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Post by metrocenter on Mar 17, 2011 9:16:38 GMT -8
The LA Times reports today that the FTA will investigate whether or not Metro's recent service reductions were discriminatory against minority and low-income transit riders, and thus violate the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The investigation ("compliance review") was prompted partly by complaints from the BRU. Metro plans to cooperate with the feds. A spokesman expressed confidence that the FTA will find Metro in full compliance with the law.
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Post by Philip on Mar 17, 2011 13:50:53 GMT -8
Ridiculous.
Another enormous waste of time and money instigated by people screaming, "Race!" instead of focusing on the real issue, which is IMPROVING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.
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Post by James Fujita on Mar 17, 2011 14:53:22 GMT -8
Well, at least this time they're not calling Metro Rail racist — you know, the rail transit system which purposely avoids such places as Compton, Watts, East L.A. and Koreatown. Oh wait, I'm thinking of Bizarro Metro Rail.
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Post by spokker on Mar 21, 2011 20:14:06 GMT -8
Well, the Blue Line moves ~80,000 blacks, Mexicans and the occasional white rail fan between LA and Long Beach per day. This is done with about 262 trains per day for an average of about 305 riders per train. Note that some of those trains are short turns that terminate at Del Amo or Wardlow.
To move the same amount of blacks and Mexicans with 40-seat buses (where everybody has a seat per the BRU's utopian vision) you would need 2,000 buses per day. With a 20 hour operating day that would be 100 buses per hour or 1 bus roughly every 37.5 seconds. This is assuming ridership is distributed evenly throughout the day, which it is not. You'd see headways even shorter than 37 seconds during peak hours. Forgive any rounding errors.
In the second scenario, I am not sure what the benefits are to riders and the public alike. The streets would really be clogged with buses at that point while riders would see a slower journey (assuming the same stops are serviced). I do, however, see a boon for bus operators.
It seems that the Blue Line is a lot better at moving blacks, Mexicans and the occasional white rail fan in that congested corridor than buses.
A busway emulating the Blue Line would fare better, but those aerials and the underground portion would make it expensive as well, and we wouldn't want the bus system to suffer because of racist busways.
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Post by James Fujita on Mar 22, 2011 13:13:59 GMT -8
You know, I wonder if there aren't words of warning to the Bus Riders Union in the ruling which was just handed down, which suspends California's global warming law.
The lawsuit wasn't brought by the big, nasty, ugly oil refineries which put Prop. 23 on the ballot. Oh, no. The lawsuit was put forth by an "environmental justice" group which claimed that AB 32 was "racist."
I doubt that the ruling will stand; it has already been appealed. But either way, this group has clearly just shot the environmental movement in the foot.
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Post by thanks4goingmetro on Apr 6, 2011 11:49:27 GMT -8
Myself being a black man and a railfan that also is glad to climb on board of Local and Rapid buses I am not offended in the slightest. When I was affected when the 750 service was cut at my former residence in Sherman Oaks, I think it was fair, the 750 isn't really all that much faster on Ventura Blvd than the 24 hour Local service 150/240, I think frequency mattered the most in that case.
The Blue Line is my preferred method to get to frolicking in Long Beach (even with the ugly shuttle situations before), it's plenty fast and a great many of the stations are well used, though not terribly well designed (103rd St I'm looking at you) and I think the Compton Station area is getting very nice as of late with apartments and retail going up and some much needed effort is going into improving Rosa Parks Station (yay!).
Metro isn't exactly flat out removing service altogether or making buses run hourly where they should be on 12 minute headways as the BRU would make it appear, those folks are just crazy, they don't understand that it's mostly working class people of many colors and creeds that ride buses and trains.
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