Category Archives: Policy & Funding

Gates to be latched at Union Station subway entrances on Wednesday; here is the Source’s Q&A about the turnstiles and TAP

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Patrons at the Union Station Red/Purple Line station last week. Photo by Steve Hymon/Metro.

Patrons at the Union Station Red/Purple Line station last week. Photo by Steve Hymon/Metro.

On Wednesday, the gates will be latched at all times at the two entrances of the Red/Purple Line subway at Union Station.

Gates at the 15 other Red/Purple Line subway stations will then be latched over the course of the summer. If Metro is satisfied with operations and results on the subway, gates at some Gold, Green and Blue line stations will be latched as early as this fall.

I know there is considerable interest in gate-latching and TAP among Source readers. My sense is that many readers of The Source believe it’s about time the gates are latched while others remain skeptical the program will benefit riders or the agency’s bottom line.

Click to see larger.

Click to see larger.

One thing that’s hard to argue: Metro Rail ridership has greatly increased in recent years and that hasn’t made the current way of checking fares any easier — especially at peak hours when there are a lot of people aboard trains and exiting and entering stations.

The following Q&A is intended to answer questions that many of you have about the program, as well as help new riders navigate the changes. As always, please feel free to comment and ask questions. We’ll do our best to get answers to the most salient questions.

Why does Metro say ‘latched’ instead of ‘locked?’

Locked implies that customers may be locked out, whereas latched implies customers will be able to pass through the gates. In other words, Metro feels like “latched” is a more accurate way of saying it.

What’s the goal of the gate-latching program?

Metro hopes to create a safer customer experience by reducing fare evasion. The agency also estimates that there will be an annual increase in revenue from the subway alone of $6 million to $9 million because more people riding the system will be paying fares. More on fare evasion below.

Can I ride Metro Rail without a TAP card?

No. You must have a TAP card from Metro or a TAP-enabled paper ticket from another agency.

Do I need to TAP the gates when exiting a station?

No.

That could change in the future if Metro adopts time-based ordistance-based fares.

Where do I get a TAP card? 

They can be purchased for $1 at ticket vending machines at Metro Rail stations. TAP cards can be purchased with a day pass when boarding buses for $6 — $5 for the day pass, $1 for the card.

Monthly (30 days), weekly (7 days), day passes and the regional monthly EZ Pass can be stored on TAP cards. You can also put different amounts of cash on the card (stored value) and use that money to purchase single fares or passes. The stored value is a great way for occasional riders to avoid having to deal with ticket machines every day they ride.

TAP cards are also available at 500 stores across Los Angeles County and can be ordered online at taptogo.net.

Is Metro doing anything about the taptogo.net website, which can be difficult to use?

Yes, it is being revamped and a newly designed website is expected to debut later this year. Booyah!

Continue reading →

Here is the Metro staff report on new project acceleration plan to be considered by agency’s Board of Directors this month

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Metro project acceleration plan

The Metro Board of Directors this month will consider a project acceleration plan that, on average, would lop an average of 10 years off the time it takes to build second and third decade Measure R transit and road projects. It’s a big deal for many reasons — the foremost being that it could allow the taxpaying public to enjoy the investments they’ve made in local transportation a lot sooner than originally planned.

The Metro staff report that explains the plan is above.

In order to best explain the plan being proposed by Metro staff, it helps first to understand two fundamental truths about Measure R, the half-penny sales tax increase approved by Los Angeles County voters in 2008.

The plus side of Measure R was that it provided funding to a long list of transit and road projects, many of which were long sought by the region but lacked funding. Measure R remedied that — and is the reason that five new rail lines will be under construction simultaneously by the middle of this decade along with a host of highway projects, including the widening of the I-5 between the 605 and the Orange County line.

Measure R, however, also posed a challenge. The sales tax would last for 30 years — from July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2039 – and the construction of projects it funded were staggered over that three decade span. The third phase of the Purple Line Extension, for example, is currently scheduled to open in the mid-2030s, meaning the future children of current Bruins may be able take the train to campus. In other words, it’s a long time from now. The is true not just for the Purple Line, but for other lines to the Eastside, the South Bay, Southern L.A. County, the Westside and the San Fernando Valley as well.

It’s precisely for this reason that the Metro Board of Directors adopted a policy in 2010 to accelerate projects if possible under the America Fast Forward plan, which proposed an expansion of low cost federal loans for transportation nationwide. Besides the obvious benefit of getting to ride or drive on projects earlier, acceleration may also allow Metro to save on construction and borrowing costs (recently both have been at historic lows due the Great Recession but may now be starting to rise) and to create much-needed jobs.

I’ll better explain the new acceleration plan in a moment, but first a very important caveat: Approval by the Board doesn’t guarantee that any transit or road project would be accelerated. Ultimately, the plan will depend on Metro’s ability to secure loans and bonds from the federal America Fast Forward program, as well as federal New Starts money. In other words, Congress and President Obama must act to expand the amount of loans and bonds available to transit agencies around the United States and to provide federal New Starts to Los Angeles County.

Continue reading →

Metrolink to increase fares by five percent and change fare policy effective July 1

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Here is the news release from Metrolink, the commuter rail agency. Metro helps fund Metrolink along with transportation agencies representing Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.

Metrolink to institute fare increase, fare policy change effective July 1

Metrolink Board adopts 5% system-wide fare increase, as well as changes to Weekend Pass and Personal Care Attendant fare policies. Student fares remain unchanged.

LOS ANGELES - Following multiple public workshops, a public hearing and an extensive outreach effort, the Metrolink Board of Directors adopted a 5 percent system-wide average fare increase and two new fare policy changes to help close an existing $10.2 million funding gap for the Fiscal Year (FY) 13-14 budget.

Monthly Pass holders will begin to see the new fares when they purchase their July passes on June 25. The impact to riders will vary depending upon their origin and destination, as well as the type of ticket purchased. For more information, please visit www.metrolinktrains.com.

In addition to the fare increase, the Board changed the existing Weekend Pass to a Weekend Day Pass, still priced at $10.

The Board also opted to exempt students from the new fare changes, resulting in a student discount changing from 10 to 15 percent.

The fare increase and the Weekend Day Pass will become effective on July 1, 2013.

The Board also voted to require personal care attendants (PCAs) to obtain an official Metrolink PCA identification card at the cost of $25. Additional PCAs assisting the same person would be required to obtain an official Metrolink PCA identification card at the cost of $10. Implementation date of this policy is pending and will not occur on July 1.

Prior to adopting the final FY 2013-14 budget at the end of June, the Metrolink Board has examined various options to address the anticipated budget shortfall due to increases in operating expenses. The major increases include:

 

  • $8.3 million for implementation and operation of positive train control (PTC). PTC refers to state-of-the-art safety technology capable of intervening and automatically stopping a train, preventing train-to-train collisions.
  • $2 million in increases to contracted vendor costs for service providers.
  • $1.6 million for new operations at the Eastern Maintenance Facility (EMF) to reduce traffic at Metrolink’s Central Maintenance Facility in Los Angeles, allowing equipment to be serviced in the most efficient and effective manner. Continue reading →

Metro extends period to pay ExpressLanes violations

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Metro has become aware of an issue impacting those who receive violation notices for the ExpressLanes on the 10 and 110 freeways: some people are receiving the notices in the mail very close to the due date. Metro is also aware that many people don’t open their mail right away — by the time they do, the notices are due.

As a result, Metro is extending the time when payment (without penalties) is due to 14 days. Example: Let’s say you were traveling in the ExpressLanes without a transponder today and are cited. The notice takes three to six days to be mailed. If it’s mailed on June 11, you would have until June 25 to pay it, either online, over the phone (call 511 and say “ExpressLanes”), at an ExpressLanes customer service center (see below) or by U.S. mail (see instructions on the violation notice).

Harbor Gateway FasTrak Walk In Center
500 West 190th Street, Gardena, CA 90248

Hours: Monday-Friday 8am-6pm, Saturday 9am-1pm


View Larger Map
El Monte FasTrak Walk In Center
3501 Santa Anita Avenue, El Monte, CA 91731

Hours: Monday-Friday 8am-6pm, Saturday 9am-1pm


View Larger Map

Here are the June service changes to Metro’s bus schedule, including more frequent mid-day service on the Orange Line

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A few readers have asked recently about the service changes to Metro’s bus schedules that will take effect on June 23. They were just posted on metro.net earlier this week. Here they are:

Starting June 23, Metro is making minor changes to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your bus service. For complete details, look for revised timetables on metro.net or on buses during June.

Line Line Name Proposed Service Changes
40 Downtown LA – South Bay Galleria via MLK Bl – Hawthorne Bl Minor route and stop changes due to upcoming implementation of the Broadway Streetscape Plan. Southbound buses are routed via Spring St from 1st St to 11th St, then over to Broadway and regular route.
30/330 Pico/Rimpau-Downtown LA-Indiana Station via Pico Bl & East 1st St Minor route and stop changes due to upcoming implementation of the Broadway Streetscape Plan. Southbound buses are routed via Spring St from 1st St to Pico Bl, then regular route.
290 Olive View Medical Center – Sunland via Foothill Bl Line 290 is renumbered Line 90. Passengers may now board a Line 90 bus with continuous service to and from Olive View Medical Center. A minor route improvement near Olive View Medical Center also allows southbound buses to serve the new Olive View Community Mental Health Center.
603 Glendale Galleria-Grand Station via Hoover St, Rampart Bl & San Fernando Rd Minor southbound reroute to Alvarado St from Westlake Av between 6th and 7th Sts. Passengers may board Line 603 on Alvarado St at Wilshire Bl.
Orange Line Chatsworth Station – North Hollywood Station Weekday mid-day service will be improved from every 10 to 8 minutes. Also late night service will have minor improvements.

In addition, minor changes have been made to many lines not listed above. Please check for revised timetables on metro.net, or on buses.

The City of Los Angeles is launching the Bringing Back Broadway project which will reduce traffic by one lane in each direction on Broadway in Downtown LA for sidewalk improvements between 1st and 11th streets. To reduce bus congestion and ensure bus schedules are maintained, Metro moved the southbound buses on Lines 30/330 and 40 from Broadway to Spring St. Lines 45 and 745 will remain on Broadway in both directions. Once the streetscape plan is complete on Broadway, all northbound lines will have major stop changes. Consult a timetable or visit metro.net just prior to Sunday June 23 schedule changes.

Preview of June Service Council meetings

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As we roll into summer, agendas are set for our June Service Councils meetings. Please note that some of the presentations are tentative at the time of this posting.  One item on all of the Service Council agendas is the election of a chair and vice-chair for the next year (July 2013 – June 2014).

If you would like information about any of the five Metro Service Councils, you can click on the name of the Council listed after the jump to view their web page. All Service Council meetings include a report from Metro Service Council Director Jon Hillmer providing previous month’s statistics on ridership, performance and other measures of Metro service.

Meeting topics for June Service Council meetings include:

San Fernando Valley (6:30 pm, Wednesday,  6/5) Presentation on Orange Line Bike Capacity Shortage Study, from the CSUN Transportation Tiger Team;  recognition of service for departing San Fernando Service Council member Kathryn Engel .

San Gabriel Valley (5 pm, Monday,  6/10) –  Report on Line 485/258 Test Trip; presentation on June shakeup changes in the San Gabriel Valley region (no major changes scheduled system-wide); approval of a potential Line 485 regional meeting date and location. The Service Council Director will also provide a breakdown of complaints by line in the San Gabriel Valley service area

Westside/Central (5 pm, Wednesday,  6 /12)  –  Update on the Council’s Regional Corridor Study; presentation on Ciclavia’s June 23rd Iconic Wilshire Blvd. event; presentation on June shakeup changes in the Westside/Central region (no major changes scheduled system-wide)

Gateway Cities (2 pm, Thursday,  6/13) –  Report on Artesia Station construction completion; update on the Florence Avenue Corridor Study; Recognition of service for departing Gateway Cities Service Council members Josue Barrios and Sergio Infanzon; presentation on June shakeup changes in the Gateway Cities region (no major changes scheduled system-wide)

South Bay (9:30 am, Friday, 6/14) –  Update on Crenshaw Corridor Split Stops; Update on restoration of the Rosa Parks name to the Willowbrook Station; recognition of service for departing South Bay Service Council member Kim Turner; presentation on June shakeup changes in the South Bay region (no major changes scheduled system-wide)

For a detailed listing of all Council meeting dates, times and locations, click here. As always, the public is encouraged to attend and share their comments with the Service Councils on improving bus service throughout LA County. If you would like to provide input to a Council but cannot attend a meeting, you can submit your comments in writing through the Service Council web page or send them to service councils@metro.net. If your comments are for a specific Council, please make sure to indicate which one you are addressing in your message .

American Planning Association L.A. honors Rosemead Boulevard Beautification Project

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The American Planning Association Los Angeles Chapter has awarded the Planning Excellence in Implementation Award to the Temple City Council for the Rosemead Boulevard Beautification and Safety Enhancement Project. The project is partially funded by Metro’s 2011 Call for Projects.

The project, once completed, will include ADA compliant sidewalks, more trees, a separated bike lane and pedestrian amenities.

The 2013 APA LA Awards will be held on June 13 at the historic San Gabriel Mission Playhouse in the City of San Gabriel.

Support for America Fast Forward bonds program is coast-to-coast with a lot in between

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Here’s a new graphic from Metro showing the growing support for the bond part of the America Fast Forward program that Congress will hopefully adopt this year. And here’s the update from Metro’s government relations squad:

Last week, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel joined over 100 mayors from across the United States in encouraging the United States Congress to back our agency’s America Fast Forward Transportation Bond initiative. America Fast Forward Transportation Bonds represent a new class of qualified tax credit bonds that would, if enacted into federal law, significantly increase transportation infrastructure investments across the nation. Support for the initiative is bi-partisan in nature, including from Scott Smith, the Vice-President of the Conference of Mayors. Mayor Smith is a Republican who is currently the mayor of Mesa, Arizona. Please find here a map that illustrates the broad array of America’s mayors in support of America Fast Forward Transportation Bonds.

 

Here’s an earlier post that better explains the bond program. The gist of it: these are bonds that would come without interest for transit agencies, a potential savings of millions of dollars on big projects.

Other actions taken last week by the Metro Board

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I think my brain was in long-weekend mode a little early last week — I wrote this but forgot to post this from Thursday’s meeting of the Metro Board of Directors:

•(Item 31) The Board approved a contract modification worth up to $55 million with Cubic Transportation Systems for TAP card systems maintenance between July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2019. Staff report

•(Item 26) The Board approved a contract not to exceed $83.85 million with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to provide law enforcement services for Metro between July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2014. Staff report

•(Items 57 and 58) The Board approved adopting a resolution of necessity to use eminent domain to acquire two parcels needed for construction of the Crenshaw/LAX Line. Staff report 1 and staff report 2

•(Item 28) The Board continued consideration of a budget for Access Services until next month due to a lack of quorum. Staff report

Los Angeles City Council OKs using Measure R local return dollars toward Leimert Park and Hindry optional stations for Crenshaw/LAX Line but funding picture still not complete

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The Los Angeles City Council voted on Wednesday to use $55 million from Measure R local return funds to help build a Leimert Park station and Hindry station for the Crenshaw/LAX Line. The above report from City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana explains that $40 million would go to the Leimert Park station and $15 million toward the Westchester station.

In the past, Metro has estimated the cost of the Leimert Park station at $131 million and the Hindry station at $15 million; current estimates may be different.

A Leimert Park station would be underground and located at Crenshaw Boulevard and 43rd Place while the Hindry station would be at street level and located at Florence Avenue and Hindry Avenue, making it the nearest station to Westschester.

As the report explains, the city would actually bond against future revenues from Measure R local return funds (15 percent of Measure R sales tax revenues is returned to cities in Los Angeles County on a per capita basis). The total cost of the investment in the stations would be roughly $100 million depending on bond market conditions.

Both stations are considered as optional stations for the project. As part of the bidding process for the project, Metro is seeking a construction firm that could build one or both of the optional stations within the project’s $1.762.9-billion budget. If that can’t be done, other funding will be needed; the Metro Board has previously decided that the Leimert Park station gets first priority of the two optional stations.

Bids from construction firms are expected to be soon released by Metro staff. The Metro Board of Directors could vote to award a construction contract as early as its June meeting.

Related: fact sheet on Leimert Park optional station and fact sheet on Hindry optional station.