Just a reminder that bus service changes went into effect Sunday. Here’s the news release from Metro:
Beginning Sunday, June 17, 2012, Metro will implement bus service changes to a number of bus lines throughout Los Angeles County, make adjustments to existing bus lines to better serve the new Metro Expo Line and implement other minor route improvements.
To better serve the newly opened Metro Expo Line now operating between downtown Los Angeles and La Cienega and Jefferson, Metro will implement various route modifications to lines 42, 217, 220, 450, 460, 534, 550, 705, 740, 754, 757, and the Metro Silver Line allowing better bus connections to Expo line stations.
In addition, Metro will implement a new route extension to Line 30 to West Hollywood. Select trips will operate on San Vicente Boulevard between Pico/Rimpau Transit Center and West Hollywood. Service east of downtown Los Angeles will serve 1st Street in both directions and all trips will now operate through the Pico/Rimpau Transit Center.
Metro Line 330 will replace Metro Rapid Line 730 with new peak hour limited stop service making all stops on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles with new stops at Pico/Arlington and Pico/Crenshaw.
Line 305 (Westwood-Leimert Park-South LA-Willowbrook) will be discontinued. Line 305 service on San Vicente Boulevard will be replaced with Lines 30 and 330. Limited Stop Line 363 will be discontinued and replaced with new peak hour service on Line 162 serving all stops on Sherman Way and Lankershim Boulevard.
Line 439 (Downtown LA-Culver City Transit Center via I-10 Freeway) will be discontinued. Service will be provided by Line 217 with all trips extended to the Metro Expo Line La Cienega/Jefferson Station and select trips extended further south along route of former Line 439 to provide new all weekday service to Culver City Transit Center.
A complete list of Metro Bus service changes to be implemented Sunday, June 17, is posted after the jump. For route information visit the timetables and map section of metro.net.
30 West Hollywood-Pico/Rimpau-Downtown LA-Indiana Station via San Vicente, Pico Bl & East 1st St
New route extension to West Hollywood. Select trips operate on San Vicente Bl between Pico/Rimpau Transit Center and West Hollywood. Service east of Downtown LA will serve 1st St in both directions. All trips will operate through the Pico/Rimpau Transit Center.
330 West Hollywood-Pico/Rimpau-Downtown LA-Little Tokyo Station via San Vicente & Pico Bl
New peak hour limited stop service replaces Line 730. This new service makes all stops on Broadway in Downtown LA with new stops at Pico/Arlington and Pico/Crenshaw. Select trips operate on San Vicente Bl between Pico/Rimpau Transit Center and West Hollywood.
42 LAX City Bus Center to Downtown LA/Union Station via La Tijera Bl, Stocker St, ML King Bl Route is renumbered Line 102
New route modification to provide improved connection with Expo/Western Station and interline with Line 102 to Huntington Park. For service to Downtown LA, use Metro Expo Line from Expo/Western Station. For service on Martin Luther King Jr Bl or Broadway, use Line 40.
66 Wilshire Ctr-Downtown LA-Montebello via 8th-Olympic
Beginning at 9pm, all Owl trips will serve the 7th/Broadway Owl Lineup.
102 Baldwin Village – South Gate via Coliseum St.
Service west of Western Av discontinued. Service will be provided by Metro Expo Line.
163/363 West Hills Medical Center-Sun Valley/North Hollywood Station via Sherman Wy & Lankershim Bl
Limited Line 363 discontinued and replaced with new peak hour Line 162, serving all stops on Sherman Wy and Lankershim Bl.
167 Chatsworth Station-Studio City via Plummer St & Coldwater Cyn Av
Route modified to serve new CSUN Transit Center.
177 LaCanada-Sierra Madre Villa Station via I-210, California Bl & Walnut St
Service east of Pasadena City College discontinued.
202 Willowbrook-Compton-Wilmington via Alameda St
Route modified to serve new Gateway Towne Center on Alameda St across from Metro Blue Line Artesia Station.
217 Hollywood/Vine Station-Fairfax -Culver City Transit Center via Hollywood Bl, Fairfax Av & La Cienega Bl
All trips extended to the Metro Expo Line La Cienega/Jefferson Station and select trips extended further south along route of former Line 439 to provide new all weekday service to Culver City Transit Center.
220 Beverly Center-Culver City via Robertson Bl
Route modified to serve Metro Expo Line Culver City Station.
232 LAX City Bus Center-Long Beach via Sepulveda Bl & Pacific Coast Hwy
Service will be provided on Long Beach Bl in both directions terminating at the Long Beach Transit Mall. Stops on Pacific Av at 3rd St and 5th St and on 6th St are relocated to Long Beach Bl.
287 Montebello via Mission-Tyler-Rush
Line will be renumbered Line 176.
305 Westwood-Leimert Park-South LA-Willowbrook
Route discontinued. Service on San Vicente Bl has been replaced with Lines 30 and 330.
439 Downtown LA-Culver City Transit Center via I-10 Fwy
Line discontinued. See Line 217 description for replacement service.
450 Downtown LA-San Pedro via Harbor Transitway and
460 Downtown LA-Disneyland via Harbor Transitway/105 Fwy
New stop on Flower St at 23rd St will allow connection to the Metro Expo Line 23rd Street Station.
534 Malibu Express-Washington/Fairfax Transit Hub via Pacific Coast Hwy
All trips exit/enter I-10 Freeway from Robertson Bl to serve the Metro Expo Line Culver City Station at Venice/Robertson for an improved connection to Downtown LA. Service continues to Washington/Fairfax Transit Hub.
550 Exposition Park-Artesia Transit Center -San Pedro via Harbor Transitway
Route modification terminates all weekday rush hour trips at USC/Expo Park. Non-rush hour and all weekend trips will terminate at Artesia Transit Center. Service to West Hollywood has been replaced with Lines 30 and 330.
607 Windsor Hills-Inglewood Shuttle
Route modified to serve Ladera Center at La Tijera Bl and Centinela Av.
620 Boyle Heights Shuttle
Route modified to serve 1st St and Mott Av.
705 West Hollywood-Vernon via La Cienega Bl & Vernon Av
New stop added at Metro Expo Line La Cienega/Jefferson Station.
730 Downtown LA-Pico/Rimpau via Pico Bl
Service replaced by Line 330.
740 Expo/Crenshaw Station-Redondo Beach via Crenshaw Bl & Hawthorne Bl
Route modification provides connection with Expo/Crenshaw Station. For service to Downtown LA, use Metro Expo Line from Expo/Crenshaw Station. For service on Martin Luther King Jr Bl or Broadway, use Line 40.
741 Northridge-Tarzana via Reseda Bl
Route modified to serve new CSUN Transit Center
754 Hollywood- Athens via Vermont Av
New stop added at Expo/Vermont Station.
757 Hollywood-Crenshaw Station via Western Av
New stop added at Expo/Western Station.
761 Pacoima-Westwood via Van Nuys Bl & Sepulveda Bl
New stop added at Van Nuys and Plummer.
762 Pasadena-Artesia Station via Atlantic Bl
Discontinue service north of Colorado and Fair Oaks.
Metro Silver Line El Monte-Los Angeles-Artesia Transit Center
Route modification will allow connection to the Metro Expo Line 23rd Street Station. Service will improve during weekday rush hours and weekends.
Metro Orange Line North Hollywood-Warner Center-Chatsworth
Service on the new Metro Orange Line Extension is expected to start this summer. Check metro.net for an opening date announcement.
In addition, minor changes have been made to other bus schedules. Please check for revised timetables on metro.net or on buses.
Categories: Policy & Funding, Projects
Spokker,
You should hang around the West LA area more often. Scooter and motorcycle ridership is also gaining ground in the South Bay areas as well. You can tell that it is gradually increasing as some bicyclists have begun becoming more confident in upgrading their commuting methods to mopeds, scooters, and motorcycles. Not a day goes by without seeing them on the roads.
IMO, those that dismiss scooter ridership won’t gain that much ground in LA today, are like those that said bicycles will never gain ground in LA ten years ago.
Luckily Metro made put a band-aid over a wound solution to allow bikes on board the buses and trains to keep their market. Let’s see how Metro reacts when they failed to account for motorcycles and scooters ten years from now.
Scooterin’ in LA, good to see you are enjoying your scooter, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody ride a scooter in Southern California. Where are these people?
It’s one thing to praise the benefits of scooters. It’s entirely another to pretend that this is becoming or will be popular. The number one concern, like with motorcycles or bicycles, is going to be safety for many, many people.
Thanks Carter for your suggestion on the #12 big blue bus. i will try it. I contacted the Temple presidency and suggested running a shuttle at patrons request. They knew little about Expo. What a shame. Our networking is important to get the word out. But large destinations and corporations should receive mailings to increase usage. This will be wonderful for me because our temple sessions are right during peak traffic. Thanks again. Gene
Considering that Metro would take eons to update something as logical as this onto Metro.net, I went ahead and just created a Google Docs spreadsheet in under an hour.
Basing on Steven P’s formula and making slight modifications to the formula by allocating fixed costs like insurance and maintenance costs allocated between commuting and other travel distance, I went ahead and created a Google Docs spreadsheet so that anyone can download this to Excel and calculate their own commuting costs based on their own car usage and information.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ani-u3tGk5hedHJCRk94d1dMQmV2Q0luTjE1Y0E2Qnc
The spreadsheet is locked so you can’t enter in anything. However, you can go to File -> Download as -> Excel and open it up on your own spreadsheet program.
This would be a far accurate way to REALLY tell if they’re saving any money than just basing on an AAA data estimate.
So if anyone brings up the vague AAA remark as proof, people can rebuttal back with this spreadsheet.
Anna,
If that is how Metro thinks, they are really out of touch with Angelinos these days.
The simple fact is, even those that rely on mass transit, hate mass transit in LA. We abhor it. It’s a rip off for shorter rides, it’s inefficient, it’s slow, it gets stuck in traffic, and face it, we’re never going to have a great mass transit system like Asia when politicians are running the mass transit game to win re-election. You have to admit your fare policies does indeed suck for short distance commuters; there’s no denying it. If not, then you guys are just really bad salespersons.
You know what’s the talk of town these days across L.A.? It IS the motorcycle and the scooter. They are growing in visibility every day. Hey, there’s another one! Look, that’s another motorcycle rider! Hey I didn’t know Joe in Accounting could drive a Harley! Whoa, Tom, did you buy a new bike; what did you do with that Honda Accord?
More and more Angelinos are realizing that they are way cheaper, affordable, and much more economical than the car. A decent scooter costs about the same price as a nice laptop or a flat screen TV. If anyone can afford a laptop or a flat screen TV with financing at BestBuy, anyone can get a scooter through financing at a motorcycle store.
And this is permeating to all levels of society. When you go chat with someone in the hang out spots, they’re not talking about switching from cars to public transit due to high gas prices. They’re crowding around and patting the backs of that new biker who came to the hang out on his Harley. They’re getting real financial advice on how much they’re saving in gas and expenses from the couple who came on their Vespas. They’re getting “how-to-get-your-first-motorcycle-license” from the person on the Kawasaki.
I got my scooter for $1700. Two years of commuting with the bicycle and refusing to buy Metro pass, I saved enough to pay it in cash up front. By the third year, I’m commuting way cheaper on a scooter than being ripped off $900/yr on Metro passes for a short 10 mi commute to work. I dare you to guess how much my total gas cost was last year. $220. That’s right, $220 for the entire year on a 100 MPG scooter. Big difference from $900/year on Metro passes, huh?
If you guys at Metro think that people in LA are going to go from 100% of their transit needs on a car to 50% car/50% transit, you’re going to be in for a big shock in the next five to ten years; it’s probably going to end up more like 40% car (Vegas trips, family outings and buying stuff at Costco)/50% motorcycle or scooter (basic commuting and short distance needs)/10% public transit (only when going into Downtown).
I highly doubt people in America can easily switch to motorcycles/scooters to the extent that they’re used in Taiwan. You have to consider how tiny Taiwan is – the entire island practically fits into Los Angeles County. Space is extremely limited, which makes parking cars difficult, and everything is close together, so people are used to scooters as their main form of transport. The lifestyle also encourages the use of scooters: there is less of the whole “buying in bulk” practice that is much more prevalent (and car-necessary) here, so most families tend to drop by the market every day and pick up groceries as necessary. It helps that shops/markets are everywhere and most are open 24/7.
I agree that in urban centers the use of scooters may be on the rise, particularly among young, single people. But with families, if the choice is between a car + transit or scooter + transit, car + transit would win. If you’re lucky enough to have a car and scooter, well, you probably wouldn’t be taking transit in the first place. And if all you’ve got is transit, chances are getting a scooter isn’t going to be high on your priority list. You’re either making transit work (perhaps with a bicycle) or aiming to buy a car (because let’s face it, if you own large pets or have kids who play sports or have elderly grandparents you need to escort around town, a scooter’s not going to cut it here).
Metro relying on AAA data as proof is a big mislead because what kind of car people drive, how they use it, and how often they maintain it varies from person to person.
You can’t just apply the logic “your Toyota Prius, GMC Yukon and the Enzo Ferrari is the same AAA average so you’re better off taking public transit.” It’s not a great way to convince people because individual car use varies from person to person.
The better way to do it is provide a fillable form on Metro like how banks calculate mortagages:
“Are you better off commuting with a car or taking Metro? Let’s find out by filling out this simple questionaire:”
How many days in a year do you work? [enter # of work days in a year = let input = A]
How many miles do you commute to work each day? [enter one way distance here, let input = B]
What is the average MPG of your car? [enter average MPG of car here, let input = C]
What was your total insurance cost last year? [enter annual insurance cost for your car here, let input = D]
What was your maintenance cost last year? [enter maintenance cost from last year, let input = E]
What did you pay in vehicle registration fees and if applicable, smog check fees last year? [enter license fees from last year, let input = F]
After all that’s entered, spill out the average cost to travel per mile on your car at today’s national gas average. If need be, the person can also have a manual setting to adjust the price of gas at $4/gal, $4.50/gal, $5.00/gal:
(((A x 2B)/C) x national gas average)+D+E+F = total cost of driving a car last year
If total cost of driving a car last year > $900/year for a monthly passes
The person is better off taking public transit.
This form is much better way to figure out if people are better off driving or taking public transit, AND it also gives Metro a good data input to find the average distance commuters in L.A. are driving their cars with to decide whether flat rate makes any sense or not.
Such a form can be done with basic simple HTML coding.
So why can’t Metro provide a tool that does this on their website and instead, opt to rely on something vague like AAA data as “proof?”
Or is it they have something to hide that they know they are just ripping off the poor and uneducated? If they have nothing to hide, all they have to do is provide people with a inputtable form like this on Metro.net to see whether the person that is doing the inputting are actually getting a good deal over taking Metro.
“Also, look at average trip length and average fare paid, as well as the average cost of driving, and put your math into context.”
“A good car insurance….”
“I would encourage you to use the AAA’s standard for calculating the cost of operating a car…”
I think this is the whole point. When someone brings in a good argument that public transit isn’t worth it for shorter trips, the immediate reaction is comparison with a car. Maybe this shows that the debators can’t get over the automobile centric culture themselves either.
When comparing at shorter distances, the car is not the only option.
People can walk and bike. You can’t beat free against $900/year. I’d rather pay free than $900/year.
People can motorcycle and scooter. You can’t beat something that is exempt from expensive smog checks, maintenance is cheap as googling “how do I change the oil on my scooter” on Youtube, where they get a fuel efficiency rating of 50-100 MPG, a good motorcycle insurance that averages $100 a year, and for the most part of LA, parking is free for motorcycles (LAX for example, gives free parking to motorcyclists).
The truth is, $900/year on public transit when looking at the short distance market, is a rip-off. A lot more cheaper option exists, and increasing number of Angelinos are waking up to that fact. It doesn’t take much to notice that when I see 30+ motorcycle riders on my way to work everyday and beginning to see an average of 2-5 motorcycles and scooters at the parking lot of my supermarket everytime I go there when there used to be next to nothing just five years ago.
In foresight, the next five to ten years, people won’t be talking about how public transit is cheaper than cars, the view will change to how motorcycles and scooters are cheaper than public transit.
And again, AAA data is based on an average of 10,000 mi driven per year. If one drives less than that, especially on a more fuel efficient vehicle (Nissan Leaf, look ma’ no gas!) , the annual per cost mi will be much more different.
And no, a car is also not the only way to get around town. People can easily switch to motorcycles and scooters just like how people get around in Taipei and Bangkok. In the end, the monthly pass is a scam to dupe poor people to rely on the bus for shorter rides; they are not getting any better deal.
Frank M,
Fair point on the mileage. But the fact that more people do not use motorcycles, scooters, bikes, etc., is a pretty clear indication of something. I’m guessing it’s that they fear for their personal safety. Scooters might work for some folks, but let’s not suggest that it would be “easy” to switch for any significant portion of commuters.
Carter Rubin
Contributor, The Source
Does anyone know the best bus to take to the Los Angeles Mormon Temple from the Culver City Expo station? Would like to use Expo when going to serve in the temple. Thanks
Eugene,
I think your best option would be taking the Big Blue Bus #12 which goes from Culver City Station to UCLA via Westwood Boulevard. You would get off at Santa Monica Blvd. and Westwood Blvd. and then walk the four or so blocks to the temple. I think that’s your best bet.
Here’s that route on Google Maps for reference: http://goo.gl/maps/onQ7
Carter Rubin
Contributor, The Source
@ Frank M
A good car insurance cost about $60 per month add in the cost of gasoline of $80-100 per month for a 10 mile commute (20 mile round-trip), regular maintenance ($100 per for a responsible person) and parking fees where applicable and the $75 monthly pass starts looking like a good bargain for people. Add in the non quantifiable benefits of using transit that one can’t do while riding a moped or a bike, like free time to read, listening to music, being productive on your smartphone/tablet, or just having time to relax and wind down while not dealing with traffic and the $75 seems like money well spent in my opinion.
Mospeada et al,
I would encourage you to use the AAA’s standard for calculating the cost of operating a car: about 60 cents per mile for sedan and 75 cents per mile for SUVs.
These figures include all those important factors like gasoline, repairs, maintenance, insurance, depreciation, etc.
Carter Rubin
Contributor, The Source
“The monthly pass system is just a scam to dupe the poor and the uneducated.”
The poor would be eligible for Metro’s subsidized pass program and those still being educated (high schoolkids, college students) also get discount passes, bringing down per mile charges even more. If you’re worried about the uneducated though, look at LAUSD, not Metro, but that’s neither here nor there.
Also, look at average trip length and average fare paid, as well as the average cost of driving, and put your math into context.
But even with your assumptions, even with a 5 mile commute (assuming this person is only going to work and doing absolutely nothing else), $900 a year to cover your transportation needs is a wonderful deal. Assuming a full-time minimum wage job (few heads of households actually work at the minimum wage, though, but let’s go along with this), that $900 a year represents 5% of your pre-tax earnings.
Considering that such a person would be exempt from federal and state income taxes, and be eligible for special programs, such as the EITC (a huge bump if they have children), medical care for their children, food stamps for their children, school meals for their children (2 of 3 meals every school day), they will end up consuming more tax benefits than the taxes they pay. I’m not saying that’s necessarily a bad thing, but let’s be real here. The usual measures of poverty do not include these transfers.
Though there may be disagreements over the service changes, I see no way that the poor are getting screwed by the public transportation system in terms of what it costs to use. I think distance-based fares are promising for other reasons, but not because I think the transit dependent are getting a bad deal. Not at all.
“Wouldn’t someone who uses the system so much have a monthly or weekly pass?”
Because travel distance varies from person to person and a monthly pass scheme doesn’t really benefit those who only needs to travel short distances for their daily needs.
Why should someone be ripped off for $75/month ($900 a year) when the said person’s travel needs is commuting less than 10 miles?
Averaging 260 days of workdays each year:
$900/yr in monthly passes / (5 mi commute x 2 x 260 = 2600 annual miles traveled) = $0.34 per mi
$900/yr in monthly passes / (10 mi commute x 2 x 260 = 5200 annual miles traveled) = $0.17 per mi
$900/yr in monthly passes / (15 mi commute x 2 x 260 = 7800 annual miles traveled) = $0.11 per mi
A person who only has to travel 5 miles each way to get to work ends up paying more than three times as much per mile from those that travel farther.
It’s like saying “a monthly pass is a great deal, you can go all the way from Long Beach to Pasadena as many times as you want per month!” Except, majority of Angelinos don’t have a need to travel that long distances.
The monthly pass system is just a scam to dupe the poor and the uneducated.
“Trying to force individuals to keep paying 1.50 each bus or train”
Wouldn’t someone who uses the system so much have a monthly or weekly pass? They are inexpensive and heavily subsidized, and if you provide documentation of eligibility, they are discounted even more. There are a ton of people who are eligible in young and old age groups. http://www.metro.net/around/fares
Even if you do not qualify based on these age groups, there are additional programs available based on income. http://www.metro.net/projects/rider_relief/
Those who truly cannot pay are covered. If you are not eligible based on income or age, then buck up and realize that it costs money to move you around.
Couldn’t they have at least COMBINED the 305 and 550 somehow to provide express service from UCLA to USC and then further south??
BRING BACK LINE 305!!! Various people have left valid points and I agree with them. BRING BACK LINE 305!!!
taking the 305 off at the summer time is sad,
so many events are happening in liemert park
This is ridiculous, at least with the 550 W. Hollywood had a decent connection to the new Expo line, now even that is destroyed with these “improvements.” Time to kick Metro OUT of West Hollywood, if that’s how they’re going to treat its citizens!
Also, the BBB #12’s new route is not properly represented on the 15-minute map.
Hey Steve: Speaking of maps, I looked at the new schedules and the “15 Minute Map.” It has a few faults that need to be corrected. The map shows that line 115 shows up every 15 minutes, but the timetable shows otherwise (every 20 minutes). The Rossmore Ave. portion of Line 210 is not shown on the map even through it runs less than or equal to 15 minutes all day. Also, the new Orange Line segments run every twenty minutes mid-day, and should be removed from the map. Please forward this to Metro as the map is misleading.
Hi busrider;
I’ll pass on your comment to the bus operations staff.
Thanks,
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
Folks, Metro Riders, Everyone out there… Unfortunately a lot of these cuts or ‘improvements’ have happened, nevertheless whether they help you or frustrate you.. it’s Metro’s tactic to do this during the least traveled time (i.e the summer) where most of children and teens are on summer break with little to no service to local schools.
But rest assured, stay tuned to metro.net, coming most likely the end of June or first week of July, you’ll see the banner that says ‘Public Hearings for December 2012 Service Changes’ you might be surprised, these might be worse cuts or possible improvements..
Until Then, LA let’s stick together work with what they cut and find our alternates. I’ve been affected by cuts for past two years, sadly it’s nothing new.
LA, let’s just Ride Metro, but when our time has come to voice ourselves for those meetings, we’ll be there to voice ourselves. Don’t You Worry! :] Metro will never hear the end of it from us! :]
[…] Metro will be implementing bus service changes including a number whose purpose are to provide better connections to the recently opened Expo […]
Serious? 740 has change routes? Many people use 740 straight to union station because I alway use 740 straight union station. 710 has creshaw! It is wrong! I think people will freak out about you change routes!
It sure is nice that the 217 will actually stop where the bus stop says it will on Slauson and La Cienega from Jefferson/La Cienega station now. The 439 doesn’t, and when it did, ran every Fourty Two minutes. The alternative was to take an additional two buses from La Brea Station, by connecting the 212 to the 108 to the same spot. That is crazy town. That or, riding All the way down to Centinela and La Tijera before taking the 42 back up to La Tijera and Slauson which is about an hour to go 3 1/2 miles. Also crazy town.
Let’s hoping they will finally finish the marathon construction on La Cienega and Slauson such that the bus actually has somewhere to stop.
@O’Dawg: Line 305 has a much higher ridership than lines: 96, 176, 287, 254, 218, 607, 625, 620, 645, 202, 209, 211, 215, 220, 239, and lines: 611 and 612. Line 305 provides a vital link between Westwood and Willowbrook. Who really knows why line 305 will be discontinued. Its astonishing and cruel that metro’s ridership on line 305 shows a much higher ridership than the lines stated above. I can assure you that the extension of lines: 30 and 330 (which was canceled in the past and was replaced by line 730 and is now a “new servuce”) will see very low ridership. The whole change of lines: 30/330, 730, 305 and 550 is completely IRRATIONAL AND BOGUS!!!! The changes are supposed to be improved expo line connections, yet this particular change makes NO SENSE WHAT SO EVER!! IS metro blind not to realize that the expo line does not run close and parallel to Pico blvd. My nephew who takes line 305 in South LA may have to transfer from Palisades High School to Fremont High School because of the ridiculous change of line 305.
SHAME ON YOU METRO!!!!! WHY ARE YOU CUTTING WAY MORE LINES IN THE LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES THAN THE HIGH INCOME COMMUNITIES? LOOK AT LINES 220 OR 645!! THESE LINES HAVE VERY LOW RIDERSHIP (EVEN LOWER THAN LINE 305) AND YET THEY STILL REMAIN IN SERVICE.!!!
ARE THE DECEMBER 2012 SERVICE CHANGES GOING TO CONTAIN MORE HARSH CUTS ONLY TO LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES ONLY???????????
Line 110 should serve the La Ciagena / Jefferson Station because there is no other alternative when someone wants to continue to travel on Westbound Jefferson to Playa Del Rey
i want RTD back. it was better when it was RTD. Now people have to get 3 busses to get to their destination so MTA can milk more people for money. These government agencies acting like they are for profit when they should be for the citizens who tax dollars pay for the service.
Rather than cancel the 305, you might have switched it to unidirectional peak hour service. I can’t really believe that you would keep runs like the 218 or the 442 while cancelling the 305.
“I’d love to attend all of the service change meetings, and I am sure many others would too, but guess what, WE ARE AT WORK!”
—————-
That’s my biggest complaint about these meetings too. It is almost as if they are scheduled and designed NOT to make them easy to attend. Most people cannot take time off their jobs to attend a service sector meeting.
Thank you.
It would be helpful for Metro’s riders and stakeholders if Metro released an updated system map including its new service adjustments, whenever it announces new service adjustments, so that people could see these changes in context, and make transfer plans accordingly.
@ Dante. This is why I am very interested to hear what Metro is doing about the 42 short line? It should go to Expo and Crenshaw from LAX transit center (It makes perfect sense). I feel that weening people from bus lines for rail service is a bad idea, and I am a huge advocate of “rail over wheels”. If you want people to ride a potential rail line, youd get them used to the route via bus, and then discontinue service when the route is completed, not 4 years before its premiere, people will adapt and venture other places for work and play. I caught the 439 in High School when it actually went to Redondo Beach. It was later chopped down to Aviation which was okay for me. The 439 was critical even later since I eventually began working in an office on Century blvd. The people that I supervise are typically old and under privilaged, and they were all hurt when the 439 was cut to Culver City. This in turn hurt my company! Metro needs to provide service to LAX until the rail line is built. Metro is hurting its riders, which will eventually hurt them. If anything, restroe full 439 service to Aviation Station, OR extend the 217 to Aviatiomn Station. I’d love to attend all of the service change meetings, and I am sure many others would too, but guess what, WE ARE AT WORK!
Thats my two cents. I still love METRO and The Source. Thanks guys!
Also as far as the Crenshaw line, that’s 10 yrs in the future. What about right now. I’m on the 740 right now and people are angry they are being forced to find a way to get to work. Being forced to jump on a train when a bus already to them to work. Asking the bus driver how will I get to work since the bus doesn’t go to downtown anymore.
You are taking bus services out of the poor neighborhoods. Trying to force individuals to keep paying 1.50 each bus or train, when services like the 740 takes people from southbay to downtown. How is that right. How is that even ethical? There are no transfers anymore. So now people have to take a crowded 40 bus just to get downtown. On a bus that runs for ex. 8:45am, 8:55am then 9:15am. Due to this type of scheduling the busses are packed. Seems once the mandate from the Feds was lifted then it’s screw the inner city. I can remember being able to catch a bus from LAX to San Bernadino when it was RTD now it’s packed busses that barely take u downtown with out an average of a 30 min wait.
The new and “improved” Line 30/330 connection with the 2/302 on Sunset is just plain cruel. It’s already a kick in the face to domestic workers (as well as UCLA students) taking Line 305 to Beverly Hills to discontinue the route. But judging from the new timetables, the most fun part for riders will be the fact that line 30 will turn EAST onto Santa Monica Blvd., North onto La Cienega, and West on Holloway, for an incredibly circuitous (re: fun) connection to Line 2/302 on Sunset. Instead of the 2 minutes it would normally take to go up San Vicente to Sunset from Santa Monica, it will take 10 minutes (and likely more during rush hour) to make it to the Sunset/San Vicente stop. To make this connection even more pleasant, the westbound Sunset/San Vicente (Clark) stop is the definition of oppressive–zero shade, no benches, and blindingly white walls to cheer you up as you wait for the 2/302. It’ll be a real blast seeking shelter and shade behind the utility box.
Oh, and those 25 minute mid-morning Line 2 headways, combined with the 30-40 minute headways on Line 30, pretty much guarantee that your transfer will be seamless! Congratulations to Line 305 riders on your newfound “service enhancements”. Enjoy!
For some reason, questions about buses through South Los Angeles are not getting replies. Thus I must phrase my question in a way that would trigger a reply.
Why is there still no direct service from an Expo Line stop to LAX? If I want to take mass transit from the mid-west section of town (Hollywood, WeHo, Mid-Wilshire, Fairfax) to catch a plane, I need to take the Red Line to Union Station and take the FlyAway. If I wanted to pay $14 a day to park, I could drive down La Cienega to La Tijera in a third of the time.
Perhaps it would be valuable to have a regular service down La Cienega with stops along the way. I cannot imagine that there is a lack of demand considering the jobs and attractions in the one region and the population on the other side. Is there some overriding, perhaps cultural reason the MTA is discontinuing service between historically black and white neighborhoods?
Hi Dante;
I’m not purposely avoiding questions about bus lines in South L.A. — just trying to juggle several duties at once.
I think that Metro recognizes there’s a need to improve service to LAX and that’s one big reason the agency is building the Crenshaw Line, which will connect Expo to the LAX area via an 8.5-mile light rail line. As you say, there is no direct bus at this time. I do not know the reasons.
I don’t agree that Metro is discontinuing service between black and white neighborhoods. The agency just spent $932 million on the Expo Line, which most definitely crosses all sorts of neighborhoods — including black ones — and will eventually end up in Santa Monica. The agency has said many times that one reason for the changes are to eliminate overlapping bus and train lines, although I certainly respect the right of riders who disagree with them.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
For everyone that says shame on Metro, why don’t you express your protest in another way just like Dr. Martin Luther King did back in the civil rights era: don’t use Metro.
The more Metro loses out on money, the more they will realize that they need to change their old ways of simply cutting back on services. That’s exactly what I did when they started doing those irrational “discharge only” buses.
There are ways to get around this city without an expensive car or Metro. Just join the ranks of increasing number of Angelinos these days that are opting to get around with a cheaper and more fuel efficient motorcycle or scooter. The numbers are increasing day by day. Used to see zero motorcycles on the roads of LA a few years ago. Nowadays, I see like twenty of them per day in my commute and the numbers are steadily rising.
It’s just like the year 2000 again with bicycle rider meetups and cyclic masses all over town. Now we’re seeing increasing number of motorcycle and scooter meetups all over LA. Our numbers are rising and more people that sign up for the motorcycle safety course say that they’re there to lessen dependency on driving a cars, looking for alternative ways to get around the city, and not waste their time with inefficient public transit. Many of these new riders are also former bicyclists who have gotten used to driving bicycles on the roads with cars.
Motorcycles were once viewed as dangerous to share the road with cars in the US. But now that perception is changing since Angelinos have gotten used to bicycles sharing the road with cars. People are becoming more confident that with proper motorcycle safety training, that they can be safe driving on a motorcycle. And with proper training, being on a motorized bike is the most fuel efficient way to get around the city. In fact, many cities around the world uses them as the primary way of getting around the city.
I think most transit riders agree that the discontinuation line 305 (not to mention some other discontinued lines and “modifications”) will do much more harm than good. It is understood that the metro wants to shift ridership from buses to rail, but the newly opened expo line does not make up for many of the service changes being implemented.
Many commuters’ trips will be made much longer because of these changes, especially as routes that could previously be completed with one bus will now require multiple transfers. And because buses are rarely on time, connections will likely be missed and commute times will further be extended.
As has been said before: SHAME ON METRO.
I too express a SHAME ON YOU ALL, that have not considered the “impact” that the cancellation of the 439 will cause. There is NO OTHER bus line that services the Westchester/LaDera Heights area to “North” Downtown. It seems as if the Expo Line will service those riders that need to access the center part of downtown or the “new” downtown. If I decide to take the Expo line I will now have to take a bus to the Expo Line then exit the Expo Line to get on another train to Union Station then get off that and walk approximately 3-4 blocks. How does this benefit myself and the other daily passengers that access North Downtown?
Furthermore, if the 217 was extended to meet the needs of the 439 (discontinued passengers) that need to access the train, then why does it not run as regularly to the Culver City Transit Center (North & South Bound, mid-day it is approximately every hour) as it does to LaCienega & Jefferson (as often as every 13 mins)?
I would like ot point out that it also seems that Ms. Cole’s statement was not even addressed, which seems to have been the norm, with issues regarding the 439. We as a bus line have submitted signed petitions and contacted the officials at MTA directly. Only to have received some generic letter, stating that the changes were to benefit the passengers, but no direct response as to HOW it would benefit the riders of the 439.
It would be nice to know, to receive a response that expalins how MTA can justify cancelling a line that services an area/people, without replacing it with something that services the people instead of inconveniencing them.
From the new Expo station at La Cienega/Jefferson, is there a bus that stops close by and goes south down La Cienega that will take riders to Florence and/or Manchester? If so, we can promote the route to patrons of the Westchester Playhouse as we now offer a $2.00 discount on our regular full price show tickets to all Metro riders.
Hi Shari;
There is not a Metro bus that travels south on La Cienega to Florence or Manchester. There are ways to connect there by bus from the La Brea or Crenshaw stations. The Crenshaw/LAX Line that is being built includes an optional station near the playhouse — it will get built if a contractor can construct it within the project’s budget.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
@S.E. and @Steve: According to the SM Mirror (I couldn’t quite verify it on BBB’s site), the Big Blue Bus #5 will pick up at Expo Culver City station and go to Century City.
http://www.smmirror.com/articles/News/Big-Blue-Bus-Route-And-Schedule-Changes-To-Begin-June-17/34737
That’s correct, Neal. The Big Blue Bus #5 will go from Culver City to Century City via Robertson to Pico, before jogging up to Constellation and Avenue of the Stars.
See this post for more Big Blue Bus–to Expo Line info.
Carter Rubin
Contributor, The Source
Why are they removing line 305? My nephew takes this bus from South LA to Westwood and then catches line 302 to Palisades High School in the high income area of Pacific Palisades. He takes the bus at 5:10 a.m. at Florence/Figueroa and it only takes him around 1.5 hours to get there. With the elimination of line 305, he will now take MUCH LONGER to get to school. He might need to change schools because of this problem. Why did Metro not reroute line 305 onto streets where there are no rapid routes? Line 305 does not duplicate the expo line at all. Ironically line 305 has a higher ridership than line 220, yet for some reason Metro claims line 305 is a more worse performing line than line 220.
In regards to the Metro Silver Line, weekday peak hours improvements are a lie. According to this report by Metro, http://www.metro.net/board/Items/2012/01_January/20120118OPItem64.pdf line 910 is supposed to operate every 30 mins after 9:00 p.m. on weekdays. Yet when I looked at the new schedule, it shows no new trips at 9 p.m. on weekdays. Where did those extra hours go? Who knows? How about LOWER THE FARE OF THE SILVER LINE!!! Why do you think no blue line passengers would rather switch to the Silver Line?? Because no one wants to pay an extra $0.95 to ride the Silver Line. How about making some “real and useful improvements to the Silver Line”? There needs to be ticket vending machines at ALL stations, use 60 foot NABI buses instead, lower the base fare to $1.50 and add more service on weekends and weeknights.
The Mayor, The Councilman, The MTA have no idea the negative impact being felt as a result of the elimination of the 439 line! Little by little you have chiseled away this line, for those of us who need this line going North and South without going to Labrea or Crenshaw or Sepulveda those of us that live in the Ladera Heights, Westchester and North Inglewood have been shunned and not one of you in decision making positions have considered the extra out of the way travel and time to get to and from work. Shame on all of you, in the Fall when time changes and we have to take four buses to get home from work because we can’t drive because parking is way to expensive Downtown / anywhere . Then you put old beat up scratched up dirty passenger trains on a new line : ( And what about security in such isolated areas ? Shame on all of you you have not considered women moving about alone in unfamiliar areas with no reassurance of safety. I ask for prayers for those of us who will be intimidated with thoughts of being harmed but have to press on because we must work to live and now we must endure uncertainty daily as we travel to and from………God please keep us all safe
I’ve got a question about the 42; will the short line simply stop at Expo? At the moment, the 42 short line stops at Crenshaw and Stocker; or will the short line possibly be eliminated all together and just continue as the 102?
Kind of Disappointed about the Rapid 740. It will essentially be a spur of the 710. From Union Station the 740 is still faster to take to the Crenshaw Area than dealing with the transfer at 7th to Expo.
Hopefully they plan to increase service on the 40 because buses are crowded on MLK as it is and with the 740 gone from MLK onward this could mean crush loaded 40s.
The one thing I very look forward to is the increased service on the Harbor Transitway portion of the Silver Line. Love the Silver Line but weekend service headways on the Harbor portion is too atrocious to make the line more useful than taking a normal bus. Especially if you just miss it.
Will there be a bus from the Expo’s Culver City station to Century City, where a lot of us work?
Hi S.E.;
There is not a direct bus, as far as I’m aware — but I’ll ask around tomorrow. I think to get from CC station to Century City involves taking the 220 up Robertson and then the 728 westbound. Readers: any ideas?
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
I don’t suppose there’s a new map that highlights these changes, is there? That would be so helpful!
Hi Katie;
Sorry, no map. I hear you; I think the issue is the changes are over such a broad area it’s hard to do one giant map.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source