From: johnwu@netcom.com (John M. Wu)
Subject: Re: I hate "Rapid" Transit District (RTD)
Followup-To: la.general,oc.general 
Keywords: slugbut
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Distribution: ca
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 07:23:37 GMT

In article <uh4t3co@sgi.sgi.com> jeremy@classic.asd.sgi.com (Jeremy Higdon) writes:
>In article <1993Jan5.102755.15262@netcom.com>, johnwu@netcom.com (John M. Wu) writes:
>> Los Angeles
>> 
>> 1 - 1:10 by bus, <0:35 by car - WAY TOO SLOW.  A bus can't beat a
>> car but let's be reasonable.  I don't want to spend double the
>> time to get to where I want to go.
>
>This isn't too bad.  Unless you start and end your trip at a
>rapid transit stop (bus or rail) you are looking at about
>double the time or worse for taking transit, particularly
>if the car gets to use freeways.

I don't think transit will ever be desirable to most if travel times
are not reasonable.  Doubletime to Tripletime is my experience with RTD.
I also don't think God (insert favorite deity - if any) intended buses to
be the express part of mass transit.  But RTD knew there were no trains
to come for years so RTD needed to deal with it.

My solution:

Assuming LA had no rail and had carpool lanes in all freeways, RTD should have
lines that travel through streets for 20 minutes and then go to downtown LA 
for people like me who live 25+ miles away from downtown.  I am going on
the premise that mass transit should give residents a method to go to
far areas like Diamond Bar or Canoga Park.

Instead of stretching freeways, let's remove most of the gap between the
first lane and the center divider.  Japanese freeways don't even have
shoulder lanes but have gaps every 1/4 km for broken down vehicles.
Boom!  Instant carpool(bus) lane.

>> 3 - Monthly Base Card (no express) = $52.  Express 1 = $66. 
>> Express 2 = $80.  I am a student but not while I'm in L.A.
>> High prices stems from the politics between Foothill and RTD.
>
>RTD also has a very high farebox recovery ratio.

It was cheaper when RTD had an agreement with Foothill.  Wasn't Foothill
supposed to save the SG Valley from RTD?

Sigh.

>> 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. 
>
>This is a problem with light rail lines in general.  They are not
>very fast.  At night, RTD route 60 is about as fast as the blue line.
>Similarly, in Portland, Ore., route 4 is about as fast as MAX.  During
>the day, however, the rail lines are quicker, since they don't get
>stuck in traffic.

Blue Line can haul 55 mph.  Too bad it has to slow down for traffic
signals and unnecessary stops.  Blue Line users should get the RTD
monthly pass and use it to get to the stop.

Another gripe:  Blue LIne looks really easy to cheat.  There's that
$250 fine from the sheriff but you can look and see if one of them is boarding.
IF so, you're done on this train.   

>> 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.
>
>RTD/LACTC is playing with the hand it was dealt, and it wasn't a
>very good one.  Remember, they don't have the arbitrary authority
>to subsidize lines as much as they want.  I'm sure they'd like
>nothing more than to run all their lines at 15 minute intervals
>until midnight, but they don't have the money.

RTD's image influences the public.  The public influences the
politicians.  The politicians influence RTD's bank.

If RTD keeps its reputation of being a slow way to travel and a symbol
of urban decay, nothing will change.

>> 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.
>>
>> 4)  Until LA county has a real rail system that you don't have to
>> pay sky high to ride (eg. Metrolink), RTD and Foothill need to
>> establish express lines that serves 2 or 3 communities and then
>> dash onto the freeway to Downtown.  Car pool lanes are absolutely
>> mandatory for these lines to work.  These lines exist in several
>> communities but towns like Walnut are left out.  
>
>Once again, I'm sure RTD would love to have carpool lanes, but
>they don't have the authority to put them in.

But they influenced the right people enough to build the El Monte busway.
Freeway 57 in OC has a carpool lane when it didn't before. 
>
>> 5)  Have limited stop versions of popular lines or have new
>> express lines shadow them.  Line 2 is a noteworthy slug from UCLA
>> to downtown.  Line 484 from Ontario Airport to Downtown LA is
>> another.  I don't want to spend three hours to go from SG valley
>> to Santa Monica beaches when a car can do it in one.
>
>The Wilshire lines have limited stop versions.  They go very
>close to UCLA.  Also, try Santa Monica 10 from downtown LA.
>It runs on I-10 to Santa Monica.

>> 8) A friend who decided to attend Spring Semester at college
>> after staying out Fall Semester got their RTD College Application
>> denied because "This is a Fall Base Card from Sept. to March. 
>> You will have to wait until after March to apply."  Sorry, but
>> Spring semester starts in January for some schools.
>> 
>> 8.5) A student taxpayer in LA county applied for an RTD college
>> pass to go to CSU Fullerton (in Orange County) on line 490 and
>> got denied because CSUF is not in LA county.  Well, FYI, RTD line
>> 490 goes right next to CSUF.
>> 
>> Both students plan to write nasty letters to RTD.  The policy
>> maker for this should be fired!  
>
>RTD lines that run in Orange County are contracted for by OCTD.

That's not an excuse for Mr. Policy Maker.  Foothill Transit 
is the only bus line that runs by many SG high schools.  But RTD
doesn't deny them.  Why does the school need to be in LA county?
I, as a UCB student, do not plan to abuse RTD during my winter break.
 
And then there is the full time student requirement.  Grad students can't
always handle 12 units with research or ta work.  Let the schools define
full time study status..
>
>> 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.
>
>Most of your complaints are best directed at the political arena.

Politicans are influenced by the public.  The public is influenced by
RTD's media campaign and image.  SF Bay Area would be mad if politicians
decided cut 50% funding to Muni, BART, AC Transit, etc.  LA doesn't care
because mass transit sucks and there isn't a sign of change.

RTD needs more transit policepersons as well as a complete cleanup
job of their fleet with a good media campaign instead of coverage
of Blue Line accidents.
>
>> 
>> 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.
>
>If the prices go down, ridership probably will not go up enough
>to make up for lost revenue.  There is a lot of empirical evidence
>that fare increases do actually get more revenue, even though
>ridership may drop.  Transit demand is relatively inelastic.

Hopefully the numbers have gone up with those freebies last month.
I had to stand on the Santa Clarita line during the freebie.

>> ---
>> 
>> I encourage comments and especially criticism about what I have
>> said.  I need opinions on what I've said in case I made any rash 
>> judgements.
>
>Cut poor old RTD some slack. 

I wish I could.

>I'm sure they have their problems
>(they are a large government entity, after all :-), but they do
>a lot of things better than other transit agencies.

RTD scores very low when compared to what I've ridden in the US and abroad.
It's the dirtiest.  It's the most dangerous.  Coverage varies wildly by
economic levels of each area.  RTD did nothing in the 1970's and LACTC did
nothing in the 1980's do improve mass transit for all.  

-- 
John M. Wu                "And if a double decker bus, crashes into us
johnwu@netcom.com          to die by your side, is such a heavenly way to die"
jmw@ocf.berkeley.edu         - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
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