Riders’ Input is Sought for Metro Changes Hearings

By Sue Doyle

BURBANK — Stepping off the bus at Buena Vista Street and Alameda Avenue for his construction job, Jaime Garcia was well aware of the line’s tenuous future.

"It may be canceled," said the 55-year-old, shaking his head. "This will be a problem for getting to my job."

Metro’s Line 155 is one of about 20 routes in Los Angeles that could be eliminated. At least 30 more might see reductions in service hours or changes to their routes under plans proposed by Metro.

Twice a year, the transportation agency evaluates its nearly 200 bus lines for efficiency and ridership and recommends service changes to its directors.

"We review our service and are able to make adjustments to running time and productivity," said Carolyn Flowers, chief operations officer for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Metro will be holding seven public hearings across the city over the next week for riders to speak out about service changes.

Garcia, who lives in downtown Los Angeles, plans to attend.

"The changes will affect me and several co-workers, too," said Garcia. "Even if it only runs every hour, this bus is important."

Six new Rapid bus lines will be added to the system under the transition and are the final phase of Metro’s long-range service plan established under a federal consent decree.

Once implemented, there will be 28 Rapid bus lines crisscrossing Los Angeles County. Making fewer stops, Rapid bus lines offer riders quicker trips than local buses.

Riding Metro local bus Line 154 to have lunch at IKEA in Burbank Town Center, Paulette Brown was not surprised to hear that the route may be canceled because of low ridership.

Operating once an hour weekdays between Burbank and Tarzana, the bus is often late, said the Van Nuys resident. The same line had weekend hours cut last year.

"If they ran it more often, more people would ride it," said Brown. "But it’s not reliable for the times that it runs."

Down the way at Olive Street and San Fernando Road, Latoya Dotson was waiting for Metro bus 94, which shuttles passengers between Sun Valley and downtown L.A.

The bus route could be extended north to Olive View Hospital and shortened downtown to end at Vignes Street and Cesar Chavez Avenue, where a new Rapid line may operate to either downtown Burbank or Sun Valley.

Heading to downtown L.A. to look for a restaurant job, the 23- year-old said the route changes would play a role in where she works.

"I’ll still find a way to get there," said the Burbank resident. "Hopefully I’ll get a car soon."

sue.doyle(at)dailynews.com

818-713-3746

WANT TO GO?

Public hearings are scheduled for proposed bus services changes:

For the San Fernando Valley: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Marvin Braude Constituent Service Center, 6262 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys.

For the South Bay: 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Carson Community Center, 801 Carson St., Carson.

Downtown Los Angeles: 10 a.m. Saturday at the Metro building, third floor, Gateway Plaza at North Vignes Street and the 101 Freeway, Los Angeles.

Westside: 5 p.m. Feb. 13 at La Cienega Tennis Center, 325 S. La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills.

For more information, go to www.metro.net.

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