MetroRiderLA

For some time I’ve been under the suspicion that bus drivers had a certain beef with bike riders boarding a bus, if not at least an annoyance for. There has never really been much indisputable evidence; I’ve never been slapped or spat upon or just plain passed (actually I have but I had no bike at the time). So without such hard evidence to prove my theory I figured it was just in my head. I make up a lot of things in my life. If I were to explain some of the neurosis in my head some might label me theoretically insane if not clinically. But I get by with boarding the bus as fast as I can and try to ignore the theoretical rays of hatred emitting from the bus driver’s eyes. Theoretical until last night that is.
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Proposition 91 is one of the odder measures on the ballot. The proponents have urged a “no” vote, and no one seems to know of any supporters. Thus, you get snarky blog entries and misinformed editorials stating that “no one is supporting the measure”. This couldn’t be further from the truth, and Proposition 91 is important to saving transportation funding.

The reason is that Proposition 1A had a loophole in it to permit the state Legislature to borrow money from transportation funding, as long as they pay it back in three years. In 2008-09, it appears that this will be the case and the County of Los Angeles will lose $61 million for roads and public transit in the unincorporated areas. “But”, one might say, “this is only for emergencies.” Well, Governor Schwarzenegger just declared an “emergency” over declining property tax revenues that we knew were going to happen a long time ago. “It’s a loan”, one could say, but unfortunately, counties and cities don’t have the same ability to issue bonds as the state does. Budget cuts to local transportation departments are going to be made, which means more potholes, worse sidewalks, and reduced transit. The problem with deferred maintenance is that waiting three years for the loans to be paid back could mean that roads need a higher degree of reconstruction, doubling or even tripling costs when a simple layer of asphalt could have done the job. People’s property values go down with poorer sidewalks. The ridership on transit doesn’t come back when the money comes back. You could go on.

Proposition 91 will permanently close the loophole and protect valuable transportation funding. The real reason that the proponents are opposed to it is the deal that was cut when Proposition 1A was placed on the ballot in 2006. By pushing up the issue, and agreeing to permit loans to be made, the proponents agreed to oppose the measure, and to use their space in the ballot book to write an opposition piece. But that doesn’t mean that us voters have to honor that deal.

For more information, please visit www.yeson91.net.

Sick of getting murdilated on the streets by drunk drivers? Me too. And so is Metro. Therefore, on New Years Even Metro is opening the not yet built fare gates to any and all between 9pm and 2am. All buses and rail in the Metro system are free so put away your car keys or better yet, throw them away forever, and get on board!

To make this even more appealing to all, everyone comment on as many Metro accessible New Years festivities as you can come up. Bars, clubs, dance offs, whatever! Bring it on!

Edit: According to Metro all trains will be running all night on Dec. 31 and into Jan. 1 with 20 minute headways. I guess after 2 am you have to pay! -Fred 12/28/07 11:00am

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

Edited to fix musical reference.

Oh, the weather outside was frightful
but riding Olympic was mildly delightful
It was a bus and not a train
let it rain, let it rain, let it rain

Hey, it’s Christmas in a week. Let the rest of the year be reserved for prose. And juding by the groan-inducing coupling of words for this rendition of “Let it Snow”^3, it’ll be prose from now on.

This being the holiday season, Metro is no different from most of us. When it does not have the time or money to give everyone what they want, it re-gifts. In this case, it comes in a shiny red wrapper and a very big package.

Last week’s Line 328 is now Rapid Line 728. But hey, it’s the thought that counts.

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[tags]los angeles, mta, bus rapid transit, san gabriel valley, el monte, rosemead, monterey park, east los angeles[/tags]

Do not attempt to adjust your monitors. This is a real photo of Metro NABI #7637, in the mid-1990s livery, on one of its two new Rapid lines, 770. Remember how Metro promised Rapids to have every amenity of rail except the steel wheels and tracks? Seven years later, it can’t even produce the red buses.

And it’s not just on this trip. No 770 trip Monday afternoon had a red bus!

Besides Metro mailing its effort in, the trip leaving El Monte Station at 2:45 p.m. had a surly driver and very poor first-day ridership — only 28 passengers. This is a sad start to a fascinating line.

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[tags]red line, metro, los angeles, fare gates, green line, subway, light rail[/tags]

Fare gates on the Boston Green Line. Photo courtesy of iandavid via Flickr.

To the surprise of possibly no one, the Metro board voted to install fare gates at Metro Rail stations. According to a recent Metro report, 5% of Metro Rail riders do not pay their fares, resulting in $5.5 million a year in lost fare revenue. The estimated cost to install barriers on the Red and Green lines, as well as “select” light rail stations? $30 million to install and $1 million a year for operations. Only one person on the Metro Board, Richard Katz, voted against the project, calling it “a great boondoggle”.

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