Here’s the news release from Metro:
The Metro Orange Line Extension — a four-mile addition to the wildly popular Orange Line busway — will open to the public on Saturday, June 30 with community celebrations and free rides on the extension from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Orange Line Extension is going to connect with Metrolink and Amtrak and in so doing, further expand the regional reach of the fast-growing Metro system. And more great news for Los Angeles: The project is coming in ahead of time and well within budget.
“We’re thrilled that the Orange Line Extension will open earlier than anticipated and that the contractor is completing it well within budget,” said Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chair Antonio Villaraigosa. “It’s another great example of why building in this economy makes excellent business sense, at the same time it provides much needed jobs. And with the Orange Line Extension — the first Measure R project to be completed — we are continuing to build out a new 21st Century mass transit system for the people of Los Angeles and for future generations.”
The Orange Line Extension is the latest addition to Metro’s rapidly expanding transit system and the latest link in the plan for regional connectivity. As part of the existing Orange Line it will run from the Chatsworth Metrolink and Amtrak Station — gateway to Ventura County — to the Metro Red Line Station in North Hollywood. The Red Line connects with the Blue Line to Long Beach, the Gold Line to the Eastside and Pasadena, the Purple Line to Koreatown, the Green Line toward LAX and the Expo Line to Culver City. The rail system alone is 87 miles … all opened since 1990. And it connects with 180 Metro bus routes that crisscross L.A. County.
In addition to free rides all day on the four-mile busway, June 30 celebrations will include community events at the Orange Line Extension Chatsworth and Canoga stations from 10 am. to 4 p.m. Reflecting its history, Chatsworth will host a country/western theme, while Canoga organizers are planning eco-friendly events and food trucks in celebration of the new line.
The project includes four new stations at Sherman Way, Roscoe Boulevard, Nordhoff Street and the Chatsworth Metrolink Station. New platforms are being added at the Canoga Station. An elevated crossing at Lassen Street will keep the busway separated from railroad tracks. All stations will include public art. Parallel to the busway, a bikeway and pedestrian path has been planted with beautiful landscape similar to the drought-tolerant plants along the existing Metro Orange Line. And there will be a new park and ride lot at the Sherman Way Station, as well as additional parking at the Chatsworth Station.
When the 14-mile Orange Line opened in 2005, 7,000 to 8,000 boardings a day were predicted. Now there are more than 25,000 daily boardings. For more information on the Metro Orange Line go to metro.net/projects/orangeline.
Frank M.
Bicycles generally ride in bike lanes, bike paths, and bike routes and not in the general flow of traffic. The main reason cycling is becoming more popular in LA is that there is much more in the way of bike lanes and paths and even sharrows that make a difference. Cycling can still be dangerous, but it is no where near the level of a moped.
Motorcycles travel at much faster speeds than bicycles. Not too long ago a motorcycle came out of nowhere and tried to pass me on the right at a high rate of speed on a surface street. He was in my blind spot when I tried to change lanes and luckily noticed him just as I was making the switch. There was no doubt he would have been killed or maimed for life had I not noticed him at the last second or if I had made the lane change just slightly quicker as many Angelenos do.
Y Fukuzawa was talking about a student taking a moped from Chatsworth to Hollywood or Downtown. To do that unless you want to take two hours, you are going to use the freeway. That is completely different than bicycle travel so the analogy between bikes is not comparable here. Sure you may see a few more mopeds, but the overall number is immaterial and it is highly unlikely to change even with higher gas prices. The vast majority of people simply do not want to risk their lives to save a couple of dollars.
There seems to be a misconception regarding cost per mile for some. Reduced vehicle usage would lead to lower annual costs, but a HIGHER cost per mile.
Consider that some vehicle maintenance is also recommended by time (i.e. oil change); operating your vehicle less than 10,000 miles annually would actually increase your cost per mile (though marginally small) because the maintenance is being associated with a lower overall mileage. Your annual cost would be smaller by comparison (2,000 x $0.60+ rather than 10,000 x $0.60), but the incremental cost per mile is higher. Also, as previously pointed out, short local trips tend to cause more wear and tear on the vehicle than long trips, which would also correspond to an increased cost per mile.
Matt,
You misread my post. I said:
“Why wouldn’t this student then just commute with a scooter when when going to school from Chatsworth to PCC, and when this person has a need to go to Hollywood or Downtown, just buy a day pass?”
I never said anything about using a moped all the way from Chatsworth to Hollywood. I said just use a scooter for Chatsworth-PCC which is cheaper than taking public transit because of the short distance, and if that student ever has a need to go to Downtown or Hollywood, buy a Metro Day Pass. Scooter for shorter trips within SFV + buying a Metro Day Pass for longer trips from SFV to the LA Basin (if the student has a need for it) still comes around cheaper than a Metro 30 day pass.
In the end, Metro only gets $5 for a long trip from the SFV to Downtown LA which is an operating loss to Metro.
Lower annual costs means more money in your wallet at the end of the year far outweighs the marginally small higher cost per mile especially at these gas prices.
If I was originally spending $4,000 in the cost of ownership of a car per year by driving it 10,000 miles per year and that gets down to $1,000 by driving only 2,500 miles a year, I end up saving $3,000.
I could careless if the difference jumps up from $0.60/mi to $0.65/mi for driving less, in the end, I’m going to end up saving $3,000 year after year and that’s what all that matters. With the amount that I’m ending up saving, in three years I can just sell my car (lower odometer mileage, higher resale value!) and use that additional savings to trade it in for a more fuel efficient hybrid vehicle.
The point of using brake pads as an example is stupid. You are forgetting that people already use their cars today for local travel along with commuting. Knock off the commuting part, which takes up most of your driving miles, especially in stop-and-go traffic on the “four-or-five” your brake pads still are better off at lower mileage driving.
Frank M,
The point of using brake pads as an example is stupid. You are forgetting that people already use their cars today for local travel along with commuting.
The example is taking the bus vs. driving a car. Many on this board seem to feel that the cost of driving the car only entails the cost of gas as evidenced by their comparison of the cost of transit vs. driving. I take exception with that as you have to take into account the maintenance and depreciation costs associated with driving.
If you are taking the bus you are not driving your car at the same time. If you drive the distance instead of taking the bus, you have to account for the added maintenance burden on the vehicle including all sorts of wear and tear including brake pads. It really is quite simple so I am not sure where the confusion is.
Hello,
I love taking the Metro Orange Line; it has cut my commuting cost in half. I do have one question for the Orange Line extension set to open on June 30th. This by the way will allow me to walk to the Orange instead of driving to a park and ride like I have to do currently. Anyway back to my question; do you know how the extension will work at the Canoga station? Will the bus have to leave the line to pick up people at the Warner Center transit Hub as it does now? Or will this extension stay on the Line and not need to go to the Warner Center transit hub?
Thank you for taking the time to answer my question.
Herbert Hemenover
Matt,
The flaw in your logic is expecting everyone who own cars will move to public transit for 100% of their needs. Sad to say, with the way Metro has its fare structures and the waste of time waiting for the bus just for the sake of traveling short distances, it’s not going to happen. It’s not really simple as “the bus vs the car,” but it’s “IN WHAT SITUATION WOULD I OPT TO USE the bus vs the car”
It’s plainly simple. Just ask yourself: do you take Metro to go grocery shopping? Do you use Metro to go to your neighborhood bank to withdraw cash at the ATM? Do you use Metro to visit your high school buddy who invited over you to dinner and lives three miles away? Use Metro to buy office supplies at your neighborhood Staples or Office Depot? Use Metro to go make copies at Kinkos or send something by FedEx? Use Metro to visit your local post office to pick up a package or buy stamps? Use Metro to go to the nearest shopping mall, Target, BestBuy, or Home Depot? You local movie theater? Take Metro to take your grandkids to Santa Monica in the weekend?
You don’t and most Angelinos don’t either. All these short trips are just too inefficient, costly, and a waste of time to do by with public transit. It’s faster, cheaper, and more efficient to do these short trip needs with a car. And I highly have my doubts that rebuilding the entire City of LA to a more compact, dense city with affordable high rise condos with all those things within walking distance is going to happen within ten years either.
If you think that’s not true, go use Metro’s own trip planner. Strangely, it never shows an AAA cost comparison for short trips. Gee I wonder why.
So what do most logical minded people do? They don’t switch 100% to the bus or train, they fractionalize their transit habits. Within a mile, walk or ride a bicycle. Within five miles of your neighborhood like going grocery shopping, drive the car. If you work within 10 miles, learn how to ride a scooter. If you only need to travel long distances less frequently, just buy a day pass for that purpose. If you work over 10 miles then finally you’re justified to get a monthly pass.
And if that’s all you’re going to use the car for, shorter trips only, then there’s less miles onto it so the cost of maintenance like brake pads last longer. If you have 30,000 mi brake pads and all you do is put 2,500 miles on to the car per year, you wouldn’t need a brake job for 12 years. In comparison, if you put in over 10,000 miles per year, you’re going to need a brake job every 3 years.
And as for the “if all you do is shorter trips, that would just make brake pads wear out faster because you hit the brakes more” rebuttal, like I said, most people already do short trips today in conjunction with regular day to day commuting and the brakes still last as fine at 30,000 miles. Knock off the commuting part which is the main portion of adding miles to your odometer every year, all you’re left with is the short trips.
It’s really quite simple, I don’t understand where the confusion is.
Hi Herbert;
There will be alternating service seven days a week, meaning there will be buses running between NoHo and Chatsworth Station and buses running between NoHo and Warner Center, along with additional service during peak hours between Chatsworth and Warner Center. During late night hours, there is no alternating service. All buses will stop at NoHo, Warner Center and Chatsworth.
Hope that helps,
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
If you are commuting to school or work and you live within 2 miles of a Orange Line station, then ride a bike to the bus stop and park it or put it on one of the triple bike racks attached to the front of the bus. After 10 PM, when the passenger load is lower, most bus drivers will allow up to 2-3 bikes inside as the amount of waiting passengers with bikes increases significantly for each bus in these late hours, especially on a Saturday, where I have seen up to 9-11 passengers waiting with bikes along the existing Orange Line stations heading east from Canoga Ave to the final stop at the North Hollywood station.
Frank M.
You misrepresent what I said and make up things that I did not say. No where did I say or insuate I expect people who own cars to use public transit for 100% of their needs. I simply argued that I Like Math’s analysis was flawed for a variety of reasons, which I pointed out in detail. You somehow don’t like the argument so like a small child you simply make up things I didn’t say to argue against that and make yourself feel better.
Using the example discussed previously, yes someone who is driving to Pierce College from Chatsworth will wear out their brakes and other car components faster than someone who uses the bus for these trips. Simply using gasoline costs to compare driving vs. other forms is incorrect because of this. Plain and simple point. Whatever you are discussing does not prove anything away from the above point.
Very few people have a car and a scooter. In fact, I know this will be hard for you to believe, but the average bus patron travels 4 miles.
Anyway, we have gotten away from the nature of the post, especially with these arguments against things people didn’t even say so I think this thread is more than played out.