Post by tonyw79sfv on Sept 30, 2007 7:24:25 GMT -8
Every day, I've had the opportunity to see how fast each driver goes. Since I use the Orange Line between Van Nuys and North Hollywood stations, then I'll use the travel times for that 4.44 mile segment. How comfortable the Orange Line runs depends on the bus operator, some seems meek and slows down at every intersection, including the ones on Chandler where parallel traffic speeds through, and some guns them, especially at Colfax where the the last of the two inductive traffic loops only lets the bus through, forcing buses to stop and go. (The trick to passing eastbound at Colfax is to "run the red" when paralleling Chandler has the green for both cars and pedestrians; only a handful of operators knows this trick). The differnent way operators run the line also causes the problem of bus bunching and longer frequencies; as is having to accomodate wheelchairs and bicycles as this adds time for boarding and alighting, which throws off the bus's timing on the line. The timetable shows it takes 15 - 16 minutes to complete that segment, at an average speed of 16 to 17 MPH, a bit better than Rapids on clear streets but slower than our slowest rail, the Blue Line, which averages 24 MPH. I've seen some good operators run the segment in 11 minutes, which gives an average of 24 MPH, equaling the Blue Line. However, there was one operator who must've been really lucky, and seems to have caught all the good lights and did that segment in 9 minutes, which averages to 29.6 MPH average speed, beating out the Blue and Gold local Lines and equaling the Red Line's average end to end speed. By comparison, end to end average speeds of the Green Line is 35 MPH, Blue Line is 24 MPH, Gold local is 28 MPH/express 33 MPH, Red Line is 31 MPH. What's holding the Orange Line is of course it's bus, but it can be improved, as demonstrated by one brave bus operator. What is needed is to have LADOT to give the Orange Line real priority to all buses so that all operators can at least have better average speeds, eliminate the slow orders, increase fines for "interfering with public transportation operations" (basically running the red or stopping at crossings).
Electrification would help too, but the sight of the wires at Warner Center might not please some, leading to the need for hybrid (overhead wire/battery) buses like the ones beginning operation in Seattle, which would mean having to purchase a new fleet.
Electrification would help too, but the sight of the wires at Warner Center might not please some, leading to the need for hybrid (overhead wire/battery) buses like the ones beginning operation in Seattle, which would mean having to purchase a new fleet.