How they do it in LA

I took a trip down to Los Angeles yesterday, to go help out the UCLA chapter of a student organization I'm involved with. Of course, I took public transit. In this post, I'll share my thoughts about what worked, what didn't, and what it means for regional transportation.

First, a quick overview of the trip. I took the Metrolink 800/321 to LA from Riverside. From there, the Purple Line subway to Wilshire/Western, the Metro Rapid 720 to Wilshire/Westwood, and the Santa Monica BBB #3 to UCLA. Going home, I took the Culver City #6 back to Wilshire/Westwood, the 920 Rapid Express to Wilshire/Western, the Purple Line back to Union Station and the Metrolink 410 home.

What worked:
Metrolink. Compared to the gladiatorial battle with freeway traffic, riding the train is smooth, comfortable, and productive. I got a philosophy paper done while riding, something I sure couldn't do while driving. The train ran slightly early into Union Station.

The Subway. Still the quickest way to move lots of people through a city. I wish I could use my cellphone though.

Metro Rapid. This is a surprise to me. I was a serious skeptic about the Rapid program, as it's not really a *true* BRT project. (The Orange Line is.) However, after riding it I'm convinced. While on the "standard" Rapid 720, we passed two #20 local buses, and stayed generally competitive with automobile traffic. (That doesn't say much, see below, but it's something.) The "Rapid Express" 920 was even faster. Riding one of these makes you realize how much of a factor stop cost is when taking the bus.

Metrolink tickets as an EZ Pass. After the fare that Metrolink charges, it's nice to get all of your day's transportation needs thrown in to the package. All but one of the above operators accepted my ticket for full fare.


What Didn't:
The Subway. Okay, yeah, I said it worked. The fact of the matter is that the subway is a really nice transit system. However, what the hell is up with this "Purple Line" thing? There are a whopping total of TWO, you heard me right TWO stations that aren't shared with the Red Line. I'm not really sure that gets to qualify as it's own line.
Now, if it weren't for Prop A and the "methane zone" fiasco, this subway branch would run all the way to Santa Monica, and then I can see it getting it's own colour. But as it stands now, I don't know why they decided that the Red Line branch to Wilshire/Western is now the Purple Line.

Traffic on Wilshire. Wow. Just wow. As I mentioned, the Rapid buses were moving about as quickly as private cars on Wilshire Blvd. That's mostly because nobody was moving all that quickly. Six traffic lanes, and they were all full. The obvious lesson here is that we don't need the Subway to the Sea in 2036, we needed it in 1996. You know, when they originally planned to open it before Measure A and the methane stuff happened. The 920 Rapid is an admirable try (especially when it stops at all of the proposed subway stations), but a bus in traffic doesn't compare to a train below it.

My Metrolink ticket on Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus. What? You're part of the EZ Pass system. The Metrolink ticket is an EZ Pass. Yet, somehow, it's not good enough for you. I'd complain more if your fare wasn't $0.75, but still, it's this kind of inconsistency and lack of integration that makes public transit harder than it has to be.

Lessons for Riverside: BUILD THE BRT. BUILD IT NOW. The 1 Limited RapidLink is far, far overdue. RTA, I recently editorialized on the fare hike and said I supported an immediate 25% fare increase, conditioned on the premise that you stop cutting our bus service and start building some reasonable transit infrastructure in this town. This trip to LA only solidified my support for the Magnolia/University corridor BRT system. You were two freakin' months from launching this thing back in 2005, I have to assume that most of the equipment is sitting in a closet somewhere. Deploy it.

Metrolink tickets ought to be valid on any route, not just those serving the Metrolink station. This system takes transfers, guys. Considering that only a handful of routes serve the city's Metrolink stations, I'd wager that many riders have to take two buses to get there, or two buses to get from there to their destinations. Half of them might just be taking a bus from the train station to the Downtown Terminal. Negotiate with Metrolink and get them on board, too.

The more people on the bus, the less there are on the street. This was painfully clear on the Rapid. In the Mid-Wilshire area, the traffic was livable, and the bus was standing room only. I got a seat around Beverly Hills, where the traffic turned to gridlock. This is an important (and hopefully obvious) lesson for anyone planning our city's transportation infrastructure.

So that 's my $0.02. Which, with inflation, is worth about $0.0005 in 2001 dollars.

Stay of Execution

Greyhound has been granted a six-month lease extension, under which they may continue operating from their current location at Riverside Downtown Terminal.
They have submitted to the following conditions for this extension:

• They must staff the station from the arrival of the first bus to the departure of the last bus, adding 1.5 hours to the current operating hours.


• They must keep the area around the station tidier, probably to appease the suits next door in the Chamber of Commerce.


• They must provide security at the station. Probably a good idea.


• They must work with the City to find a new location in Riverside.

I agree to every point except the last one there. Personally, I think the central location of the terminal is the optimal location for Greyhound service in Riverside. It's near Metrolink and RTA, county offices, medical facilities, and both major freeways in the area. I agree with the sentiments expressed in this IE Craigslist post, though it's a touch long-winded.

The ideal location for Greyhound would be at a beautiful, new intermodal station for RTA, Greyhound, Metrolink and Amtrak at the site of the current Marketplace Station. Failing that, a spot next to RTA's Downtown Terminal is probably the best option.

"They need those bumps..."

I was riding the late-night school shuttle last week to go to a get-together at the University Village, the shopping center right next to campus. I told the driver that I'd be out late that night, and that I'd see him later that evening, so he knew to be looking for me. When he asked where, I indicated the shuttle's stop at the Grand Marc apartments, right across the street. He replied that that wasn't a good idea, as "homeless people sleep there at night." (Which doesn't really bother me that much... The homeless are mostly harmless in my experience.)

So I said "Yeah, the City really ought to do something about homelessness here."

To which another rider replied "Yeah, they need to get those benches with the bumps in the middle so you can't sleep on 'em."

Wow.
Just wow.

I responded "Erm... I was thinking more along the lines of a homeless shelter. But bumps are great. Really."

Is this the state of social justice in our society?
Are the homeless in our city just some objects that we need to prevent from getting on to our bus benches at night?
Are there really people out there who are so callously unconcerned with the plight of their fellow man?

Shame on Riverside, for managing to make so little provision for the less fortunate among us. Shame on residents, for managing to see just a pile of blankets on a bus bench, and not the person beneath them, huddling for warmth.
Shame on you, anonymous guy on the shuttle, for thinking the solution to the problem is, for frack's sake, BENCH BUMPS!

I can't think of a good ending to this post, but hopefully this gets my anger noted for the record. For the rest of you... please, try to see the humanity in all of us.

A brief diversion

This post has nothing to do with transit, but bear with me.

To my wife, Danielle:


Happy 24th Birthday!!!

This, of course, falls a week after our 4th wedding anniversary. Thanks for putting up with me and my bus-riding habits as long as you have, and congratulations on making it through another ride 'round the sun on this dirtball.
Love you!

Back to transit tomorrow, I promise.

Fare Increase is UnFare

You'll pardon the pun, but the RTA has released a new proposal for the upcoming fare increase. They have settled on a single fare structure, and the question they have put forward is: should the fares increase 5% a year over the next 5 years, or 25% this year and then be held constant?

My opinion: 25% now, because we need the funding. However, that won't stop me from poking out some inequalities in the structure they chose. Far from being a simple, proportional 25% increase across the board, the new fare structure raises the cost of passes. I have provided a detailed analysis of the increases here, so you can follow along at home.

Column B is the fares, as they stand now. C is the proposed fare structure. D and E are the prices of each pass, represented in terms of multiples of the base fare. (Senior/Disabled passes are represented as multiples of the Senior/Disabled cash fare, while Youth passes are represented as multiples of the General fare.) F is the increase between the two, still in multiples of base fare.

Did you catch that?

Even when taking into account the base fare increase, from $1.25 to $1.50, the price of the passes go up even more. The most obvious example of this is in the proposed $4.95 day pass. At $3.75, a day pass is equal to the cost of riding three buses. You don't save any money unless you ride more than three buses in a day, but you don't lose any money if you ride exactly three. At $4.95, a day pass costs slightly more than riding three buses in a day. You still save money if you ride four, but you don't break even if you ride three anymore. (Not to mention... $4.95? Who carries four singles, three quarters, and two dimes with them? If you're going to screw us, at least make it a fiver even.)

Take a look, now, at the 10 Tripper pass. Under the current system, it costs 8.8 rides. This means you get 1.2 rides free, as a discount for buying in bulk. This is a GREAT option for occasional riders, who get the convenience and savings of a bus pass without the commitment. But look at the new fare system- a 10 Tripper costs... 10 rides. No more discount. Yeah, it's still nice to have the card rather than having to worry about exact change, but now it's just not nearly as attractive, and I think that's sad. Take away the discount, and it's really no better than cash.

Every other pass now breaks even at a higher point than they used to, but this effect is felt the hardest among the occasional riders- the Day pass and 10 Tripper. Take a look over at column G. This is the number of additional rides required per workday to break even, assuming a 5-day workweek, a 22-day work month, and 12 22-day work months a year, less 10 vacation days. For most of the passes, this is trivial, but for the passes I mentioned, this is a big increase.

RTA, you have managed to take the least loyal of your riders, and give them another reason not to ride the bus. Bravo.

RTA Board Meeting, 2 pm, Thursday. If you're as angry as I am, you'll be there.

Game Over

Found this piccie via Stumbleupon at http://growabrain.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2009/01/13/deez_teez.gif. I think it says it all.

There's a first time for everything...

I wanted to ask something of you, my readers. I know you're out there, I get comments once in a while. I'm writing a how-to-get-around-on-transit guide for UCR students, and I'm looking for destinations. Denizens of Riverside, tell me about your favourite haunts, the restaurants, the hangout spots, the little shops that you just love to death. The comment button is there for a reason. Share your best-kept-Riverside-secret with the world, and, if you can, post which bus route will get you there. Since this is a transit guide, please limit it to places that you might actually frequent while the buses are running, ie no nightclubs. (Let's be honest, the party only really STARTS at 10 pm, and that's when the last bus home leaves.)

I know you exist, you comment from time to time, and I know I can count on you.