UPDATE: Metro officials said Friday that the service changes were suspended because a few of the changes needed to be analyzed to determine their impacts on low-income people and minorities. This is required under federal Civil Rights guidelines. Due to staffing and equipment issues, Metro decided Friday that it would be best to implement all of the service changes at once and, therefore, decided to delay them until the analysis of some of the changes was completed.
Here is the news release:
Various bus service changes scheduled to go into place on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011 have been suspended. All service changes and modification to Metro bus service announced in a Metro news release issued yesterday (Dec. 8, 2011), have been suspended until further notice.
Metro staff apologizes for any inconvenience and confusion cause by the suspension of the proposed changes. Staff over the next several months will conduct further analysis on the proposed changes to determine if and when the service modifications will be implemented.
For complete route and schedule information visit metro.net.
Hi Ronald;
No date has been set yet for the service changes to take effect. They are being delayed while Metro conducts some additional review of the impacts of some of the changes.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
With this it is abundantly clear that this public transit agency must be shutdown and the funds used to help low income riders acquire their own vehicles. METRO ONCE AGAIN HAS PROVED THAT IT CANNOT BE TRUSTED TO GET THE PUBLIC TO WHERE THEY NEED TO GO IN THE SHORTEST PERIOD OF TIME.
The only way out of poverty is to stop depending on the government to meet their transportation needs
It’s sad that when it comes to lines like 620 in a short time that the line has almost been eliminated since it serves two high hospitals and senior centers. Why eliminate something that is needed.
@susan
In many ways I agree with you. The way things are going in LA, it’ll probably be better off to use our tax money to give every poor people a restricted “scooter only” drivers license and gift them a 125 cc scooter for Christmas. They cost $2000 max and they get around 75-100 mph which for most people when converted to gas costs for commuting, ends up much cheaper than a monthly pass and people get to go when they want when they want without being restricted to unreliable bus service.
Giving people cars or scooters too get around is not the answer, remember not everyone can drive, some depend on buses to get them around. M.T.A needs to stop putting money into the subways and more on the buses. If the top people would get out of there offices at M.T.A and get on a bus, and I mean a heavy line bus and see how we our getting around on the crowded buses. waiting for a bus to come and only to be passed up, because there is no ROOM for us. To me it sounds like poor managment at M.T.A since the new C.E.O took over.
I am totally in favor of the trains, but, it is unclear how the Expo Line should effect 305 or 550 service. The 550 has a segment that briefly duplicates train service, but the 305 doesn’t. I understand not wanting to duplicate service, but forcing us to take an additional conveyance (bus/train) to complete our trips is not an improvement.
Some people have stated that cancelling the 550 will disrupt their trips from West Hollywood to USC. The 305 cancellation will disrupt our trips from South LA to UCLA. On the first 305 North run, about 15 people debark at UCLA stops who boarded south of Vernon. From Crenshaw and Jefferson, the bus is about 80% seated by people whose destinations are in Beverly Hills and further west. It is very hard to see how the Expo Line will impact this.
If you’re trying to justify cancelling the line, at least provide us with some of the data that justifies it. It would also be helpful to provide us with alternatives that are tailored to the people who ride. How am I supposed to use the Expo Line to get to UCLA from Florence and Western?
@O’Dawg:
“On the first 305 North run, about 15 people debark at UCLA stops who boarded south of Vernon. From Crenshaw and Jefferson, the bus is about 80% seated by people whose destinations are in Beverly Hills and further west….at least provide us with some of the data that justifies it”
Unfortunately, there is no way for LA Metro to gather this data because we lack a tap-out system. There is no data gathering that occurs at the moment where people get off the bus or train, therefore the data is at best, all hypothetical.
It is regarding the bus line 550. Many of us travel from Wishire/SanVicente to Gaffey Street in San Pedro. I wonder how many buses we have to change and how much time it will take for us if this route is changed. Now we catch the bus at Wilshire by travelling earlier from other bus.Bus 550 also covers many hospitals so it will be very inconvenient for the patients if this route is changed. Now without changing we reach our destination in 75 minutes. If we have to take 3 buses we have to spend 1/2 day in reaching the place and 1/2 day in returning. Where is the time to work?
Why cancel a line that is heavily used everyday? It’s like saying the 720 will be cancelled.
@Hema Patil
“Many of us travel from Wishire/SanVicente to Gaffey Street in San Pedro.”
Again, Metro has no way of knowing this because without a tap-out process, they have no clue on the statistics of how many people got on at a certain bus stop will get off at another.