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{{NOINDEX}} |
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''Note: This is a personal proposal for improving the history section of the [[Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] article'' |
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==History== |
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The agency was established in February 1993 by the merger of the '''Southern California Rapid Transit District''' (SCRTD) and the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (LACTC). |
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===Metro Bus=== |
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The SCRTD pioneered experimenting with alternate fuel buses in what some derisively call ''the fuel of the month club''. At the start of Metro's existence, there were buses running on [[ethanol]], [[methanol]], regular [[diesel]], low-sulfur (clean) diesel, and [[CNG]]. Battery-operated buses were proposed but never operated in regular service. Today, It operates the nation's largest fleet of [[Compressed Natural Gas|CNG]] powered buses. The CNG fleet reduces emissions of particulates by 90%, [[carbon monoxide]] by 80%, and [[greenhouse gases]] by 20% over the 500 remaining [[diesel]] powered buses in the fleet. Alternative fuel buses have logged more than 450 million operating miles since [[1993]], an industry record. |
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In 1994, the [[United Transportation Union]], representing bus drivers, went on strike. <!-- name details, however --> |
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In June 2000, Metro unveiled the first of 26 planned [[Metro Rapid]] bus routes. |
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Shortly there after, the [[Amalgamated Transit Union]], representing mechanics, service attendants, and maintenance workers, went on strike shutting down virtually all rail and bus operations. The issue this time involved "transit zones" and the fear that many of MTA's routes would be privatized. |
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In February 2003, the MTA became the first agency in the the nation to use a bus made of composite carbon and polyester fibers. The changes resulted in a 2,100 pound lighter bus. Dubbed "Compo Buses," they have increased fuel economy, boast a faster faster acceleration and deceleration rate, and feature reduced maintenance cost. These busses have a distinct bulge along the bottom 1/4 of the side of the bus. |
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In the summer of 2005, the fourteen-mile [[Metro Orange Line]] began operation. The $354 million busway traverses the [[San Fernando Valley]]. It is the region's first bus to operate within its own dedicated right-of-way. Unfortunately, within its first week of operation the at-grade Orange Line experienced three collisions with automobiles, all of which were deemed the fault of automobile drivers who ran red lights. |
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===Metro Rail=== |
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====Beginnings==== |
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In 1980, voters passed Proposition A, which set aside a half-cent sales tax to help pay for a regional transit system. This occured after various proposals failed at the polls, including those in 1968, 1972, and 1976. The plan that accompanied the initiative showed 10 transit corridors, with the Wilshire subway line the “cornerstone,” said former RTD planning director Gary Spivak. County Supervisor [[James Hahn]], who authored the bill, ensured that his [[South Los Angeles]] district received the first dollars for a [[light-rail]] line on the old Long Beach [[Red Car]] route (this would become the [[LACMTA Blue Line|Blue]] line). |
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In 1985, Congressmen [[Henry Waxman]] (D. Los Angeles), an opponent of the subway, moved to halt the project by removing all subway construction money from that year's Federal Transportation Budget. He raised safety concerns, citing a methane explosion in the basement of a Ross Dress for Less in the [[Mid-Wilshire]] district. Thanks to last minute lobbying by RTD president [[Nick Patsaouras]], he relented and allowed funding to go through as long as it did not pass through his district. Most of that district had been designated a "Methane Risk Zone" by a city task force investigateing the ‘Dress for Less’ explosion. With the County's densest corridor now out of play, plans were reworked to route the subway towards Vermont to Hollywood rather than directly west. As a result of this compromise, there is a one-mile stub between 'Wilshire and Vermont' and 'Wilshire and Western'. |
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====Blue, Red, and Green==== |
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In 1990, the SCRTD opened the [[LACMTA Blue Line|Blue]] line, the region's first modern [[light rail]] line. Initial plans called for the line to extend to Pasadena. |
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In 1993 the first segment of the [[LACMTA Red Line|Red]] line opened, Los Angeles's only subway line and the Metro's only mass transit line that is entirely within the boundaries of Los Angeles. A year later, the Red Line was extended to [[Wilshire/Western (LACMTA Station)|Wilshire/Western]] in the [[Koreatown, Los Angeles, California|Koreatown area of Los Angeles]]. |
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That same year, Metro's third Rail line, The [[LACMTA Green Line|Green]] line, opened. It runs from from [[El Segundo, California|El Segundo]] to [[Norwalk, California|Norwalk]] in the center median of [[Interstate 105 (California)|Interstate 105]]. |
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====Bus Riders Union agreement==== |
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When the MTA announced a bus fare increase and the elimination of monthly passes, the controversial [[civil rights]] organization [[Bus Riders Union]] (BRU) filed a federal lawsuit, charging that the spending of money on rail was "racist" and demanding that more resources go to buses instead of rail projects. The BRU claimed that 50% of rail riders were [[Caucasian]] compared with 20% of bus riders. It argued that spending on rail projects reduced funding for bus service that disproportionately affected poor and minority riders who were dependent on public transit, and that improvements for the bus system would be more cost effective and require less subsidy than building a rail system [http://www.busridersunion.org/engli/Resources/BRUstore/New%20Vision%20for%20Urban%20Transportation.pdf]. |
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In 1996, under the direction of then-mayor [[Richard Riordan]], the LACMTA signed a ten-year [[consent decree]] with the BRU to avoid going to court. Riordan would later publicly state that the signing of this consent decree was a mistake. At the time, he believed that load factors could be maintained with the MTA's current budget; this proved false. The agreement requires an average of fewer than eight standees on a normal 40-seat bus in a 20-minute period during peak hours and a 60-minute period during the off-peak. It also restricts Metro's ability to raise fares beyond inflation and requires the Authority to operate special services designed to better connect the poor with important job centers and medical facilities. Unless extended, the decree will expire on [[October 31]], [[2006]]. |
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====Revenue loss==== |
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In 1998, frustrated with sink holes, cost overruns, and perceived mis-management, 65% of [[Los Angeles County]] voters approved a ballot measure sponsored by County Supervisor [[Zev Yaroslavsky]] that barred the use of county sales tax money for all future subway projects. |
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Due to the loss of revenue, the authority suspended construction of the [[LACMTA Blue Line|Pasadena Blue Line]] light rail line to Pasadena and an extension of the Red Line to East L.A. It also stopped all planning for any future subway extensions. However, construction on the Hollywood and North Hollywood extensions of the Red Line continued, as these projects were more then 80% complete. |
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====Gold Line==== |
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Put off by Metro's suspension of the 11% completed Blue Line to Pasadena, Pasadena rail advocates lobbied State Senator [[Adam Schiff]], who in turn authored Senate Bill 1847, Chapter 1021, which created the '''Pasadena Blue Line Construction Authority''', an independent authority whose sole task was to complete the suspended light rail line to Pasadena and once completed turn over the operation of the line to LACMTA. |
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When it became clear the Pasadena Blue Line would not connect with the [[Long Beach]] Blue Line Metro voted to change the name of the not yet completed new line. Some on the board hoped to name it "Rose Line" in honor of Pasadena's famed annual New Year's Rose parade and football game. However, because of a planned [[East L.A.]] extension of this line that would cross communities far from Pasadena the board voted to rename the line the [[LACMTA Gold Line|Gold]] Line. |
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In 2000, the Red Line finally made it to [[North Hollywood (LACMTA Station)|North Hollywood]]. Because of the ban on county sales tax for subway construction and the separate federal ban sponsored by Congressman [[Henry Waxman]], which prohibits the use of federal dollars in the [[Wilshire Boulevard]] corridor, the North Hollywood leg is likely to be last extension of the Red Line for at least the next decade. |
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On [[July 26]], [[2003]], the [[LACMTA Gold Line|Gold]] line to [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena]] was completed and turned over to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for operation. It was completed on time and under budget. On opening weekend some waited up to three hours to board the trains. |
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A few months after the Gold Line opened, for the third time in nine years, the MTA experienced a [[strike]]. The Amalgamated Transit Union again struck, crippling the entire system and stranding millions of passengers. The sticking point in contract negotiations was a [[health insurance]] trust fund the transit agency pays into and the union manages. The ATU wanted the MTA to contribute more to cover the steeply rising costs of medical care. However, an independent audit showed the union had mismanaged the nearly bankrupt trust fund, making the agency unwilling to contribute more money without getting a managerial stake. |
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At the end of 2003 Metro introduced the "$3 day pass" and lowered fares from $1.35 to $1.25. The day pass allows patrons to get on and off Metro buses and trains as many times as they like within one operational day without paying an additional fare. It represented a slight fare increase for some patrons and a decrease for others depending upon how many times one transfers. |
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====Naming changes==== |
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By 2004, the agency had been using the word "Metro" for several years to describe many of its services. (Metro Rail, Metro Bus, etc...) In August of that year, the LACMTA board voted to drop the [[acronym]] "MTA" for its common name and begin using the word "Metro" for all of its advertising campaigns and literature. The full name of the agency remains the "Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority”, the name given to it by the state legislation which brought it into existence. |
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Along with a new name. the agency decided to give itself new colors to clearly identify each vehicle with the type of service it provides. Rapid buses remained their signature dark red. Local (frequent stop) buses, as well as limited stop buses, were given a California Poppy Orange. The less common Freeway Express buses were given a dark blue and all Metro Rail vehicles will maintain their stainless steel color or be painted gray. The base color throughout the bus and rail fleet is silver. The buses are being repainted through their normal multi-year painting cycle so not all buses have been given their new colors. To date, only a few rail vehicles have been given the new gray and silver color scheme. |
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====Expo Line==== |
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Ever since Henry Waxman thwarted plans to tunnel a subway through the dense Wilshire area, traffic and congestion has only risen. The point was underscored in 2000, when the guerrilla group Heavy Trash erected eight large signs along public streets announcing the construction of the "Aqua Line," a 15-mile subway "connecting downtown to the Westside." The Aqua Line was a hoax, but Heavy Trash's intent was not vandalism; they were attempting to increase awareness that heavily-congested and populated West Los Angeles still did not have rail access. |
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The Metro has officially proposed the Expo Line (officialy name: Midcity/Exposition Line), a light-rail line to begin at Whilshire and end in Santa Monica. However, some groups have sought a subway line instead. Twenty years after Westside Congressman Henry Waxman halted subway construction over safety concerns, a five-person panel, jointly chosen by Waxman and the [[American Public Transportation Association]], concluded that, "By following proper procedures and using appropriate technologies the risk of tunneling would be no greater than other subway systems in the U.S." The panel was assembled at the behest of pro-rail mayor [[Antonio Villaraigosa]]. |
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In years prior, Waxman had previously stated if such a panel deemed tunneling safe in the Mid-Wilshire district, he would authorize legislation that would lift the ban on federal monies being used for subway construction in this dense urban area. It is important to note that, even though the ban will be lifted, no money has been allocated for future subway construction. It takes years of planning before actual request for [[federal]] dollars are made and the proposal must compete with other projects. |
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