RTD Studies Service Cuts on 7 Routes, Fare Rises

Reductions in service on seven San Fernando Valley bus lines, plus elimination of the only two lines that link Ventura County to the Valley, are among cuts under consideration by the Southern California Rapid Transit District.

RTD officials, saying they must cut service because of reduced federal subsidies, have targeted 51 lines throughout Southern California for elimination or reduction in service beginning in December.

The RTD also is considering raising the basic fare, now 85 cents, to 90 or 95 cents.

Public Hearing Scheduled

A public hearing on the proposed changes is scheduled for Sept. 28 at RTD headquarters, 425 S. Main St.

John A. Dyer, RTD general manager, said the cuts were proposed in anticipation of a $9.5-million drop in federal subsidies to the district.

Although Congress has voted to cut transit subsidies 15%, it has not determined whether all categories of transit subsidies should be cut equally, he said.

Dyer said the lines selected for cutbacks are “among the least patronized and most heavily subsidized.”

Service Cutbacks

Besides dropping lines 161 and 423, the two Ventura County lines, the RTD is proposing to cancel Sunday service on line 154 (Tampa Avenue to Burbank Boulevard), 158 (Devonshire Street to Woodman Avenue), 166 (Nordhoff Street to Osborne Street), 168 (Lassen Street to Paxton Street) and 183 (Magnolia Boulevard to East Colorado Street).

Saturday service would be eliminated on line 169 (Saticoy Street to Sunland Boulevard) and both Saturday and Sunday service would be dropped on line 236 (Balboa Boulevard to Woodley Avenue).

Thousand Oaks Mayor Lawrence Horner said there would be an outcry over the proposed elimination of line 161, which provides weekday service from Canoga Park to the Thousand Oaks section of Westlake Village, and 423, a weekday express line between Westlake Village and downtown Los Angeles.

“There are a lot of people out here who don’t have the luxury of an automobile,” he said.

“Dropping those lines would leave those people stranded,” he said.

On July 1, the RTD’s basic fare of 50 cents was raised by 35 cents and service was reduced on 90 lines.

The increase to 85 cents and the service cuts were imposed by RTD directors in response to a reduction in the district’s share of a half-cent sales tax approved by Los Angeles County voters in 1982.

Between 1982, when the 50-cent fare was inaugurated, and 1985, weekday passenger boardings increased from an average of 1.1 million to 1.7 million.

RTD spokesman Rick Jager said the daily average has dropped to 1.54 million since the fare was raised to 85 cents.