From: rlm@surfcty.com (Robert McMillin)
Newsgroups: la.general,oc.general,ba.transportation
Subject: Re: I hate "Rapid" Transit District (RTD)
Keywords: rapid RTD transport
Date: Tue, 05 Jan 93 14:36:38 PST
Distribution: ca
Organization: Surf City Software, Orange, Calfornia - DUDE!

johnwu@netcom.com (John M. Wu) writes:

>      I'm a student from UC Berkeley currently vacationing in
> Southern California.  I've been realatively pleased with the Bay
> Area mass transit system but I am very disappointed with L.A.
> County's mass transit system.  In the Bay Area, I would use AC
> Transit/BART.  In LA, I would use my car. 
> 
>      Why?
>
> [stuff deleted comparing RTD to BART]
>
> Why I hate RTD/LACTC
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> 1)  If Blue Line is going to be the future of rail in Los
> Angeles, upper middle class people in their respective
> neighborhoods won't ride their derivatives.  It has too many
> stops.  Realistically, it takes slightly more than an hour to go
> from Downtown Los Angeles to Long Beach.  RTD needs to cater to
> long distance commuters or else LA freeways will pay dearly.
> The classic dumb stop:  There is a stop 0.1 miles before the
> Transit Mall on the Blue Line in Long Beach. 

I haven't heard this complaint before, but it certainly sounds valid.
There are other problems, though, with the planned light rail lines, not
the least of which is that they avoid the places that desperately need
them.  The demise of light rail on Wilshire Blvd. is a good example of
this.

As you mention in complaint (2), rapid transit in El Lay has been viewed
as a sop for those too poor to afford their own automobile.  Originally,
the LACTC had planned to put in a major east-west light rail line on
Wilshire.  This would have made sense if the goal is to get middle- and
upper-income people on the system, for L.A.'s heavy banking and
commercial district is Wilshire, practically; that street is a zip code
unto itself!  However, it was not the LACTC's intention to attract more
well-to-do riders; rather, they chose to continue seeing their mission
as providing last-ditch transportation for the ultra-poor.  In so doing,
they moved the route several blocks south to Pico Blvd., passing through
poor neighborhoods -- and practically guaranteeing that nobody working
in the financial towers dotting Wilshire will ever use this line.

> 2)  RTD caters mainly to low income minorities,  the people who
> can't afford to buy and maintain an automobile.  A couple of
> years ago, RTD had an ad campaign that said  "I used to ride with
> Sancho Panza.  Now I ride with RTD." or something similiar. 
> First of all, this is racist.  Secondly, this will do very little
> to reduce freeway congestion.  Let's have a little more ethnic
> and economic diversity on mass transit in LA.  I give
> RTD/LACTC/etc. an F- as far as encouraging mass transit in LA for
> the last 20 years.  AND YES, I BELIEVE RTD/LACTC GETS THE MAIN
> BURDEN FOR FAILING TO GET PEOPLE TO USE MASS TRANSIT!!!  LA
> people have good reasons not to ride buses.  I do too.  Therfore
> I shall use my car.

Something I've said for years.  Here's a first: somebody suggesting that
adding whites to ANYTHING would help ethnic diversity.  Your experiences
on the RTD buses should give you plenty of reasons why everyone in LA
tries to drive if they can.

> 3)  RTD bus coverage in low income areas is good to excellent
> while wealthier areas get poor coverage.   This is an extenstion
> of #2.  Of course, a large source of our traffic congestion comes
> from areas with poor coverage.

> 7) Put more money into keeping buses grafitti free.  Nobody likes
> to look at aesthetic endeavors by taggers on the RTD.  Also, I'd
> like to be able to see through the windows so I know where I am. 
> RTD spends only $2 million on removing grafitti.  Makes riding
> RTD seem like riding in a gang zone.  No wonder people feel
> unsafe on those buses.  See point #9.
> 
> 9) Hire more RTD transit police.  I've yet to see one in action
> on my occasional bus trips over the years.  I've seen knives and
> guns drawn before.  Also cuts down on rampant fare cheating.

Absolutely.  RTD buses are rolling examples of urban decay.  If they can
keep the Blue Line cars grafitti free, then they can keep the buses
clean, too.  If this isn't attended to, you can forget mass transit in
Los Angeles.

> Besides ranting on RTD, Metrolink deserves its own share.  Who
> wants to pay $170/mo. when it's cheaper by car and doesn't run on
> restricted hours.  Right now, each rider is paying only $5.50 for
> the $55.00 it costs to transport each person currently riding
> Metrolink.  Who wants to invest in mass transit that returns only
> 10%?  Decrease the prices!!!!  Then Metrolink may actually get
> more riders.   I admire their public outreach programs in
> December like free Metrolink rides during a Saturday before
> Christmas but it still costs way too much even if I do get into
> Downtown faster than the 10 Freeway.

LACTC deserves a thumb in the eye for its lousy choice of the Green Line
route.  This light rail line goes from Norwalk to Manhattan Beach -- not
LAX as you would reasonably expect.  To go from the MB terminus to LAX,
one has to get on one of those derelict buses everyone here loves so
much.  Talk about brainless maneuvers!
Xref: sparky la.general:1182 ba.transportation:3142