Dear Reader:

As many of you are probably keenly aware, taxpayers and Metro passengers spend a lot of money each year – more than $4 billion — to keep this agency running. That’s a big pile of dough by any measure.

To put it another way, each weekday Metro is charged with providing about 1.5 million bus and train rides, making it the third largest transit agency in the nation. The agency also spends millions of dollars each year improving roads across Los Angeles County. If you’re trying to get from Point A to Point B in the county, Metro is likely involved in your journey.

Thanks to the half-cent sales tax increase approved by two million Los Angeles County voters in 2008, Metro is also overseeing the largest transit expansion program in the nation with five Metro Rail lines simultaneously under construction and others in the planning stages.

The Source was launched in 2009 and is still going strong — there’s more than plenty to discuss here. Our job here is to ensure that you — the riders and motorists of Los Angeles County — are better informed about your government and the service and projects that your fares, tolls and taxpayer dollars are funding.

Our three primary writers are: Steve Hymon, who formerly covered Metro for the L.A. Times; Anna Chen, a So Cal native who dove head first into the transit lifestyle during three years living in Taiwan, and; Joe Lemon, who is living the car-free life as a resident of downtown Los Angeles.

Thank you very much for taking the time to check out the blog and learn more about Metro. Your comments are important to us — tell us what you think and always feel free to ask us a question.

Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
November 2014