Service Councils to hold hearings on proposed bus service changes

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Metro Service Councils will be holding a series of five public hearings in February to gather public input on a series of proposed Metro bus service changes and enhancements for possible implementation in June.

The proposed changes under consideration may be approved in whole on in part at a date following the public hearings. Interested members of the public are encouraged to attend the upcoming public hearings and provide testimony on any service change proposal. All public comments received will be forwarded to the responsible service council to be considered prior to taking action on the service proposal. If approved, the proposed service changes would take effect on June 17, 2012 or later.

The following are the locations and dates of the upcoming public hearings:

  • Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 6:30 p.m., San Fernando Valley Service Council Hearing, Marvin Braude Constituent Center, 6262 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys.
  • Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 5 p.m., Westside/Central Service Council Hearing, Young Oak Kim Academy, 615 South Shatto Place, Los Angeles.
  • Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 2 p.m., Gateway Cities Service Council Hearing, Salt Lake Park Community Center, 3401 E. Florence Avenue, Huntington Park.
  • Friday, February 10, 2012 at 9:30 a.m., South Bay Cities Service Council Hearing, Inglewood City Hall, One Manchester Blvd., Inglewood.
  • Monday, February 13, 2012 at 6 p.m., San Gabriel Valley Service Council Hearing, El Monte City Hall East, Council Chambers, 11333 Valley Blvd., El Monte.

The public hearings are being held in conformance with federal public hearing requirements outlined in Sector 5307 (d) 1 of Title 49 U.S.C., and public hearing guidelines adopted by the Metro Board of Directors in 1993, as amended.

The proposed changes are after the jump.

The following are the proposed Metro Bus Service Changes/Enhancements under consideration:

San Fernando Valley 

  • 163/363 West Hills Medical Center-Sun Valley/North Hollywood Station via Sherman Wy & Lankershim Bl. Discontinue Limited Line 363 and replace with new Line 162, serving all stops on Sherman Way and Lankershim Bl. This change will allow patrons more frequent service at all stops and reduce potential overcrowding on Line 163 during peak travel periods.
  • 901 Metro Orange Line. Extend service to Chatsworth Metrolink Station in Summer 2012. Consider four different service concepts between North Hollywood-Warner Center, North Hollywood-Chatsworth, Chatsworth-Warner Center. The extension to Chatsworth Metrolink Station will provide Orange Line patrons more service options with a new link to and from Metrolink trains.

San Gabriel Valley 

  • 177 LaCanada-Sierra Madre Villa Station via I-210, California Bl & Walnut St: Discontinue service east of Pasadena City College. As one of six of Metro’s lowest performing bus lines, users of Line 177 recently attended a public workshop, providing input that led to the proposal to add service from Pasadena City College to JPL, and discontinue the portion of the line with the lowest ridership.
  • Metro Silver Line El Monte-Los Angeles-Artesia Transit Center: Improve service frequency on daily and weekend schedules. Service continues to grow on the Silver Line, which has seen a 70% increase in ridership since its inception two years ago.

Westside/Central

  • 40 Downtown LA-South Bay Galleria via ML King Bl & Hawthorne Bl: Reduce frequency and assign larger articulated buses to maintain seating capacity. Due to bus route modifications when Expo Line opens, articulated buses will no longer be needed on Line 740 and can be transferred to Line 40.
  • 620 Boyle Heights Shuttle. Modify route to serve 1st St and Mott Av. As one of six of Metro’s lowest performing bus lines, users of Line 620 recently attended a public workshop, providing input that led to the proposal of routing the bus by a popular supermarket.
  • 710 Wilshire Center-South Bay Galleria via Crenshaw Bl. Assign smaller 40-foot buses and increase frequency to maintain seating capacity. Due to ridership changes on Line 710, articulated buses are not needed and will be transferred to Line 40.
  • 740 Downtown LA-Redondo Beach Bl via Hawthorne Bl & ML King Bl. Assign smaller 40-foot buses and increase frequency to maintain seating capacity. Due to bus route modifications when Expo Line opens, articulated buses will no longer be needed on Line 740 and can be transferred to Line 40.

Gateway Cities

  • 202 Willowbrook-Compton-Wilmington via Alameda St: Modify route to serve new shopping center on Alameda St across from Metro Blue Line Artesia Station. A new shopping center has opened across from the train station, and the proposed change will provide a safe and efficient way to reach the stores.

South Bay

  • 40 Downtown LA-South Bay Galleria via ML King Bl & Hawthorne Bl. Reduce frequency and assign larger articulated buses to maintain seating capacity. Due to bus route modifications when Expo Line opens, articulated buses will no longer be needed on Line 740 and can be transferred to Line 40.
  • 607 Windsor Hills-Inglewood Shuttle. Modify route to serve Ladera Center at La Tijera Bl and Centinela Av. As one of six of Metro’s lowest performing bus lines, users of Line 607 recently attended a public workshop, providing input that led to the proposal of routing the bus by a popular shopping center.
  • 710 Wilshire Center-South Bay Galleria via Crenshaw Bl. Assign smaller 40-foot buses and increase frequency to maintain seating capacity. Due to ridership changes on Line 710, articulated buses are not needed and will be transferred to Line 40.
  • 740 Downtown LA-Redondo Beach Bl via Hawthorne Bl & ML King Bl. Assign smaller 40-foot buses and increase frequency to maintain seating capacity. Due to bus route modifications when Expo Line opens, articulated buses will no longer be needed on Line 740 and can be transferred to Line 40.

Persons unable to attend the public hearings may submit written testimony postmarked through midnight, February 13, 2012 to:

Metro Customer Relations
Attn: June 2012 Service Changes
One Gateway Plaza, 99-PL-4
Los Angeles, Ca 90012-2932

Comments can also be sent via e-mail (with Service Changes June 2012 as the subject) to: servicechanges@metro.net or facsimile at 213.922.6988.

Categories: Transportation News

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11 replies ›

  2. @White

    I think Line 30 should make the change and in my opinion, Line 730 should continue running with their eastern terminal at Union Station

  3. Yes, what is the story on the 30/330 line and that ridiculous signage snafu? Why can’t they just leave the 550 and 305 lines alone and put their signs back up?

  4. To Victor C. please go to the santa clarita transit website and click on line 757 this line goes from the MTA red line station in North Hollywood to Santa Clarita and is pretty much an express line and you can transfer to SCT’s transit center for their Magic Mountain bus( pretty frequent).

  5. @Daniel

    This is why I have been questioning what data LA Metro have been using to back up their service cut claims? What data collection methods are they using to validate one bus route to be scrapped and another bus route to be preferred over others? What is the validation method are they using to maintain proper frequency flow? How do they estimate the average wait times for transfers? How do they really measure how Angelinos really travel about within the city, instead of just estimating it based on per-boarding numbers?

    None of this is possible under our current flat rate pay-per-boarding fare structure; all of it is guess work at best. There’s no tap-out hard data gathering process that goes on to validate any of their decisions on how Angelinos travel about this city so therefore I’m sorry to say, it’s pretty much akin to out-of-the-whim luck of the draw of bus numbers from a magic hat.

    That’s why we get vague answers like “…due to bus route modifications when Expo Line opens, articulated buses will no longer be needed on Line 740 and can be transferred to Line 40.”

    When you go to these meetings and when LA Metro provides you with all these hypothetical data, the first thing you need to say is “how did you derive with these guess-timates when there’s no hard data gathering going on?”

  6. Will some of the changes that were put on hold in December be reimposed? For example, the 30/330 to West Hollywood (There are signs at bus stops which still show the 30/330).

  7. It seems that everything is going backwards instead of forward. I can see reducing from the 60ft to 40ft during very slow times but not During the Busiest times because I ride the 710,740 and it would make it a living nightmare because I transfer from Western and since they have taken the 60ft buses from the rapid it has been a nightmare and it has made it worse for the disabled and buses get packed like sardine cans. More Angry people causing a lot of Negative energy. Buses get packed with in the first couple of stops from Hollywood. Metro got funding recently to purchase more buses but what is happening? The service is starting to get worse and it taking longer to get to my destination. Used to take 1 hour to get to my destination but since prior changes it has take up to 1hr and 35min currently and with these future changes may be even longer? Whats Really Going On??

  8. Most of the proposed changes make no sense whatsoever. Why is there a need for public council meetings for assigning bigger buses and assigning smaller buses? Metro Silver Line should be running every 25 minutes on Saturdays and Sundays. The line should replace line 450x and extend the Silver Line to San Pedro. What ever happened in implementing a new express line in the San Fernando Valley. The proposed line is: 588X. See link: http://www.metro.net/board/Items/2011/11_November/20111102OtherSectorSFVItem3.pdf

    How about implementing an express line (like line 577X) between North Hollywood and Six Flags Magic Mountain.

  9. For the Orange Line Extension to Chatsworth Why cant you simply just branch 1 trip to Warner Center and then the next trip to Chatsworth Metrolink Train station and so on and so on as opposed to sending some trips from Chatsworth 1st and then to Warner Center as that would seem to just increase travel times for those who would want to just go straight to Warner Center

    For Example:some people connecting to the 245 on sundays if they miss the bus at 11AM they would have to wait 2Hrs till the next 245 to Westlake Village as opposed to being originally every 1Hr and for those taking the 150 on the weekends if they miss a 150 bus we would have to wait like 30-40mins which is frustrating

  10. As a frequent rider of the 40, 740, and 710 the new proposed changes make no sense at all! Assigning smaller buses to the 710 and 740 sounds like a terrible idea. The 710 headed to western/wilshire is already full after the stop at manhattan beach due to all the college students who ride the bus; thus, for those who get the bus at later stops there are no seats. Although it mentions frequency will be increased i highly doubt it because i have heard metro mentioning on doing that but never have actually seen it get done. Or if by that metro means to say instead of waiting an hour to 40 minutes for another bus to pass you’ll just have to wait 30 minutes doesn’t really make a difference.

  11. What is the point of these “Service Councils” and the “Public Hearings” before them? Do THEY actually make any of the changes? Do THEY even get to SUGGEST any of the changes? Of ALL changes that have ever been made to MTA bus lines, how many were ever made by ACTUAL RIDERS that GOT IMPLEMENTED? Why is it that the changes being proposed for June, 2012 are NOT ALL ENCOMPASSING OF WHERE CHANGES ON THE BUSES NEED TO BE MADE (longer buses, or more frequent service? Why can’t BOTH BE DONE?). Clearly wherever these “proposed service changes” are coming from within the bowels of the MTA, they are NOT being made by anyone AT the MTA that rides the buses daily! As for the Service Councils, their role is clearly negligeable. They don’t propose anything, nor do they get to approve or deny anything! So why bother?