Letter: New bus line doesn’t meet riders’ needs

Your editorial about the new 501 Express service between Pasadena and North Hollywood misses some important details. I rode the bus Thursday for an evening meeting in mid-Wilshire and the first thing to note is that the service ends too early in the evening. The last bus from North Hollywood departs at 9.10 p.m., long before the Red and Orange lines stop running, and making the service useless for any evening activity.

As the Transit Coalition has pointed out, the first buses in the morning run too late for most people with early shifts in service jobs. Why run subway and rail services early in the morning if buses don’t operate to connect for the first and last mile?

You should also note that there was, and still is, a peak hour service in this corridor operated by LADoT, route 549. The Burbank Transportation Commission voted last year to recommend expanding that service rather than start a new line that duplicates much of the route.

While I was waiting for my bus on Thursday at Alameda Avenue and Buena Vista Street, I saw 501 and 549 buses follow each other along the street. It’s clear that Metro and LADoT are not on speaking terms. Overlaid on that the BurbankBUS Media District to North Hollywood peak-hour line is a third service between the media district and the Red and Orange lines. It seems highly likely to me that at least some of any new riders on the 501 will be at the expense of the 549 and Burbank Bus.

I have always been a strong advocate of transit services and use them myself as much as possible. But I also believe in value for money for the taxpayer that funds them. Duplication of service, and inadequate hours of coverage, will not make for a successful new route.

Paul Dyson

Chair, City of Burbank Transportation Commission

President, Rail Passenger Assn. of California and Nevada