MetroRiderLA

Image courtesy of LA Wad.

• Emerald City goes to Big Blue Bus’s 80th birthday party.
• Hope and plan for a transit oriented future.
• Feuer’s bills for transit funding taxes pass committee.
• The Mayor, in his State of the City address, says he will encourage Metro to seek proposals for private funding.
• Public transit should be the new economic stimulus plan.

Things got a “little” busy with my billable work last week, thus the lack of updates. Hopefully this week I’ll be able to up the ante to make up for it.

Image courtesy of Coneee.

• Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus celebrates 80 years of service today.
• United Airlines Hemispheres Magazine takes a look at the growing car-free movement.
• Reality Check: Growth in Los Angeles is not going to stop, not matter what.
• Zev on density: “Housing should also be built around subway, bus and light-rail stations.“
• Redondo Beach man gives a car-free commute a try.
• New security checks on the Red Line are part of a larger bum control issue.

Image courtesy of misterjt.

• Streetsblog releases a new Streetsfilm… about Los Angeles and the Orange Line!
• ORLY? Cars are bad for your health.
• Long Beach moves forwards with Bicycle Master Plan.
• A little transit love letter from Long Beach.
• Angelenos love to talk about saving the environment, they just don’t wanna have to pay for it.
• The Big Blue Bus offers free rides to Santa Monica College students.

• America’s Funniest Transit Videos: Shabby Los Angeles Metro Buses!
• Density must be centralized to be effective.
• The United States poor transportation infrastructure, and lack of a plan for the future, spells trouble for the economy.
• Car Accident: 75-year old woman dies after making an illegal left-hand turn into oncoming traffic.
• Wired takes a look at Metro’s Long Range Plan, and the challenges L.A. faces when it comes to mobility

Image courtesy of Telstar Logistics.

• Will California High Speed Rail be a boon to the Silicon Valley too?
• I don’t know if I’d call 1,100 miles of rail “quaint” (especially considering the scant 73 miles we have today), but the Daily News takes a nostalgic view of the Red Cars.
• A two-fer on the Blue Line: light rail continues its destructive attack on humanity.
• U.S. Transportation chief wants gas taxes gone, replaced with tolls and congestion pricing.

Image courtesy of Thomas Hawk.

• The Bus Bench says no to extending the Gold Line to Whittier.
• Kuruma Banare? Car sales are down in the US, but automakers hope the federal economic stimulus package will get people buying cars again.
• The Daily Breeze prints the exact same stupid opinion piece on Mike Feuer’s Assembly Bill 2558 (the “climate-transit tax”) that the Long Beach Press Telegram printed last week.
• Classic Los Angeles: Intense regulation meant to keep the private car culture flourishing prevents a form of alternative transportation from functioning. Taxi cabs spend most of their time at the curb, not driving people around