Well, the consent decree is starting to wind down now that Donald Bliss has rejected the Bus Riders Union's ludicrous freeway bus plan. And I think the conditions Bliss placed on the Metro Rapid plan MTA submitted are only reasonable to ensure these services are able to fulfill their potential. Though frankly I wonder where MTA will be able to scrape up the money to make good on their promises.

I bet every bus driver in L.A. had a good laugh at the breathless way the media dealt with the first few collisions on the Orange Line caused by auto drivers ignoring red lights. Heck, anyone who rides the bus is familiar with how crazy and reckless the behavior often is among the automobile drivers in this area.

My friend Kym Richards shared with me the news she heard via a communication of California Transit Association Executive Director Joshua Shaw that long-time Senate Transportation Committee consultants Steve Schnaidt and Randal Henry are retiring this year and long-time Assembly Transportation Committee consultant Andrew Antwih has taken a new job with the city of Los Angeles. These consultants are the institutional memory of the legislature and I am wondering if we should be worried at this brain drain occurring just as transportation is heating up as a topic of interest.

No surprise that Los Angeles is essentially abandoning the Riordan/Hahn LAX expansion/ rehabilitation plan. The technocrats at the airport were just plain flat footed and arrogant. They had their clock cleaned politically by the locals. Now we can look forward to several years of drafting a new plan and spending further millions. Oh, well...

I have to agree with the observation of San Fernando Sector Governance Council Vice- Chair Kym Richards that the annual Mobility 21 Countywide Transportation Summit more and more resembles a dog and pony show. Further that it is the quarterly meeting the Coalition is holding in various parts of the county that are proving most helpful at building regional consensus. Comments made at the Summit just held in Long Beach indicate the annual affair next year likely will expand to include adjacent regions. Which just might reinvigorate the Summit and provide it with a useful purpose.

Transportation ("infrastructure investment") is again the political flavor of the month. I have posted on the front page of our website links to various articles on the proposed bond and other components of what is a as yet unsettled initiative. Rest assured we are monitoring the situation and plan to have a seat at the table when serious consultations commence.

Quote of the month: "In recent years with tight public transit budgets, there has been a trend for local agencies to abandon their dial-a-ride and other paratransit service thereby casting the riders who otherwise qualify onto ASI’s service. This often creates additional cost and greater inefficiencies especially for certain types of trips. When this happens, ASI is met with unanticipated demand that may require further funding to meet. However, ASI’s funding is set annually. Accordingly advance notice is important so as to be able to obtain necessary additional funds. Member agencies, as a condition of membership should agree to continue to maintain their current efforts with respect to local paratransit they operate" (Access Services Board of Directors meeting Oct. 24, 2005--item #12).

The Southern California Association of Governments is adopting an obscure provision of the new SAFETEA-LU federal funding bill that allows 4 years instead of three for the drafting of the next Regional Transportation Plan. Is this a good thing? SCAG says it aligns the RTP with the State Implementation Plan renewal cycle for air quality planning. So I guess it is a good thing.

Earlier this year member Richard Parker moved from Santa Clarita to Portland, Oregon. He recently shared with us his perspectives on our transportation situation which we present with Richard's kind permission. “The Los Angeles area deserves much better transit than it has. It's not a matter of MTA lacking the money. It's a matter of political will. It's a matter of where we as a society choose to commit our resources. New York, London, and Tokyo seem to be able to find the money to make their transit systems work right. “Los Angeles would rather build an empty car pool lane along the 405 freeway than build a light rail line from Santa Clarita to LAX that like the Blue Line would fill with riders. Los Angeles would rather rip up existing tracks in the San Fernando Valley to run a bus, than provide service along those tracks. "Bus Rapid Transit" is an oxymoron. Even if you paint the bus red, it is still a bus.
“MTA deserves the Bus Riders Union. It deserves three or four of them. Gasoline in Los Angeles has reached $2.50 a gallon and continues to rise. What is MTA's response? Service cutbacks! Like the RTD that preceded MTA, and the MTA that preceded RTD, it is business as usual. “Page 2 of the June newsletter describes this round of MTA chipping away at the already inadequate bus service. We don't close down the freeways between Midnight and 5 AM because of low traffic. We don't turn off electricity, gas and water at night due to low usage. Police and fire services are available 24/7. Transit should be likewise. Every neighborhood ought to have< transit access and there should always be a way home. MTA continues to fail us.”

I'll conclude this month by joining AVTA in expressing thanks to bus operator Nina Young, an employee of contractor MV Transportation. Ms. Young recently assisted a passenger who was lost and did not speak English. Bus Operator Young stayed with the passenger until a relative was contacted, although her shift was over. That is truly outstanding customer service worthy of praise.