I circulated throughout the board room and among the press.

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[tags] teen, wallet, metro, heartache [/tags]

Even heartache has a place on Metro.

In an event that spelled certain doom for any optimistic late night moods on the part of the Metro bus cleaning crew, one angst filled teen decided it was high time he clean out the ol’ 13th birthday wallet. And if the pile of notes and cards were any sign, this kid had an action packed last couple years. Discounts on appetizers at such date places as the Cheesecake Factory and CPK as well as automotive insurance companies named after any number of letter combinations that spell “easy” fell like leaves to the floor. Each one hassle free.

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