The MTA needs help

Re “Just say ‘no’ to hikes” and “Vary the fares,” Opinion, May 7

The proposed fare hikes by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority make sense.

I have used the MTA network since my first job in downtown Los Angeles in 1973. In 1979, I paid 84 cents each way on the Long Beach Freeway Flyer, Route 36F. I now pay only $1.25 (actually less with a token) for a Blue Line trip.

We need a financially healthy MTA to continue its investment in our needed public transit systems. Inflation alone has galloped past the current fares. As a county resident, I want more public transportation investment, not less, which would be the outcome if the no-fare-increase lobby prevails.

CARL H. SCHIERMEYER

Long Beach

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Eric Mann and Manuel Criollo are to be commended for fighting for affordable transportation for Southern California’s working poor. However, they do the entire region a disservice with their hard-line, buses-only stance and their omission of facts that do not fit their narrow view.

For example, they would have us believe that light rail is the exclusive domain of white, middle-class commuters. But whenever I ride the Blue or Green lines, nonwhites make up the majority of riders.

As Mann and Criollo noted, the MTA serves a community of “10 million people spread over 4,000 square miles.” Buses alone cannot handle all the necessary trips. For mass transit to be successful in Southern California, the answer is integration -- and I’m not speaking of races. Yes, buses are inexpensive to acquire and operate and are flexible regarding routes, but many commuters will never ride buses simply because of the distances they must cover. That is why rail, both heavy (Metrolink) and light (MTA’s Blue, Red, Green and Gold lines) is necessary.

Kudos to Martin Wachs for his proposal of variable pricing. Perhaps that is the answer. It deserves consideration, as do any other creative ideas that arise.

CRAIG WALKER

Orange

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Mann and Criollo use the race card to argue against MTA fare increases, saying whites are the predominate ridership on rails, which are funded with a larger public subsidy than buses, where the ridership is predominately minority.

They conveniently forget to mention that the Red Line, which I use often, has a high minority ridership, as does the Blue Line. The Gold Line is going to be extended to the Latino Eastside. Additionally, Metrolink, which is used as an example, is not part of the MTA. These guys either didn’t do their research or chose to ignore the facts. I too am opposed to fare hikes. However, trying to make it a racial issue is divisive and serves no one.

RICHARD W. KRUSE

Hollywood