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Post by davebowman on Aug 7, 2012 15:30:51 GMT -8
Would it be feasible to close Exposition to vehicular traffic between Figueroa and Vermont on game days (or is that done already)? I think a lot of USC football fans will take the train rather than deal with traffic and parking, and crowds should be big this year, so I can easily see the queues spilling into the road after the games. As I posted last fall, I took the San Diego trolley to a Chargers game, and I had to wait for about an hour after the game to get a train, and the line snaked through the parking lot.
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Post by Gokhan on Aug 7, 2012 17:12:39 GMT -8
Closing the street to cars might give the people the idea that it's closed to the trains as well.
It will be interesting to see how Metro will handle he crowd control, which was always a major issue in the EIR as well as testing and start-up. I am guessing we will see a lot of sheriff deputies holding the people at the rail crossings.
By the way, the crossings are getting new yellow/black pavement stickers, which are nice safety features.
Regarding the headways, 6 minutes should handle about 10,000 people in one hour.
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Post by bluelineshawn on Aug 7, 2012 17:22:40 GMT -8
Would it be feasible to close Exposition to vehicular traffic between Figueroa and Vermont on game days (or is that done already)? I think a lot of USC football fans will take the train rather than deal with traffic and parking, and crowds should be big this year, so I can easily see the queues spilling into the road after the games. As I posted last fall, I took the San Diego trolley to a Chargers game, and I had to wait for about an hour after the game to get a train, and the line snaked through the parking lot. It's already done, although not all day. They close it a few hours before game time. Maybe 2-3 hours before. Maybe a little earlier. I'm sure that lots of fans will take the train. Somewhat surprisingly, many fans have already been taking the bus, which will continue to be another option for getting people to and from the game. I've noticed a fair number of people from out of town taking DASH and Metro buses on game day. As for queues, I think that they might do what they did on opening day and have attendants restricting access once the platform is full and have the queue on the opposite side of the street. Even though the street is closed to most traffic they still keep the lanes clear for police and other vehicles. Not to mention for trains. I would also guess that 3-car trains running every 6 minutes (3 minutes each direction combined) should be able to move about 15,000 people in an hour. Does that sound about right?
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Post by transitfan on Aug 8, 2012 5:52:47 GMT -8
Crossing the track will become a new (actually, revival of an old) tradition before the football game I know the Red Line has already been taken, but the Expo line color is too close to the UCLA color! People might kick the pylon sign during the next crosstown rivalry game! Well, once the Regional Connector is up and running, the Expo Line will become the Gold Line (East L. A.-Santa Monica), which will be highly appropriate ;D (actually also for the other guys, since they use gold also, except the train doesn't pass right by the campus, they'll have to make do w/ the Purple Line (eventually))
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Post by JerardWright on Aug 8, 2012 12:19:03 GMT -8
Closing the street to cars might give the people the idea that it's closed to the trains as well. It will be interesting to see how Metro will handle he crowd control, which was always a major issue in the EIR as well as testing and start-up. I am guessing we will see a lot of sheriff deputies holding the people at the rail crossings. By the way, the crossings are getting new yellow/black pavement stickers, which are nice safety features. Regarding the headways, 6 minutes should handle about 10,000 people in one hour. Would it be feasible to close Exposition to vehicular traffic between Figueroa and Vermont on game days (or is that done already)? I think a lot of USC football fans will take the train rather than deal with traffic and parking, and crowds should be big this year, so I can easily see the queues spilling into the road after the games. As I posted last fall, I took the San Diego trolley to a Chargers game, and I had to wait for about an hour after the game to get a train, and the line snaked through the parking lot. Currently during USC Football games Exposition is closed to through traffic between Figueroa and Vermont. So I doubt this would change and in fact this is anticipated for the very queuing that you talked about at the Expo/Vermont EB platform and USC/Expo Park Station platforms.
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Post by Gokhan on Aug 8, 2012 16:29:21 GMT -8
Wow, standing room only at rush hour on the Expo Line now!
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Post by bluelineshawn on Aug 8, 2012 19:38:26 GMT -8
Wow, standing room only at rush hour on the Expo Line now! That's how it was when I rode Expo last week and the week before and why I'm thinking that ridership is up significantly. Expo runs about the same service as the gold line. 15 train cars per hour as opposed to 16 on the gold line. It doesn't have the same total riders because the gold line is so much longer, but it probably already has more riders per mile.
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Post by bobdavis on Aug 8, 2012 19:44:52 GMT -8
I would guess that Metro or Expo Construction debated the idea of storage tracks near the Coliseum (I think the LA Railway streetcar system of long ago had a siding on what is now MLK Blvd.) and figured for five or six game it wasn't worth the extra expense. Pacific Electric used to spot Santa Anita Race Track specials on normally idle track in Monrovia on big race Saturdays. Railway construction was a lot cheaper in the old days.
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Post by Gokhan on Aug 15, 2012 9:38:43 GMT -8
They are wrong-tracking between Venice/Robertson and Hauser this morning due to some problem at the Hayden switch. They are using the Hauser switch instead of the Hayden switch to do the end-of-line switching.
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Post by calwatch on Aug 15, 2012 22:50:32 GMT -8
For late night riders there is one added train leaving Culver City after 2 a.m.
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Post by Alexis Kasperavičius on Aug 16, 2012 9:42:19 GMT -8
Expo Line breaks down between 23rd Street station and USCTwo Expo light rail trains broke down Thursday afternoon, blocking the tracks in both directions and triggering delays of up to three hours for passengers, county transit officials said. The trains came to a halt between the 23rd Street Station and the Park USC Station because of damage to their pantographs -- devices that maintain contact with the overhead power lines that supply electricity for the Expo Line. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has established a bus bridge to take passengers between the 23rd Street Station and the Vermont stations. Delays of 30 minutes or more are expected for passengers traveling from or to the 7th Street Metro Center and Culver City. The Expo Line, which opened on April 28, runs between downtown Los Angeles and Culver City. It now has about 16,000 boardings a day, MTA statistics show. (LA Times - link)
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Post by mattapoisett on Aug 16, 2012 9:59:09 GMT -8
Expo Line breaks down between 23rd Street station and USCTwo Expo light rail trains broke down Thursday afternoon, blocking the tracks in both directions and triggering delays of up to three hours for passengers, county transit officials said. The trains came to a halt between the 23rd Street Station and the Park USC Station because of damage to their pantographs -- devices that maintain contact with the overhead power lines that supply electricity for the Expo Line. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has established a bus bridge to take passengers between the 23rd Street Station and the Vermont stations. Delays of 30 minutes or more are expected for passengers traveling from or to the 7th Street Metro Center and Culver City. The Expo Line, which opened on April 28, runs between downtown Los Angeles and Culver City. It now has about 16,000 boardings a day, MTA statistics show. (LA Times - link) According to the article, this happened in mid July.
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Post by Gokhan on Aug 16, 2012 11:26:55 GMT -8
Expo Line breaks down between 23rd Street station and USCTwo Expo light rail trains broke down Thursday afternoon, blocking the tracks in both directions and triggering delays of up to three hours for passengers, county transit officials said. The trains came to a halt between the 23rd Street Station and the Park USC Station because of damage to their pantographs -- devices that maintain contact with the overhead power lines that supply electricity for the Expo Line. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has established a bus bridge to take passengers between the 23rd Street Station and the Vermont stations. Delays of 30 minutes or more are expected for passengers traveling from or to the 7th Street Metro Center and Culver City. The Expo Line, which opened on April 28, runs between downtown Los Angeles and Culver City. It now has about 16,000 boardings a day, MTA statistics show. (LA Times - link) According to the article, this happened in mid July. Yes, this was a month ago -- two trains were disabled in the trench simultaneously. I first-hand experienced it and reported it here. It's the worst Expo breakdown to date.
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Post by Gokhan on Aug 16, 2012 11:30:58 GMT -8
It looks like they have sped up the Farmdale section a bit. Trains seem to be longer slowing down long time before they reach the platforms.
Also, these days trains seem to be often making their schedules. They are about two minutes behind schedule to Vermont and they make up about two minutes west of Vermont.
With signal priority, the running time could easily be cut to 25 minutes from 29 minutes.
Farmdale Station ridership is still extremely low.
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Post by Gokhan on Aug 17, 2012 11:08:22 GMT -8
They replaced the green tarps over the fences at Venice/Robertson with the new "Metro Expo Line Now Open," "EXPlOre," and "Culver City Station ---->" signs. People who drive and walk on Venice are now directed to the station.
No pictures yet.
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Post by Gokhan on Aug 17, 2012 17:30:07 GMT -8
Pictures taken this evening:
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Post by Alexis Kasperavičius on Aug 20, 2012 7:03:59 GMT -8
Big Blue Bus Offers $1 Rides to Culver City ExpoSanta Monica's Big Blue Bus line is adding nonstop service between the new Culver City Expo Line station and both UCLA and downtown Santa Monica, the agency announced this week. A new route, called the Rapid 20, will link the Culver City train station to two stops in downtown Santa Monica. The fare on this line will be $1 each way, 50 cents less than the normal Big Blue Bus fare. MTA bus line 534 also serves the freeway route between Culver City and Santa Monica, and continues on to Malibu. Express bus service between the Culver City train station and the UCLA bus terminal in Westwood will be added via a new route called Rapid 12, the Big Blue Bus agency said. The changes take effect Aug. 26. (link)
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Post by bzcat on Aug 20, 2012 9:21:22 GMT -8
$1 is the normal fare on Big Blue Bus...
Rapid 12 will be real popular service as it will now provide all day Rapid bus connection between UCLA and Expo line.
Rapid 20 is an interesting experiment. I think skipping the Santa Monica Blvd and Bundy local running segment vs. Rapid 10 will make the trip faster to Downtown. However, skipping Midtown Santa Monica (Water Garden/Cloverfield/Saint John Hospital area) will probably depress the demand a bit. My observation on Rapid 10 is that about 60~70% of riders get on/off in Uptown and Midtown area and only about 30~40% ride it all the way Downtown.
Big Blue Bus may have to tinker with the service a bit to get the right balance between speed and load. Maybe instead of getting on/off the I-10 freeway at 4th St in Downtown, they can take Colorado Blvd and get on/off at Cloverfield.
Overall, Big Blue Bus has been very progressive in aligning their service with Metro rail and they must be seeing some interesting data on their #5 and #12 service to Expo to propose Rapid 20, which was entirely unexpected.
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Post by Gokhan on Aug 21, 2012 9:14:46 GMT -8
$1 is the normal fare on Big Blue Bus... Yeah, I was shocked to read that the fare had gone up to $1.50. When did that happen?
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Post by Gokhan on Aug 21, 2012 9:25:21 GMT -8
The new Expo Line Culver City Station signs have been somewhat messed up. Someone burned the tarp under them, possibly a homeless guy who lit a fire. There is also tagging on the signs. It took months to put the signs but not taking long to destroy them.
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Aug 21, 2012 13:12:14 GMT -8
Big Blue Bus Offers $1 Rides to Culver City ExpoSanta Monica's Big Blue Bus line is adding nonstop service between the new Culver City Expo Line station and both UCLA and downtown Santa Monica, the agency announced this week. A new route, called the Rapid 20, will link the Culver City train station to two stops in downtown Santa Monica. The fare on this line will be $1 each way, 50 cents less than the normal Big Blue Bus fare. MTA bus line 534 also serves the freeway route between Culver City and Santa Monica, and continues on to Malibu. Express bus service between the Culver City train station and the UCLA bus terminal in Westwood will be added via a new route called Rapid 12, the Big Blue Bus agency said. The changes take effect Aug. 26. (link) Great idea......but horrible execution! Read the new schedule for the BBB Rapid 20 (I cannot even ride it and I work in Santa Monica and live in downtown LA). Just garbage......... www.bigbluebus.com/Routes-And-Schedules/Rapid-20.aspx
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Post by bzcat on Aug 21, 2012 17:11:42 GMT -8
Big Blue Bus Offers $1 Rides to Culver City ExpoSanta Monica's Big Blue Bus line is adding nonstop service between the new Culver City Expo Line station and both UCLA and downtown Santa Monica, the agency announced this week. A new route, called the Rapid 20, will link the Culver City train station to two stops in downtown Santa Monica. The fare on this line will be $1 each way, 50 cents less than the normal Big Blue Bus fare. MTA bus line 534 also serves the freeway route between Culver City and Santa Monica, and continues on to Malibu. Express bus service between the Culver City train station and the UCLA bus terminal in Westwood will be added via a new route called Rapid 12, the Big Blue Bus agency said. The changes take effect Aug. 26. (link) Great idea......but horrible execution! Read the new schedule for the BBB Rapid 20 (I cannot even ride it and I work in Santa Monica and live in downtown LA). Just garbage......... www.bigbluebus.com/Routes-And-Schedules/Rapid-20.aspxIt was probably just a dummy schedule they used to beta test the new website.
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Post by wad on Aug 22, 2012 2:12:03 GMT -8
I'm getting nothing for Rapid 20.
You can count the trips on one hand, right?
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Post by ieko on Aug 22, 2012 7:16:34 GMT -8
Just because it's called a "Rapid" bus does not automatically make it awesome...
Big Blue Bus is by far the biggest offender here. Instead of, let's say, adding more night trips to the 14 & extending it south to Culver City TC, which would not be duplicative for the most part and actually add service where it does not currently exist.. They choose to use resources in a way that doesn't have much customer impact and is ultimately very expensive.
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Post by Gokhan on Aug 22, 2012 9:20:42 GMT -8
I am proud the report to that the head of the USC Graduate Student Association came to our department meeting yesterday to urge the students to use the new Metro Expo Line. She was very excited about the line. She also told our 60+ teaching assistants that they can get a semesterly Metro pass good until Christmas for only $80 -- only about $20 a month.
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Post by darrell on Aug 22, 2012 21:29:12 GMT -8
The new Expo Line Culver City Station signs have been somewhat messed up. Someone burned the tarp under them, possibly a homeless guy who lit a fire. There is also tagging on the signs. It took months to put the signs but not taking long to destroy them. The Expo banners aren't damaged, only the green fencing below them, per these two photos I took tonight. They look nice, not only providing wayfinding to the station but advertising the Expo Line.
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Post by Gokhan on Aug 22, 2012 22:43:17 GMT -8
That's correct -- only some tagging and the tarp below them is burned. It looks like the Expo Line trains are making their schedules within a minute or two these days, even on-time sometimes. Perhaps they sped up the Flower St section a bit. The operators are also learning to operate the trains more efficiently. I wish they would put more of this banner at the Culver City Station. It's under the middle of the platform and especially another one toward the main entrance would be more useful:
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Post by darrell on Aug 23, 2012 9:09:15 GMT -8
It looks like the Expo Line trains are making their schedules within a minute or two these days, even on-time sometimes. Perhaps they sped up the Flower St section a bit. The operators are also learning to operate the trains more efficiently. Here's how my inbound train performed yesterday evening. The big glitch was holding for six minutes at Crenshaw, perhaps related to the Blue Line problem near Grand? Without that it would have been an even 30 minutes. 5:56 Culver City 5:58 La Cienega 6:00 La Brea 6:01 Farmdale 6:03-6:09 Crenshaw 6:12 stopped @ Gramercy 6:14 Western 6:15 stopped @ Normandie 6:17 Vermont 6:19 USC 6:21 stopped @ Jefferson 6:22 Jefferson 6:23 stopped @ Adams (short) 6:24 23rd 6:25 stopped @ 23rd 6:26 stopped @ Washington 6:27 stopped @ 18th 6:29 Pico 6:30 stopped @ 12th 6:32 7th Converted to elapsed time minutes: 2 La Cienega 2 La Brea 3 Crenshaw 5 Western 3 Vermont 5 Jefferson 2 23rd 5 Pico 3 7th 30 Total
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Post by Alexis Kasperavičius on Aug 23, 2012 13:00:50 GMT -8
With the advent of cheap consumer HD cameras in phones, this was bound to happen. Some guy just decided to record his Expo line commute at 5:12 AM from Western to Culver City. He then gets a doughnut.
Not the most riveting film, but it is 20+ minutes of High Definition raw uncut footage of his ride, and could be interesting for those of us (like me) who have not yet ridden the line, just to check time tables - or to look at in 5 years to see if the train is any more crowded.
...and just to prove the Expo line isn't lacking its share of weirdos:
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Post by joshuanickel on Aug 23, 2012 16:56:49 GMT -8
Big Blue Bus Offers $1 Rides to Culver City ExpoSanta Monica's Big Blue Bus line is adding nonstop service between the new Culver City Expo Line station and both UCLA and downtown Santa Monica, the agency announced this week. A new route, called the Rapid 20, will link the Culver City train station to two stops in downtown Santa Monica. The fare on this line will be $1 each way, 50 cents less than the normal Big Blue Bus fare. MTA bus line 534 also serves the freeway route between Culver City and Santa Monica, and continues on to Malibu. Express bus service between the Culver City train station and the UCLA bus terminal in Westwood will be added via a new route called Rapid 12, the Big Blue Bus agency said. The changes take effect Aug. 26. (link) Great idea......but horrible execution! Read the new schedule for the BBB Rapid 20 (I cannot even ride it and I work in Santa Monica and live in downtown LA). Just garbage......... www.bigbluebus.com/Routes-And-Schedules/Rapid-20.aspxI actually don't think the schedule is that bad. They are trying to encourage the people who live in SM to take Expo. This is just a test. Give them 6 months to see how ridership does and watch them add service to it. Trust me, with 15 minute service from SM to Expo, people will take it. Plus there is Saturday Service. Here is a link to download a PDF of the schedule: bigbluebus.com/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=695
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