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Passengers board trains at Union Station. Many of MetrolinkÂs board members rely on reports from staff to stay informed of riders concerns. (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times) |
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About seven to 10 times each month, Art Brown hops on a Metrolink train.
As a member of the commuter rail's five-county governing board, he usually carries a bag imprinted with the word "Metrolink." Brown says he does it to attract comments from other riders on the regional service.
"It was mostly service-oriented," said Brown, an appointed member whose primary public office is mayor pro tem of Buena Park and who serves on other transit boards. " 'When are we going to add more cars, when are we going to have a bar car?' They want more trains and they want them to run later."
That Brown takes the train as often as he does makes him unique among the 11 voting members of the Metrolink board. The rest only ride occasionally and some live miles from the nearest station. None is an everyday rider.
In September, Metrolink experienced the deadliest crash in its 16-year history. A train filled with commuters failed to stop at a warning light and collided head-on with a Union Pacific freight train. Twenty-five people died and 135 were injured.
In recent days, some Metrolink passengers interviewed by The Times questioned whether board members who use the line so infrequently can fully appreciate the concerns that daily riders have about operations and safety.
"You would hope that people who are encouraging something like this are actually investing time in it," said PJ Woolston, who takes Metrolink from Burbank to downtown Los Angeles and praises the service.
Board members in business and government are usually expected to concentrate only on setting broad policy. But some advocates say overseeing transit agencies is different because of the effect they have on thousands of people and their need to be appealing, safe and fast to compete with cars.
And unlike some other transit boards in California, Metrolink -- carrying about 47,000 passengers each weekday -- has no slots reserved for people who directly represent riders or the public at large.
"To be fair, the role of a transit agency board isn't to nitpick daily operations. They're supposed to be focusing on the bigger picture," said Margaret Okuzumi, executive director of BayRail Alliance, a transit advocacy group in Northern California. "The problem is if they're not familiar with the day-to-day experience, it's hard for them to relate to what kind of conditions would better serve their riders."
Even when Brown led the Metrolink board, he said, he found it hard to get colleagues to directly experience the service they provided.
"When I became chairman . . . I wanted members to go ride the train and go to the facilities to see how Metrolink works," Brown said.
Metrolink board members serve on a part-time basis and are paid $100 for each meeting they attend. Most are politicians appointed by transit agencies in the counties where they live.
Two of the most prominent members -- Los Angeles County Supervisors Mike Antonovich and Don Knabe -- have aides who ride the commuter rails and report back as surrogates of a sort. Both men usually drive to work, Antonovich from Glendale and Knabe from Cerritos.
"Don is the only member of the board that drives a hybrid," said David Sommers, a Knabe spokesman, adding that several people in Knabe's office take mass transit.
"I grew up on public transit," Antonovich said in an interview, and he pointed to his days riding the old S streetcar line in South Los Angeles, where his family lived.
Nowadays it's a different matter, he said. "If I worked in a stationary workplace and I had a normal schedule, I could take public transportation there and back." The problem is that he must travel throughout his far-flung district, which covers much of northern Los Angeles County. Antonovich added that he gets input from staffers who ride Metrolink and other transit services.
Other board members said they feel sufficiently informed about Metrolink, either by reports from Metrolink's full-time staff or from their own experiences.
San Bernardino Mayor Patrick Morris, for example, was a brakeman for the Santa Fe Railroad while working his way through college, and both his father and grandfather worked for the railroad.
Other board members had eye-opening experiences when they did find time to go for a ride. Richard Dixon said that several years ago, he was in the cab of a Metrolink train as it hurtled toward a big rig stopped at a street crossing. The truck moved just in time.
As a member of the commuter rail's five-county governing board, he usually carries a bag imprinted with the word "Metrolink." Brown says he does it to attract comments from other riders on the regional service.
"It was mostly service-oriented," said Brown, an appointed member whose primary public office is mayor pro tem of Buena Park and who serves on other transit boards. " 'When are we going to add more cars, when are we going to have a bar car?' They want more trains and they want them to run later."
That Brown takes the train as often as he does makes him unique among the 11 voting members of the Metrolink board. The rest only ride occasionally and some live miles from the nearest station. None is an everyday rider.
In September, Metrolink experienced the deadliest crash in its 16-year history. A train filled with commuters failed to stop at a warning light and collided head-on with a Union Pacific freight train. Twenty-five people died and 135 were injured.
In recent days, some Metrolink passengers interviewed by The Times questioned whether board members who use the line so infrequently can fully appreciate the concerns that daily riders have about operations and safety.
"You would hope that people who are encouraging something like this are actually investing time in it," said PJ Woolston, who takes Metrolink from Burbank to downtown Los Angeles and praises the service.
Board members in business and government are usually expected to concentrate only on setting broad policy. But some advocates say overseeing transit agencies is different because of the effect they have on thousands of people and their need to be appealing, safe and fast to compete with cars.
And unlike some other transit boards in California, Metrolink -- carrying about 47,000 passengers each weekday -- has no slots reserved for people who directly represent riders or the public at large.
"To be fair, the role of a transit agency board isn't to nitpick daily operations. They're supposed to be focusing on the bigger picture," said Margaret Okuzumi, executive director of BayRail Alliance, a transit advocacy group in Northern California. "The problem is if they're not familiar with the day-to-day experience, it's hard for them to relate to what kind of conditions would better serve their riders."
Even when Brown led the Metrolink board, he said, he found it hard to get colleagues to directly experience the service they provided.
"When I became chairman . . . I wanted members to go ride the train and go to the facilities to see how Metrolink works," Brown said.
Metrolink board members serve on a part-time basis and are paid $100 for each meeting they attend. Most are politicians appointed by transit agencies in the counties where they live.
Two of the most prominent members -- Los Angeles County Supervisors Mike Antonovich and Don Knabe -- have aides who ride the commuter rails and report back as surrogates of a sort. Both men usually drive to work, Antonovich from Glendale and Knabe from Cerritos.
"Don is the only member of the board that drives a hybrid," said David Sommers, a Knabe spokesman, adding that several people in Knabe's office take mass transit.
"I grew up on public transit," Antonovich said in an interview, and he pointed to his days riding the old S streetcar line in South Los Angeles, where his family lived.
Nowadays it's a different matter, he said. "If I worked in a stationary workplace and I had a normal schedule, I could take public transportation there and back." The problem is that he must travel throughout his far-flung district, which covers much of northern Los Angeles County. Antonovich added that he gets input from staffers who ride Metrolink and other transit services.
Other board members said they feel sufficiently informed about Metrolink, either by reports from Metrolink's full-time staff or from their own experiences.
San Bernardino Mayor Patrick Morris, for example, was a brakeman for the Santa Fe Railroad while working his way through college, and both his father and grandfather worked for the railroad.
Other board members had eye-opening experiences when they did find time to go for a ride. Richard Dixon said that several years ago, he was in the cab of a Metrolink train as it hurtled toward a big rig stopped at a street crossing. The truck moved just in time.
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