High tax, few buses
As a daily bus rider, I am extremely disappointed that the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has done so little to improve its bus system since the passage of the transit sales taxes both in 2008 and last year.
While Metro’s rail system has expanded, many buses, especially the San Fernando Valley north-south lines, continue to run only once an hour; even the feeder bus lines that connect with the Orange Line busway stations run very infrequently. This greatly discourages ridership, and prospective transit patrons are choosing other modes of transportation to reach their destinations.
Metro must increase the frequency of all buses, particularly those that access the Orange Line and rail stations. After all, isn’t better bus service a major reason why we pay the transit sales tax? Shouldn’t taxpayers reap some benefits for their continued support of these measures?
It’s 2017 and in California, the birthplace of the tech revolution that has disrupted nearly every industry, including transportation, The Times reveals that Metro has not overhauled its bus system in more than 25 years.
Even though the region has added more than 500 miles of rail lines, and with declining ridership, the rise of Uber and novel millennial commute habits, there’s still been no shake up?
The Times’ juxtaposition of this front-page article alongside a report on Ford Motor Co. ousting its chief executive because “the company is too slow” was brilliant. As with Ford, it is time for some new management at Metro.
How about looking to Silicon Valley for some real out-of-the-box talent and ideas to better serve L.A.’s long-suffering commuters, especially bus riders? Gene Page Los Angeles
I am 74 and public transit literate. I have easily used the systems in New York, Los Angeles, Beijing and Jerusalem, among other places.
In Los Angeles, many of the buses seem to be more decrepit than those in other places, and the drivers are often more surly than I (even on my worst days). But this is not why Metro ridership has declined.
As this article points out, it is now easier if not cheaper for immigrants to buy cars. In other countries, using public transportation may be the norm, but in Los Angeles, you are what you drive.
No matter how damaged how old your car is, driving one says, “I am not second class.” Ruth Kramer Ziony Los Feliz
As a dedicated bus rider for 60 years since my childhood in Houston, I have in one word the real reason for low usage: danger.
Riding a bus in Los Angeles has become dangerous on a variety of levels. In the past few years I’ve seen fistfights, riders with open wounds, those who have soiled themselves, passengers who try to provoke violence with other riders and many other disturbing behaviors.
The high number of mentally ill or violent people who use Metro (sometimes to seemingly live on) can make it a dangerous proposition to get on the bus. Until that problem can be addressed and hopefully solved, riders will likely stay off when they can get to their destination by other means.
We all feel for those with mental problems, but in the end it’s not worth risking your own safety to ride a Los Angeles bus or subway. Bill Bentley Studio City