The Transit Advocate

How to join SO.CA.TA: Yearly dues are $30.00 cates. In all other cases, permission must be ($12.00 low income). Dues are prorated on a secured from the copyright holder. quarterly basis. Disclaimer: The Southern California Transit THE TRANSIT ADVOCATE Submission of materials: ALL materials for the Advocates is not affiliated with any governmental TRANSIT ADVOCATE newsletter go to Andrew agency or transportation provider. Names and Newsletter of the Southern California Transit Advocates Novak at P.O. Box 2383, Downey California 90242 logos of agencies appear for information and or to [email protected]. Please enclose a self reference purposes only. April 2011 Vol. 19, No. 04 ISSN 1525-2892 addressed stamped envelope for returns. SO.CA.TA officers, 2011 Newsletter deadlines are the Fridays a week President: Nate Zablen before SO.CA.TA meetings, at 6:00 p.m. Pacific Vice President: Kent Landfield time, unless otherwise announced. Recording Secretary: Dana Gabbard Executive Secretary: (VACANT) Opinions: Unless clearly marked as "Editorial" or Treasurer: Edmund Buckley "Position Paper", all written material within, Directors at Large: Ken Ruben including all inserted flyers and postcards, are the J.K. Drummond expressed opinions of the authors and not Dave Snowden necessarily that of the Southern California Transit ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Advocates. Newsletter Editor: Andrew Novak Newsletter Prod. Mgr: Dana Gabbard Copyright: © 2011 Southern California Transit Webmaster: Charles Hobbs

Advocates. Permission is freely granted to repro- th th duce/reprint ORIGINAL articles from the Transit NEXT SO.CA.TA MEETINGS : Apr 9 and May 14 at Angelus Plaza, 4th Floor, 255 S. Hill, Los Angeles Advocate, provided credit is given to both the au- thor and the Southern California Transit Advo- April 2011 — Issue 221

Southern California Transit Advocates 3010 Wilshire #362 Los Angeles, CA 90010 44¢ First 213-388-2364 Class http://www.socata.net Postage [email protected]

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Inside This Issue: RTC Wright Streetcar 027 travels along a bus only • Bulletin Board (pg. 2) lane in downtown Las Vegas on March 5, 2011 • Members in Action (pg.2) — Andrew Novak Photo • Transit Updates (pg. 3) • Public/Legislative Affairs (pg. 6) • TAP Q and A (pg. 8) • AC Transit’s Freedom Bus (pg. 9) • Get to know Local Transit (pg. 10) • Photos of the month (pg. 11) Bulletin Board / Members in Action Photos of the Month

Bulletin Board: Martin, Ruben and Reed attended the LOS- Due to a last minute bit of mis- SAN Meeting in the Metro building on March communication, the presentation by Gordon 30th. RTC New Flyer Robinson of the Orange County Transit Ruben attended the Westside/Central Metro 919 approaches Authority on its Transit System Study has Governance Council meeting on March 9th Las Vegas Boule- been rescheduled for our April 9th meeting. vard on Tropicana and again presented SOCATA's positions on Boulevard while Metro has activated the nextbus GPS-based proposed Metro service changes. operating on the arrival time system for bus riders waiting at Ruben and Joe Dunn made comments at the Westcliff Airport stops. It is available via handheld electronic Westside Subway extension meeting held on Express Route. devices at: March 21st. The photo was http://www.nextbus.com/predictor/ taken on John Ulloth's letter on Metrolink appeared in stopSelector.jsp?a=lametro March 4, 2011. the March 18th issue of the Daily News. Metrolink CEO John Fenton has a bi- weekly e-newsletter, Making Headway, that Thomas Rubin contributed to a recent Finan- (Andrew Novak you can subscribe to via a form on the cial Plan Assessment of the Honolulu Rail Photo) agency website: Transit Project prepared for the Hawaii http://metrolinktrains.com/e-newsletter/ Department of Transportation.

Fenton also has an e-mail address that com- Andrew Novak had a photo in the February ments and concerns can be submitted 2011 issue of Western Transit. to: [email protected] Alek Friedman was quoted in the March 31st Thursday May 12, 2011 at 7:00 PM the Beverly Hills Weekly article "Beverly Hills Glendale Historical Society is sponsoring a subway route discussed at Metro meeting." free program with historian Paul Ayers: Ride This painted of a Pacific Electric PCC the Red Cars to Glendale, a slideshow on the was recently history of P.E. service in Glendale. It will be discovered on the held at the Central Library Auditorium, 222 Are you buried in paper? wall of the Floyd’s 99 East Harvard Street in Glendale. Further in- Are you interested in getting your SO.CA.TA Barbershop in formation: 818-548-2042. newsletter in PDF? Burbank. The image Members in Action: is an accurate Ken Ruben, Dana Gabbard, Bart Reed, Jerry We are now offering the SO.CA.TA newslet- portrait of a Pacific Martin, Nick Matonak and Nate Zablen ter in PDF format to our members. The PDF Electric PCC. Photo attended the RailPAC/NARP Steel Wheels in newsletters will be available a week before taken on California Annual Join Conference held at the meeting and will be in full color. If you March 19, 2011 the Metro building on March 19th. At the would like to get the PDF newsletter instead (Andrew Novak Photo) meeting Chris Flescher was re-elected as a of the printed version email us at: Director and Ken Ruben as an Associate [email protected] Director. Jerry Martin is now an Associate Director.

Page 2 The TRANSIT Advocate www.socata.net Page 11 Getting to know Local Transit by Andrew Novak Transit Updates

Bellflower Bus Dodger Stadium Express Train 6501: Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo to This fixed route system operates within Bellflower City Limits. Hours of service are Once again Metro is providing express bus Anaheim Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Fares are 50¢ (25¢ senior/disabled) and service to and from Dodger home games Departs Laguna Niguel - 5:50 PM kids 5 and under are free. Routes begin and end each half hour at the Bellflower Transit during the 2011 season. Buses will depart Departs Irvine - 5:59 PM

Center, located on Oak Street east of Bellflower Boulevard. Gateway Plaza at Bay 3, 90 minutes before Departs Tustin - 6:07 PM the game starts. The service will run every Departs Santa Ana - 6:13 PM For more information on Bellflower bus you can call at 562-865-RIDE or 562-804-1424, 10 minutes through the 3rd inning. A limited Departs Orange - 6:18 PM ext. 2267 or by visiting the website at: amount of service will operate throughout Arrives Anaheim - 6:22 PM http://www.bellflower.org/home/index.asp?page=286 the game and return service continues for Train 6503 to Union Station and Train 6500 45 minutes after the final out. Regular Metro to Oceanside will depart 30 minutes after “Getting to know Local Transit” is a new semi-regular feature were we will profile some of fares apply and same day Dodger game the smaller, lesser known transit agencies in southern California. If you know of an agency the game ends. tickets are valid. Southland Transit is once you would like to see profiled here, please contact the editor with your ideas. again operating this service for Metro. Tickets for the Angels Express trains can be purchased at: - www.octa.net/angelsexpress - By calling 714-560-5932 - At Metrolink Ticket Machines under the “Special Ticket Option” - By visiting the OCTA Store at: 550 South Main Street Orange, CA 92868

Metrolink late night service New Metrolink Express Trains In conjunction with Metro’s Dodger Express Effective May 9th, Metrolink will begin op- service, Metrolink is offering 11 PM depar- eration of new weekday express trains on tures from Union Station to Ventura, the Antelope Valley and San Bernardino Lines. Lancaster, and San Bernardino for weekday home games. Antelope Valley Express Trains

Metrolink Angels Express Trains Train 282 Effective April 8th, Metrolink will begin oper- Departs Palmdale - 5:32 AM ating special trains to Angel Stadium for Departs Santa Clarita - 6:18 AM 7:05 PM home games. There is a special $7 Departs Downtown Burbank - 6:45 AM

round trip ($6 senior/disabled) fare for the Arrives Union Station - 7:00 AM Angel Express Trains. Train 285 Schedule for special Trains: Departs Union Station - 5:25 PM Train 6502: Union Station to Anaheim Departs Downtown Burbank - 5:39 PM Departs LA - 5:50 PM Departs Santa Clarita - 6:06 PM Departs Norwalk - 6:11 PM Arrives Palmdale - 6:53 PM Departs Buena Park - 6:17 PM Trains 282 and 285 only stop at the above Departs Fullerton - 6:24 PM mentioned stations. Arrives Anaheim - 6:33 PM (Continued on Page 4)

Page 10 The TRANSIT Advocate www.socata.net Page 3 Transit Updates Continued AC Transit’s Freedom Bus

Metrolink Express Trains continued For more information on the parking fees at To celebrate the 55th Anniversary of Rosa Park’s historic bus ride in Montgomery, Ala- the Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs station visit: bama, AC Transit in conjunction with the Alameda County Office of Education, West Contra San Bernardino Express Trains www.ntsfsparking.com Costa Unified School District and Art IS Education created the Freedom Bus Project. Train 383 Students from the Berkeley High School Arts and Humanities Academy created the Civil Norwalk Transit Departs San Bernardino - 5:45 AM Rights themed artwork on the side of the bus. The base colors of the bus patterned after Norwalk Transit has proposed several sys- Departs Rancho Cucamonga - 5:58 AM the National City Lines yellow, green, and white scheme that was on the bus Rosa Parks tem changes that may take effect on May Departs Covina - 6:19 AM refused to give up her seat on. For more information on the Freedom Bus Project visit: 1st if approved by the city council. Below is Arrives Union Station - 6:45 AM http://www.freedombusproject.com/ a summary of the changes that may occur. Train 384 Route 3*: Service between Pioneer Boule- Departs Union Station - 5:15 PM vard and the Whittier Depot will be elimi- Departs Covina - 5:44 PM nated mid-days from Monday thru Friday Departs Rancho Cucamonga - 6:04 PM and on weekends. Arrives San Bernardino - 6:20 PM Route 5: Evening service from 7:40 PM to Trains 383 and 384 only stop at the above 9:26 PM will be eliminated. mentioned stations. Route 7: Mid-day service will be eliminated. Metrolink Station News Fullerton Station: On March 15th a ground Route 8: Service to the Norwalk Metrolink breaking ceremony took place for a new station will be eliminated. parking structure west of the Metrolink *The service change on Route 3 will be Station. The new structure will eliminate made on a 180-day trail basis. If Norwalk parking congestion at station. Transit determines this reduction should be- come permanent, a public hearing will occur in Fall of 2011. For more information contact Norwalk Transit at (562) 929-5550 or via e-mail: [email protected].

Norwalk Santa Fe Springs: Monthly parking fees at the Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs station were raised on March 18th. The parking lot on the Santa Fe Springs side of the station has also been expanded. The new parking rates are below.

Monthly Permit (Residents): $25.00 Monthly Permit (Non-residents): $35.00 Single Day Permits: $10.00 (Continued on Page 5)

Page 4 The TRANSIT Advocate www.socata.net Page 9 TAP Questions and Answers Transit Updates Continued

At our January meeting Vanessa Smith, Here are some questions a member sent in: Palos Verdes Transit able but restrictions will be placed on the System Projects Manager for TAP Operations PV Transit will be operating summer school number and time of day these reservations at Metro, made a presentation on the status Q: My Foothill Transit issued TAP card's service to Ridgecrest and Palos Verdes can be made. of the Transit Access Pass (TAP). In a few purse works fine on both Metro Rail and Intermediate Schools between June 20th Thousand Oaks Transit has adopted a new cases issues were raised that called for Bus, right? and July 15th. No Show and Late Cancellation Policy for further research before a response could be A: Yes, the Stored Value (purse) feature will Service to Palos Verdes High School will be Dial-a-Ride and ADA. Riders who have pat- made. A few questions were submitted after work on Metro, Foothill and all other operated between June 15th and July 27th. terns of canceling reservations with little or the meeting by an interested member who participating TAP enabled transit agencies. Service will be operated on the White, Blue, no notice or who are not ready when their couldn't attend. Ms. Smith has kindly Silver, Green, and Orange Routes. ride arrives may have their reservation or provided the following responses to the Q: I've only done it a couple of times (I am riding privileges curtailed. questions requiring a follow-up: usually carrying a Metrolink Ticket with EZ No service will be operated on the Gold and Pass stamp when I travel on LA Metro), but Green Western Routes. Torrance Transit Questions from our January meeting: Torrance Transit is the one of the most I wonder if my TAP card would have been New schedules and pass information will be recent agency’s to join Google Transit by read as valid by a fare inspector and if LA available in April. Q: Is the work around active or not? including bus stop and schedule information Metro ever saw the money I "gave" them Thousand Oaks Transit to the website. A: Yes, the work around Metro implemented from Foothill's pot. Effective April 1st, Thousand Oaks Transit for the Day Pass is still the current Expo Line Testing A:Yes, when validating your TAP card, a made several changes to their dial-a-ride procedure. Effective April 4th, Metro has begun a Fare Inspector can verify store value. service. Below are a summary of those limited amount of testing on the new Expo Q: At the Wilshire/Vermont station if you changes. Q: Why is taptogo.net still only in English? Line between Los Angeles and Culver City. want to transfer between rail lines for a TAP Dial-a-Ride and ADA service hours were For more information on construction and user does that entail going to the surface to A: There are current plans to have the Expanded. The new hours are from 6:00 AM light rail testing visit: www.BuildExpo.org taptogo.net website translated into Spanish. TAP the appropriate TAP machine? Can one to 7:00 PM Monday - Friday and from 8:00 TAP and go from one platform to the other The estimated time line is May 2011. AM to 7:00 PM on weekends. The reserva- without having to go to the surface? tion staff will be available 30 minute before Q: Why is there no ability to interact with A: We are in the process of planning for the to 30 minutes after the scheduled hours. someone (one-on-one) about TAP except by relocation of some of the Stand Alone phone or by the aforementioned The Dial-a-Ride service area has been Validators (SAVs) between these two taptogo.net? expanded to include the unincorporated platforms in order to avoid patrons from areas of Newbury Park, Lynn Ranch, Rolling A: There is a TTY/TDD option available having to go out of the station to TAP. Oaks, Hidden Valley, and Lake Sher-

wood. Residents can now travel outside the Q: Is this not an ADA violation? How does a Q: At the Harbor Green Line array to TAP is city limits to these areas at no additional midlevel. Can one be placed at the platform? quadriplegic "TAP in" anyways?

charge. Residents living in these unincorpo- A: This is also part of our planning and A: Metro is currently looking at options used rated areas will now have their service evaluation for the relocation of SAVs. by other transit agencies on the types of provided by Thousand Oaks Transit. accommodations provided to person (s) with Dial-a-Ride and ADA reservations policies such disabilities. have been modified in an effort to promote Metro LRV 213 performs clearance tests on more advanced reservations. On Demand the new Expo Line on April 4, 2011. and Same Day reservations are still avail- -Photo by Jose Ubaldo/Metro

Page 8 The TRANSIT Advocate www.socata.net Page 5 Public and Legislative Affairs By Dana Gabbard PLAC Continued

In going over Metro's budget assumptions Interestingly Metro Librarian Matt Barrett at is considering filing a complaint with FTA." I should note to travel from one end of the for an L.A. Streetsblog piece ("Metro Budget the March 23rd Metro Citizens' Advisory county to the other Mr. Cuneo's daughter pays a fare of $3 and does so while trans- Planning Document Contains Some Revela- Council meeting noted these reviews are ported in a single vehicle, albeit in a shared ride mode with other Access users. Frankly I tions") I was puzzled to see heavy rail (the routine and generally result in remedies on would experience a trip of comparable duration if I was to travel via transit between the Red and Purple Lines) is slated to get a the order of suggestions how to improve same two points plus have to transfer at least once to boot. Mr. Cuneo evidently is un- 13.1% increase of an additional 33,680 outreach. Also interestingly the 9th Circuit aware that the travel time comparability standard that Access follows comes straight out revenue service hours in the upcoming fiscal just handed down a ruling in Darensburg, et. of the Americans with Disabilities Act and various regulations. His threat therefore is year. Which makes one wonder what antici- al v. Metropolitan Transportation Commis- toothless and uninformed. pated headway on our heavy rail does this sion rejecting similar equity claims involving significant increase reflect? These numbers the way funding is allocated in the Bay Area. My, lots of angst in the column this month. Let's hope May is calmer. are from the March 17th Metro Board Fi- I suspect this hubabaloo will as too often nance & Budget Committee agenda - item happens with the BRU turn out to be much -In Memory of Cameron Beach - #7 "Budget Planning Parameters and Ra- ado about little. tionale". BTW, for planning purposes Metro Kudos to Ben Beader of the San Gabriel Val- On March 18, 2011, 62 year old Cameron Beach died of cardiac arrest at his home in San has Expo light rail phase I as starting ser- ley Tribune for his eye-opening expose "Lid Francisco. At the time of his death Cam was on the San Francisco MTA Board of Directors, vice on November 15th of this year. But of blown off simmering rift between ACE and a position he had held since 2007. From 1981 to 2006 Cam worked for Regional Transit course that is not set in stone. (RT) in Sacramento and is considered the father of Sacramento’s Light Rail System. Cam San Gabriel Valley Council of Govern- So what is the main beef of a gentleman ments" (February 19, 2011). This is a jaw- joined RT in 1981 as a labor relations consultant and two years later was put in charge of named John Mirisch regarding our current dropping blow-by-blow account of a feud the developing light rail network. After successfully starting the service in 1987, Cam was mass transit planning ("Just what is Jewish between the chief executives of the San promoted to Chief Operating Officer for RT in 1991. Cam was still COO in 2006 when he mass transit?" Jewish Journal Feb. 23, Gabriel Valley Council of Governments and retired from RT and returned to his native San Francisco. Cam was a true transit advocate 2011)? "None of the stations between West- the Alameda Corridor East Construction making decisions about service based on the users perspective. He would often travel on ern and the Veterans Administration have Authority. If you have a chance Google this buses and light rail vehicles while at RT in order to have a better understanding of the system. He always put the customer first. park-and-ride lots planned..." As if riding a one and be ready for some riveting reading. bus to the rail station is a concept beyond I'll conclude by noting at the Access Ser- Cam was also a member of the Market Street Railway and the Western Railway Museum at the pale, which he dismisses out of hand by vice Community Advisory Committee meet- Rio Vista Junction. He was an avid photographer and transportation historian. dubbing it an "underdeveloped network of ing on February 8, 2011 the minutes state He will be missed by all. bus lines serving the residential areas on the "Mr. Greg Cuneo opened Public Comment Westside". Underdeveloped? I guess he stating that his daughter, a customer of Ac- doesn't know the Westside actually has cess, has been experiencing long shared some of the heaviest used lines with the rides from San Pedro to Claremont, often shortest headways. Yesh! lasting between 3 – 3½ hours long. He In the wake of the news that the Federal added that he spoke with Janine in Cus- Transit Administration is undertaking a Title tomer Care, who explained that Access VI compliance review of Metro, the Bus travel times are comparable to Metro travel Rider's Union has been making statements times to/from the same locations and are that this constitutes a "significant step" and not considered excessive unless they exceed "tactical victory" for their claim that a pat- Metro’s travel times. Mr. Cuneo does not tern of discrimination underlies Metro's ser- agree with the travel time comparability vice change program of the past few years. standard that Access follows and

Page 6 The TRANSIT Advocate www.socata.net Page 7 Public and Legislative Affairs By Dana Gabbard PLAC Continued

Page 6 The TRANSIT Advocate www.socata.net Page 7 TAP Questions and Answers Transit Updates Continued

Page 8 The TRANSIT Advocate www.socata.net Page 5 Transit Updates Continued AC Transit’s Freedom Bus

Monthly Permit (Residents): $25.00 Monthly Permit (Non-residents): $35.00 Single Day Permits: $10.00 (Continued on Page 5)

Page 4 The TRANSIT Advocate www.socata.net Page 9 Getting to know Local Transit by Andrew Novak Transit Updates

Page 10 The TRANSIT Advocate www.socata.net Page 3 Bulletin Board / Members in Action Photos of the Month

Page 2 The TRANSIT Advocate www.socata.net Page 11 How to join SO.CA.TA: Yearly dues are $30.00 cates. In all other cases, permission must be ($12.00 low income). Dues are prorated on a secured from the copyright holder. quarterly basis. Disclaimer: The Southern California Transit THE TRANSIT ADVOCATE Submission of materials: ALL materials for the Advocates is not affiliated with any governmental TRANSIT ADVOCATE newsletter go to Andrew agency or transportation provider. Names and Newsletter of the Southern California Transit Advocates Novak at P.O. Box 2383, Downey California 90242 logos of agencies appear for information and or to [email protected]. Please enclose a self reference purposes only. April 2011 Vol. 19, No. 04 ISSN 1525-2892 addressed stamped envelope for returns. SO.CA.TA officers, 2011 Newsletter deadlines are the Fridays a week President: Nate Zablen before SO.CA.TA meetings, at 6:00 p.m. Pacific Vice President: Kent Landfield time, unless otherwise announced. Recording Secretary: Dana Gabbard Executive Secretary: (VACANT) Opinions: Unless clearly marked as "Editorial" or Treasurer: Edmund Buckley "Position Paper", all written material within, Directors at Large: Ken Ruben including all inserted flyers and postcards, are the J.K. Drummond expressed opinions of the authors and not Dave Snowden necessarily that of the Southern California Transit ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Advocates. Newsletter Editor: Andrew Novak Newsletter Prod. Mgr: Dana Gabbard Copyright: © 2011 Southern California Transit Webmaster: Charles Hobbs

Southern California Transit Advocates 3010 Wilshire #362 Los Angeles, CA 90010 44¢ First 213-388-2364 Class http://www.socata.net Postage [email protected]

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