Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (also known as Metro, MTA or LACMTA) is the regional transportation planning and public transportation operating agency for the county of Los Angeles. The agency develops and oversees transportation plans, policies, funding programs, and both short-term and long-range solutions that address the County's increasing mobility, accessibility and environmental needs.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority operates the third largest public transportation system in the United States by ridership APTA Ridership Reports Statistics - United States Transit Agency Totals Index. Retrieved April 4, 2006 with a 1,433-square-mile operating area and 2,000 peak hour buses on the street any given business day. Metro also designed, built and now operates 73.1 miles of urban rail service. metro.net|About Metro. Retreieved April 4, 2006

Additionally, the authority partially funds sixteen municipal bus operators and a wide array of transportation projects including bikeways and pedestrian facilities, local roads and highway improvements, goods movement, Metrolink, Freeway Service Patrol and freeway call boxes within the greater metropolitan Los Angeles region.

The authority has 9,200 employees, making it one of the region's largest employers.

Public transportation

Metro Rail

The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority operates 73.1 miles (118 km) of Metro Rail service. The system is composed of 62 stations, three at-grade light rail lines and one heavy rail subway line with total estimated ridership of over 260,100 boardings per weekday. metro.net - Facts at a Glance. Retrieved April 4, 2006

The Metro Rail system consists of the Metro Red Line subway and the Metro Blue, Green, and Gold light rail lines.

The system stretches from downtown Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles, to Hollywood, Universal City and North Hollywood in the San Fernando Valley, from downtown Los Angeles to east Pasadena and from Norwalk to El Segundo and all points in between. From Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, Metro Rail passengers can transfer to Amtrak and the Metrolink commuter rail system. From the Green Line Aviation station passengers can transfer to a free shuttle that will take them to the LAX terminals.

Metro Bus

Metro operates four types of bus services which are distinguished by the color of the buses.

Buses at Union Station.

*Metro Local buses are painted in an off-orange color the agency has dubbed "California Poppy". This type of service makes frequent stops along major thoroughfares. There are 18,500 stops on 189 bus lines. Metro Local buses that have not yet been painted remain white with an Orange-Yellow stripe. Some routes make limited stops but do not participate in the Rapid program; those routes are still served by orange colored buses. Some Metro Local bus lines are operated by First Transit and Laidlaw, in which most of the routes are in the South Bay area.
*Metro Rapid buses are distinguished by their dark red color. This bus service offers limited stops on many of the county's more heavily traveled arterial streets. Metro claims to reduce passenger commute times by up to 25 percent by:
** equipping Metro Rapid buses with a special transponder which gives traffic signal priority to these buses. The signal priority system developed by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) works by extending green light cycles when a Metro Rapid bus approaches and by making red lights change faster when a Metro Rapid bus is waiting.
** less frequent station stops (about every 0.8 miles at major intersections versus 0.2 miles for local service),
** and by low floor buses which permit faster boarding and alighting.
*Metro Express - Currently only implemented on two lines, 450X and 577X, Metro Express dark blue buses are designed to offer premium, reduced-stop service along Los Angeles's extensive freeway network. There are other lines using the county's freeway system, but these are original lines using Metro Local & Rapid painted buses, with line numbers in the "400" and "500" series.
*Harbor Transitway - This service along the median of the Harbor Freeway provides express bus service between San Pedro and Downtown Los Angeles.
*El Monte Busway - service operated by both Foothill Transit and Metro between Downtown Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley, and the Inland Empire.
*Metro Orange Line is a 14 mile (23 km) dedicated busway traversing the southern San Fernando Valley from the Red Line's North Hollywood station to Warner Center in Woodland Hills. It opened on October 29, 2005. [1]

The LACMTA operates the nation's largest fleet of 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.

Fares

Fare	Regular	Senior/Disabled/Medicare
Base Fare	$1.25	$.45
Tokens	$1.10	--
Metro Day Pass	$3.00	$1.50
Weekly Pass	$14.00	--
Semi-monthly Pass	$27.00	--
Monthly Pass	$52.00	$12.00
Metro-to-Muni Transfer	$.25	$.10
Metro Bus Night Service (9 p.m. - 5 a.m.)	$.75	$.35

A $3 day pass may be used an unlimited number of times within the same day for both bus and rail. Additional zone fares may be charged for certain freeway segments of express bus service. Day passes are not good for the Metrolink commuter rail service. The passes expire at 3 a.m. of the morning of the following day (example: a Jan. 1, 2006 pass expired at 3 a.m. of Jan. 2, 2006).

A fare is collected on each boarding of a Metro Bus and no transfers are issued within the system but "Metro-to-Muni" transfers, also called interagency transfers, can be used to transfer to other connecting bus systems.

There are no fare gates on the Metro Rail system. However, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and Metro Fare Inspectors who randomly check for tickets patrol the system. If riders are caught without a ticket they can be fined up to $US 250 and/or ordered to perform community service for 48 hours. Recently, Metro has considered adding turnstiles, or some form of fare barriers on the Red Line, in the near future. [2]

Ridership

Average boardings for May 2006 are as follows:

	Bus lines	Blue Line	Green Line	Red Line	Gold Line	Orange Line
Weekdays	1,292,282	84,554	39,134	143,830	18,078	21,878
Saturdays	868,865	63,680	23,191	89,549	7,713	12,481
Sundays	619,676	50,610	18,112	72,608	7,559	9,846

History

SCRTD logo from 1964 to 1980

LACMTA is the product of the merger of two previous agencies: the Southern California Rapid Transit District (SCRTD) and the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (LACTC).

SCRTD was created on August 22, 1964 to serve the urbanized Southern California region, including Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County, Orange County, and Riverside County. SCRTD replaced the major predecessor public agency, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority, and ten different private bus companies in the Southern California region. metro.net history. Retrieved April 4, 2004. SCRTD was placed in charge of creating a heavy rail public transportation system for Southern California, and for planning for bus improvements. In 1974, the El Monte Busway was opened, a bus-only lane (later converted to a high-occupancy vehicle lane). In 1973, SCRTD shed parts of its operations outside of Los Angeles County, although it continued to operate inter-county service to Riverside and San Bernardino until the formation of LACMTA, and LACMTA continues to operate a line to Disneyland in Orange County and one route that serves Thousand Oaks, California in Ventura County.

The LACTC was formed in 1976 as a requirement of all counties in the state to form local transportation commissions. Its main objective was to be the guardian of all transportation funding, both transit and highway, for Los Angeles County. The creation of the LACTC required the SCRTD to share some of its power. The governing structure of the LACTC favored suburban communities instead of central city interests.

Metro Rail

SCRTD logo from 1980 to 1993

In 1980 voters passed Proposition A, a half-cent sales tax for a regional transit system. The measure succeeded after proposals in 1968 and 1974 had failed. The map that accompanied the initiative showed ten transit corridors Southern California Rapid Transit District. 1992. Retrieved April 4, 2006 with the Wilshire subway line the "cornerstone" of the system, according to former SCRTD planning director Gary Spivak. County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn was one of the key supporters of the proposition, declaring, "I'm going to put the trains back." Berkowitz, Eric. "The Subway Mayor". L.A Times Weekly. August 18, 2005. Retrieved April 4, 2006. Hahn ensured that his South Los Angeles district received the first dollars for a light-rail line on the old Long Beach Red Car route from Los Angeles to Long Beach, after the seeing the success of the San Diego Trolley. (This would become the Blue line.)

In 1985, Congressman Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles), an opponent of the subway, attempted to halt the project by removing all subway construction funds from that year's Federal Transportation Budget. He cited safety concerns arising from a methane explosion in the basement of a Ross Dress for Less in the Mid-Wilshire district. Rep. Henry Waxman - Issues and Legislation - Los Angeles Metro Rail. Waxman, Henry. Thanks to last minute lobbying by SCRTD 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 already been designated a "Methane Risk Zone" by a city task force investigating the Dress for Less explosion. With a Wilshire corridor alignment prohibited, the Red line was rerouted north up Vermont, the next highest projected ridership corridor, to Hollywood. Because of the change in alignment, there is now a one-mile stub on Wilshire between Vermont and Western.http://www.metro.net/riding_metro/riders_guide/rail_info.htm

In the following years, several light-rail and subway lines were opened:
*In 1990, the SCRTD opened the Blue Line, a 22-mile line that is the region's first modern light rail line.
*In 1993, the first segment (known as MOS-1 for Minimal Operable Segment 1 Federal Tranist Administration - Planning & Environmnet. Federal Transit Administration. Retrieved August 10, 2006.) of the Red Line opened. The Red Line is Los Angeles's only heavy rail subway line and the Metro's only mass transit line that is entirely within the boundaries of the city of Los Angeles. A year later, the Red Line was extended to Wilshire/Western in Koreatown.
*In 1995, the Green Line opened. It runs from El Segundo to Norwalk mostly in the center median of Interstate 105 also known as the Glenn Anderson Freeway (named for a local Congressman who played a key part in obtaining funding for the Red Line and other transportation projects in the region).

In 1996, the Harbor Transitway opened to traffic. This combination HOV lane/busway has been a success at gaining carpoolers, but bus ridership has remained low due to poor station placement.

The SCRTD pioneered experimenting with alternate fuel buses in what some derisively called 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 and trolleybuses were proposed but never operated in regular service.

Merger

The LACMTA logo (1993 to 2004)

The SCRTD and LACTC officially merged on April 1, 1993. Klugman, Mark. Brief Report: L.A.'s Transit Policing Partnership. Spring 1998. Retrieved April 4, 2006 Initially, the agency retained the locations of the predecessor agencies in Downtown Los Angeles, but later moved to the 25-story Gateway Plaza building adjacent to historic Union Station in 1995. In the wake of local media reports of expensive Italian marble used in its construction resulted in the structure being derisively dubbed the Taj Mahal. Housed within the building is the Dorothy Gray Transportation Library, a comprehensive collection of transportation-related books, videos, and other materials, said to be one of the largest in the nation. The library is open to the public.

In 1994, the United Transportation Union, representing bus drivers, went on strike. At stake here were the issues of wages, insurance, and other neccessities. This was settled, with operators and maintenance workers receiving a 4% wage increase initially and a 3.5% one for the second year. They also received considerable improvements in health insurance. H-Labor United Transportation On-Line Edition. April 1995. Retrieved April 6, 2006.

Employees of the former Los Angeles County Transportation Commission were transferred in December 1996 to the Public Transportation Services Corporation, an independent corporation. PTSC allows former LACTC employees to participate in CalPERS and opt out of Social Security, and permits Metro planning employees to do planning for other agencies, which Metro currently does for Metrolink. Some union members have argued that PTSC is a "sham corporation" designed eventually to outsource Metro jobs. [3] [4]

Bus Riders Union agreement

When the MTA announced plans for a bus fare increase and the elimination of monthly passes, the civil rights organization Bus Riders Union (BRU) with several co-plaintiff organizations filed a federal lawsuit with lawyers supplied by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, 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 white 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. [5]

In 1996, under the direction of then-L.A. mayor Richard Riordan, the LACMTA signed a ten-year consent decree with the BRU to avoid litigation. Riordan would later state, in an article that appeared in the Daily News, that the signing of this consent decree was a mistake. At the time, the LACMTA board was led to believe from information provided by MTA staff that load factors could be maintained with existing levels of bus service and without impacting the rail construction timetable; 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 requires the Authority to operate special services designed to better connect the poor with important job centers and medical facilities. Provisions of the decree that restricted Metro's ability to raise fares beyond inflation expired Jan. 1, 2004. Donald Bliss, the Special Master overseeing the consent decree, resigned this position in February, 2006. No one was appointed to take his place. Unless extended, the decree will expire on October 26, 2006.

Revenue loss

In 1998, frustrated with sinkholes, cost overruns, and perceived mismanagement, 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.

With the passage of the initiative and a lack of confidence from federal and state agencies, the LACMTA brought in Julian Burke, a turn-around expert from the private sector. His goal was to revive MTA's reputation and stabilize its precarious budgetary condition. "Burke vows improved LACMTA bus service". UTU Daily Digest News. October 19, 1998. Retrieved April 5, 2006. He recommended suspension of construction on both the Pasadena Blue Line light rail line to Pasadena and an extension of the Red Line to East L.A. MTA also halted planning for future subway extensions. Construction on the Hollywood and North Hollywood extensions of the Red Line continued as these projects were more then 80% complete.

Shortly thereafter, 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 outsourced. A transit zone is a government agency that operates bus service in a given region with contractors not directly employed by their agency, such as Foothill Transit. The argument some politicians made were that transit zones were more cost effective than MTA service, because drivers could be paid reduced wages. In addition, service would be more aligned with community needs since these zones would be smaller than the existing MTA. "Striking Los Angeles transit workers defy union officials and continue walkout". White, Jerry and Mendendez, Carlos. World Socialist Web Site. October 5, 2000. Retrieved April 5, 2006. Transit zones were proposed for the San Fernando Valley and western San Gabriel Valley. Ultimately, transit zones were killed by a state law that requires them to honor existing union contracts, thus negating any cost savings in labor.

Concerned about the suspension of the 11% completed Blue Line to Pasadena, Pasadena rail advocates lobbied State Senator Adam Schiff to continue construction. He authored Senate Bill 1847, Chapter 1021. Signed into law in 1998, the bill created the Pasadena Blue Line Construction Authority, an independent authority to complete the suspended light rail line to Pasadena. Pasadena Metro Blue Line Construction Authority. Electric Railway HIstorical Association of Southern California. Retrieved April 4, 2006. The law went into force on January 1, 1999. Once completed, the authority turned the line over to LACMTA for operation. The concept was so successful that a similar authority has been established for the Expo Line and the Gold Line extensions.

When it became clear the Pasadena Blue Line would not connect with the Blue Line, as originally planned, the board voted to change the name of the line. Some board members proposed the "Rose Line" in honor of Pasadena's famed annual Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl game. However, because planned East L.A. extensions of this line would cross communities far from Pasadena, the board renamed it the Gold Line, because California is known as the Golden State, and because of the gold miners in the Pasadena foothills. "Los Angeles MTA renames light rail line". UTU Daily News Digest. December 3, 2001. Retrieved April 4, 2006.

On June 12, 1999, the extension to Hollywood/Highland was completed.

In the spring of 2000, ground was rebroken on the stalled Pasadena Blue Line, later renamed the Gold Line. Later that year, in June, Metro unveiled the first of 26 planned Metro Rapid bus routes. Overview of Transportation Topics. Realtor.org. Retrieved April 4, 2006.

On June 24, 2000, the Red Line reached North Hollywood. Because of the ban on county sales tax for subway construction and the separate federal ban sponsored by Congressman Henry Waxman, which bars 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.

In response to the arguments made over transit zones, the MTA Board created service sectors on September 26, 2002. There are six service sectors: Gateway Cities, San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley, South Bay, and Westside/Central for bus service, and Metro Rail Operations for rail service. Each service sector has a general manager overseeing the operation of two or three bus yards or the rail system. The bus service sectors each have a Governance Council that oversees the bus routes operating out of each yard and has the responsibility to plan service in each sector within a certain budget, while Metro Rail Operations reports directly to the Metro Board. The service sectors are designed to be more responsive to community input, but since many bus riders ride routes from multiple sectors bus riders often do not know which governance council to complain to, a problem that was identified by the California State Auditor. "Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority: It Is Too Early to Predict Service Sector Success, but Opportunities for Improved Analysis and Communication Exist." page 41, California State Auditor, December 2003. Retrieved May 1, 2006.

In February 2003, the MTA became the first agency in the nation to use a bus made of composite carbon and polyester fibers. These "Compo Buses" are 2,100 pounds lighter than a regular bus, increase fuel economy, boast a faster acceleration and deceleration rate, and feature reduced maintenance cost. The buses have a distinct bulge along the bottom 1/4 of the side of the bus.

On July 26, 2003, the Gold line to 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. Free rides were offered for the first two days of service.

Day Pass

A few months after the Gold Line opened, and for the third time in nine years, the MTA experienced a strike. The Amalgamated Transit Union struck over issues concerning 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.

On December 17, 2003, the MTA 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. Also, the MTA limited transfers to non-MTA bus lines. "New Metro Day Pass to Provide Customers with Unbeatable Value for Daily Transit Needs". Metro News Pressroom. December 17, 2003. Retrieved April 5, 2006.

Naming changes

The present LACMTA logo

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.

Along with a new name and logo, the agency decided to change the colors of its buses to clearly identify each vehicle with the type of service it provides:
*Rapid buses remained their signature dark red, but with an added silver stripe.
*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.
*All Metro Rail vehicles will maintain their stainless steel color with various colors of trim 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 it will be a few years until all buses will have the new color scheme. To date only a few rail vehicles have been given the new gray and silver color scheme.

Orange Line

On October 29, 2005, the fourteen-mile 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. Since the first few weeks of operation accidents on the line have declined significantly.

MTA has embarked on various measures to increase visibility of Orange Line Metroliners including installing white LED strobes on each side of the vehicle to make them appear as if an emergency vehicle is crossing the red-lighted intersections. Drivers tactics include slowing to approximately 10 miles per hour at intersections with poor cross-traffic visibility or blindspots. In addition, the Orange line continues to be one of the most heavily police patroled routes by officers in marked cruisers and motorcycles distributing red-light citations at a brisk clip along the entire route.

The route continues to enjoy rapidly increasing ridership with each passing week, owing to the relative consistent speed, minimum of stops along the route as well as remarkable scenery along some stretches, most notably the Sepulveda Basin portion of the route, which invokes an enjoyable ride in the country feeling as it passes park land and a sod farm. The project spent many millions of dollars solely in the landscape portion of the budget to produce a truly scenic ride. Many runs are standing room only. MTA continues to add more scheduled runs as well as double dispatching on some departures with more than one metroliner assigned to each scheduled run.

By May, 2006, the MTA announced that the Orange Line had 21,828 average daily boardings, nearly reaching the ridership goals that were predicted for 2020. This led to remarks from some that the bus line had already reached capacity and that it was time to start planning for its replacement with a light rail line.

Exposition Line

In the years following Congressman Waxman's blocking of plans to tunnel a subway through the dense Wilshire corridor, traffic and congestion has risen considerably. The problem was underscored in 2000, when the art collective Heavy Trash group erected eight large signs along public streets announcing the construction of the "Aqua Line," a 15-mile subway "connecting downtown to the Westside." Heavy Trash - BlogSpot The Aqua Line was a hoax, but Heavy Trash's intent was to raise awareness that heavily congested and populated West Los Angeles still lacked rail access.

The LACMTA has officially proposed the Midcity/Exposition Line, a light-rail line to begin in Downtown Los Angeles and end in Santa Monica. Local and state sales tax and other funds have been set aside for this project. The Final Environmental Impact Report was approved in December 2005 and actual construction will begin during 2006 on the first phase of the line, from downtown Los Angeles to Culver City. Surveying of the former freight railway line began on May 30, 2006.

Other groups have lobbied for the completion of the originally conceived Wilshire Boulevard subway. The two proposals are not mutually exclusive. Although Waxman's legislation halted construction over safety concerns, Waxman relented in October 2005, after an investigation by experts selected jointly by the congressman and the American Public Transportation Association. The expert panel concluded:

By following proper procedures and using appropriate technologies the risk of tunneling would be no greater than other subway systems in the U.S. [6]

In years prior, Waxman had stated that, 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. Since the panel proved it to be safe, the ban will be lifted, most likely early in 2006. However, no money has been allocated for future construction of the Wilshire Boulevard subway. Any subway project will require years of planning. Either the project will need to compete for federal money with many other projects across the USA, or funds will have to be raised at the local or state levels. This is also problematic due to the aforementioned 1998 Yaroslavsky measure prohibiting use of local sales taxes for underground construction. This may be avoided by loophole since the measure forbade using local money for "new" subway construction, and the Wilshire Boulevard subway was planned well before the 1998 measure.

To recognize the line's ultimate destination to the ocean, and to acknowledge the contribution of Heavy Trash, the LACMTA has proposed renaming the line the Aqua Line. "Consider Color Designation for Metro Rail Project". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transporation Authority. Executive Management and Audit Committee. February 16, 2006. Retrieved April 5, 2006. However, this has ran into opposition from other MTA board members who want it to be renamed the "Cardinal Line" or other names. Pool, Bob. "MTA Squabbles Over Hue-Mongous Decision". Los Angeles Times. March 23, 2006. Retrieved April 4, 2006.

APTA Award

In 2006, The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority was named the No. 1 Transit system in America for 2006 by the American Public Transportation Association. LA County's Metro Cited as Nation's 2006 Outstanding Public Transportation System. Retrieved June 8, 2006

Future

In July 2006, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa proposed a free transit week, which was inspired by the San Francisco Bay Area's Spare the Air days of free rides, which helped increase ridership by 10%. This proposal would help reduce traffic congestion and improve the air quality during the free week.

In September 2005, Metro broke ground on a six-mile (10 km) extension of the Gold Line from Union Station, which will run through Little Tokyo to the corner of Pomona and Atlantic Boulevards in East L.A.. The Eastside Gold Line Extension light rail extension replaces a once-planned Red Line subway extension. It will travel mostly at grade but have two underground stations. This extension is expected to be completed by 2009.

The renamed Foothill Construction Authority (formerly Metro Blue Line Construction Authority) is in the planning stages of a San Gabriel Valley extension of the Gold Line to the San Bernardino County border city of Montclair. In the latest federal transportation bill, Congress authorized funding to complete the environmental and engineering process to supplement the funding allocated to it by the cities along the proposed route. The authority continues to plan and conduct the environmental review process.

Construction funding has not been secured, but the extension enjoys strong support from the cities along the route and the local congressional delegation. If construction funding is secured, construction may begin as early as late 2007; with "Phase I" (Pasadena to Azusa) completed by 2010 and "Phase II" (Azusa to Montclair) completed by 2014.

The Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority (EMLCA) has been established to construct the first phase of the Exposition line from 7th/Metro Center in Downtown Los Angeles to the intersection of Venice and Robertson Boulevards in Culver City. Funding is in place for this first phase, but the as-of-yet unfunded phase two of this project will bring the line to the Santa Monica pier in Santa Monica. The phase one portion of this project is expected to go to bid in the Spring of 2006. The route of phase two of the project has yet to be determined. One alternative studied shows the route continuing down Venice Boulevard and turning north on Sepulveda Boulevard to rejoin the former railroad right-of-way at Exposition Boulevard. Another alternative may have the train take a shorter path along the old railroad right of way through the Cheviot Hills. [7]

Metro continues to expand its Metro Rapid bus system with a goal of 28 lines by 2008. A Special Master ruling in December 2005 requires Metro to increase service on all Rapid bus routes to every 10 minutes during the peak period and every 20 minutes during the mid-day and evening. Service would be required to operate between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. on all Rapid routes. Metro has chosen not to appeal the ruling and will be implementing it on all Rapid routes effective June 2006.

In addition, the agency is embarking on a massive bus restructuring effort entitled Metro Connections. The project is designed to convert the current grid-based bus system, implemented in 1980, to a hub and spoke system focused on activity centers. [8] The system is to be phased in the next four years, and will include new express routes and reconfigured local service. Suburban service and low ridership shuttles will be turned over to municipal operators or cancelled.

A new automated fare collection system called 'TAP' which stands for Transportation Access Pass is currently in the testing phase for Metro employees and will become available to the public in 2007. This smart card will allow bus and rail passengers to tap their cards on the farebox for faster boarding. TAP readers have already been installed on buses and rail stations next to ticketing machines. Because Metro Rail is a barrier free system, fare inspectors will be checking to make sure TAP users have validated their card by using a wireless unit. This automated fare system will eventually replace the EZ Pass which allows travel within most Los Angeles county transit agencies for one price.

Active / Future Fleet

Model	Length	Year	Bus Numbers	No. In Fleet	Fuel Type	Notes
TMC RTS T80-206	40'	1992	1200-1502	303	Diesel	1, 2
TMC RTS T80-206	40'	1989	1970-1999	30	Diesel	2
TMC RTS T80-206	40'	1988	2000-2266	267	Diesel	1
TMC RTS T80-206	40'	1989	2300-2402	103	Diesel	1
NewFlyer D40LF	40'	1998	3000-3019	20	Diesel	3
GMC RTS 04	35'	1982	4400-4434	35	Diesel	4
Neoplan AN440A	40'	1995-1996	4500-4695	196	CNG
Neoplan AN440A	40'	1996-1997	4696-4793	98	CNG
NewFlyer C40HF	40'	1999-2000	5000-5222	223	CNG
NewFlyer C40LF	40'	2001	5300-5522	223	CNG	5
NewFlyer GE40LF	40'	2006-2009	5600-5999	400	Gasoline-Electric	6
Neoplan AN440A	40'	1997-1998	6301-6600	300	CNG
Neoplan AN440A	40'	1999	6700-6799	100	CNG
NABI 40-LFW	40'	2000	7000-7214	215	CNG	1, 5
NABI 40-LFW	40'	2001	7300-7514	215	CNG	5
NABI 40-LFW	40'	2005	7525-7599	75	CNG
NABI 40-LFW	40'	2002	7600-7949	350	CNG	5
NABI 40C-LFW	40'	2002-2003	7980-7999	20	CNG
NABI 45C-LFW	45'	2004	8000-8099	100	CNG	7
NABI 60-BRT	60'	2005-2006	9200-9399	200	CNG	8
NABI 60-BRT	60'	2006-2007	9400-9599	200	CNG	8

¹ Some buses in fleet have transferred to contracted lines.
² Originally methanol fueled, then ethanol fueled, and finally converted to diesel.
³ Originally an order for Citizens' Area Transit in Las Vegas.
⁴ Many retired. Those remaining in service were rehabbed and outfitted with Luminator Horizon LED signs.
⁵ Some used on Metro Rapid lines, and some on Metro Express lines.
⁶ Metro only has a firm commitment to receive six gasoline-electric hybrid buses from New Flyer, although the long-term plan is to acquire 100 such vehicles per year in fiscal years 2006-07 through 2009-10. (Because of regulations imposed by the Air Quality Management District, no transit agency in the region can acquire new diesel-fueled buses.)
⁷ All used on Metro Rapid lines.
⁸ 9200-9229 are dedicated to the Orange Line (Metro Liner), and are painted silver-grey. Most of the remaining 60' buses are used on Metro Rapid lines. Some will be used on Metro Local lines. Some may be used on Metro Express lines.

Unless otherwise noted, buses are painted in the orange ("California Poppy") Metro Local color. Metro Rapid buses are painted red, and Metro Express buses are in bright blue. Metro Local buses acquired prior to the adoption of these colors in 2004 are white with a gold stripe around the bus and are being repainted to the new orange color during their mid-life rehabilitation (except for those New Flyer buses which were converted to Metro Rapid service, which were repainted in 2004-05). Metro Rapid buses acquired in 2000 and 2001 are red with a white stripe, and are likewise scheduled for repainting, beginning in 2007.

Other transit services

*Metro Freeway Service Patrol - A joint effort between MTA, Caltrans, and CHP offering free quick-fix repairs and towing from freeways.
*HOV Lanes - 219 miles (352 km), 423 miles (681 km) both directions/each lane, of carpool, vanpool, and express bus lanes.
*Bike Paths - 475 miles (764 km) of bikeways for commuter and recreational purposes.
*Metrolink - Partially funded by the MTA, it is Southern California's regional commuter rail system servicing Ventura County, Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County, Orange County, and San Diego County

Funding

A complex mix of federal, state, county and city tax dollars as well as bonds and fare box revenue funds Metro.

Funding sources

Resources	$ in Millions
Fare Revenue	264
Prop A - Cent Sales Tax	575
Prop C - Cent Sales Tax	703
Federal Grants	547
State Grants	472
Interest Income/Bonds	179
Other Local Revenue	123
Total Resources	$2.863

[9]

Governance

Metro is governed by a 13-member Board of Directors comprised of:
* The five Los Angeles County Supervisors
* The mayor of Los Angeles
* Three Los Angeles mayor-appointees (two members of the public and one L.A. City Council member)
* Four city council members from cities in the county other than L.A. representing those 87 cities (selected by the L.A. County City Selection Committee)
* The Governor of California appoints one non-voting member (traditionally the Director of Caltrans District 7).

Responsibility for local bus service is delegated to five Sector Governance Councils, each governing bus service in a service sector comprised of the bus lines operating from the yards in a given geographical area. There are five sectors: Gateway Cities, San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley, South Bay, and Westside/Central. Members for each governance council are selected by a combination of city councils, councils of governments, and county supervisors representing the area. Many members are local politicians, but each governance council is required to have at least two regular "transit consumers" on their council, which is defined loosely and includes transit riders as well as executives at other transit agencies within the sector. Governance council members are then confirmed by the Metro Board of Directors, and can be removed from their position as desired by the nominator. Governance councils approve service changes (although the Metro Board reserves ultimate authority over service), review the budget, address complaints about bus service, and provide recommendations to MTA management regarding the employment status of each sector general manager.

One consequence of the governance council structure is that Metro can move much more quickly to add or remove service as needed. Therefore, the number of service changes has increased significantly since 2002, when service sectors began. In addition, because of the decentralization of responsibility, this means that bus riders who ride lines in multiple sectors must send multiple letters or attend multiple public hearings to express their concerns about lines that may be cut. Recently, a change was made that permits comments to be delivered to one sector, who will then forward comments to other sectors as appropriate. However, attendees of one sector's public hearing will only hear about the changes in their sector, and will not have the opportunity to speak directly with the staff in the other sectors at that hearing. In addition, each sector can set their own policies regarding public comment, and sectors are not uniform in how service changes are approved.

Communications between sectors and riders was poor, according to a report by the California State Auditor which was released one year into the new structure. "It Is Too Early to Predict Service Sector Success, but Opportunities for Improved Analysis and Communication Exist". California State Auditor. December, 2003. Retrieved May 1, 2006.

Trivia

*Star Trek actor George Takei was an appointee in the 1970s of then L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley to the Board of Directors of the Southern California Rapid Transit District, a predecessor to Metro.
*In the 1970s RTD used to regularly selected a "Miss RTD". These were usually local young office workers who applied for the honor. Display ads on the buses heralded their selection. This is similar to the Miss Turnstile which is a plot device in the MGM movie musical On the Town.
* Arthur Winston worked of the MTA for 76 straight years and only missed one day of work to attend his wife's funeral. Former U.S President Bill Clinton honored him as the "Employee of the Century." He died less than one month after his retirement and 100th birthday in April 2006.
*The Patsaouras Transit Plaza outside the MTA headquarters is named after Nicolas Patsaouras, a former MTA Board member who played a key role in building support for construction of the Metro Rail system. Besides his involvement with development Patsaouras currently is a member of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners of the city of Los Angeles.

References

External links

Official

*Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority - Official site of Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Other Los Angeles Area Governmental Transit Agencies.

*Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority - official web site of the construction authority that is planning the Gold Line Foothill Extension (Pasadena to Montclair)
*Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority - official web site of the construction authority that is planning the Exposition light rail line (Downtown L.A. to Culver City and eventually Santa Monica)
*Big Blue Bus - Santa Monica Municipal Bus service.
*Culver City Bus -
*Foothill transit - San Gabriel Valley bus services.
*Long Beach Transit
*LADOT Los Angeles Department of Transportation
*Torrance Transit.

Informational

*Photos of Metro buses, trains, and stations
*Union Station - Private website about Union Station and Metro Rail.
*San Fernando Valley Transit Insider - Private website with maps and other documentation about the history of public transit service in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, with links to current developments.
*brief history of Los Angeles Transit from MTA's Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library
*white paper on rail history in L.A. County 1973-2004
*L.A. Weekly article on transit history in L.A. County

L.A. Transportation Advocacy Groups

*Friends for Expo Transit - the grassroots organization that successfully pushed for the Exposition Line that will run from downtown Los Angeles to Culver City.
*The Transit Coalition - pro-rail transit web site advocating the extension of existing Metro Rail lines or proposing new lines.
*Metro Silver Line - a grassroots organization that proposes a light rail from the Metro Red Line station of Vermont/Santa Monica to the El Monte Metrolink station.
*Southern California Transit Advocates - non-profit organization focusing on public transit policy analysis, public education, and political advocacy for public transportation in the entire Southern California region
*Bus Riders Union - a controversial pro-bus organization that opposes rail extensions.
*Los Angeles County Transportation - A discussion group on the topic of the past, present and future of transportation in Los Angeles County.