Transportation headlines, Thursday, Sept. 30

Here is a look at some of the transportation headlines gathered by us and the Metro Library. The full list of headlines is posted on the library’s blog.

The 24-Hour City: 104 Years Of Owl Transit Service In Los Angeles (Primary Resources)

The Metro Library digs into their vast archives once again to provide this post on all-night bus service in the city of Angles, and as the headline implies, it’s nothing new. Check the full story for some vintage pictures and advertisements. The post highlights a nice modern factoid too: Metro currently runs 56 buses on 26 lines all night long.

Metro Westside Subway Talks Take a Different Turn in Santa Monica (L.A. Streetsblog)

Streetsblog attended last night’s subway meeting and offers a good summary of the proceedings. In contrast to public comments in strong support of the subway at the previous meeting in Beverly Hills, this meeting had a contingent of representatives from the Bus Riders Union (BRU) who spoke in opposition of the subway. Members cited the high cost of the project and inequality as their reasons to oppose it. Streetsblog scribe Carter Rubin takes issue with BRU’s assertions, noting that the subway will not only serve the Westside but link to the larger regional transit system and improve access to the Westside for everyone.

Only Boneheads Oppose the Subway to the Sea (L.A. Weekly)

The L.A. Weekly’s “subway ripoff” story has generated a lot of passionate feedback, most in opposition to the story that claims the Westside subway will be a massive boondoggle because it won’t make a massive dent in Westside traffic as some had promised. Over 60 people commented on the story over at the Weekly and today the paper highlights a few of them – including one that calls the paper boneheaded.

The Survival of U.S. High-Speed Rail All Comes Down to November (The Infrastructurist)

Does high-speed rail have a future in this country? That’s up to voters this November. The Infrastructrist supplies a nice chart of states that have received federal money for high-speed rail and the candidates vying for political control of those states. In nearly every case the Republican candidate opposes high-speed rail and the Democratic candidate supports it.