As more people are getting the chance to ride the Eastside Gold Line, a couple of questions keep popping up: Question #1: Why does the train go so slow over the bridge over the Hollywood Freeway? Answer: The train is restricted to a 15 mph speed limit because of two [continue reading]
You may have heard the story by now, as it’s predictably making the rounds of the local media: a couple of guys nabbed a cell phone off a restaurant table in Little Tokyo on Monday evening and apparently used the new Eastside Gold Line as their getaway vehicle. Monday, of [continue reading]
In 2002, Metro decentralized its bus operations — basically splitting Los Angeles County into five service sectors. The idea, in part, was to create closer ties to the communities served by the agency. It appears now that the agency is going to re-centralize some of those operations both as a [continue reading]
I wanted to do something a little different with the transportation headlines today, concentrating on stories about this past weekend’s opening of the Eastside Gold Line Extension. I’m going to start with one link that wasn’t a headline, but rather a comment board post about the Gold Line’s speed — [continue reading]
Metro CEO Art Leahy just announced that Carolyn Flowers, the agency’s chief operating officer, has resigned to accept a job as the CEO of the Charlotte Area Transit System in North Carolina. Flowers, a longtime veteran of Metro, has held a variety of positions here over the years and climbed [continue reading]
After two days of pomp, the new Eastside Gold Line began regular weekday service earlier this morning. There was a sprinkling of riders on the train at 4:10 a.m. at Mariachi Plaza, with more passengers jumping on the train as the morning proceeded. Several riders said they had switched from [continue reading]
At this point, it’s obvious that there will be substantial lines the rest of the afternoon on the Eastside Gold Line. We probably won’t get a true feel for commuters’ perspectives on how the train functions until revenue service begins Monday. My colleague Fred and I chatted with many passengers [continue reading]
As expected — and in a replay of 2003, when the L.A. to Pasadena Gold Line opened — the line to board trains to East L.A. is more than an hour’s wait at Union Station. The line, in fact, snakes all the way into the parking garage. If you don’t [continue reading]
Metro officials are estimating that there have been 30,000 boardings on the Eastside Gold Line so far today. The number will be updated this evening.
As of 1:30 there’s no line at the Little Tokyo/Arts District station. The small festival in the parking lot next to the station is not exactly crowded.
