The Region - News from June 27, 1986

The Los Angeles County Transportation Commission refused to pitch in extra money for stepped-up drug testing of Rapid Transit District bus drivers and other workers. In a letter to county supervisors, the commission said it is prepared to help the RTD with cutbacks in state and federal financing, but does not “expect to be able to fund service expansion.” Reacting to a rash of RTD bus accidents linked to drug use, supervisors last month urged officials to immediately develop tougher drug testing and asked the Transportation Commission to pitch in with extra financing. The commission provides part of the district’s budget. But the commission’s executive director, Rick Richmond, said in a letter to the supervisors that the proposed drug-testing crackdown should be paid for “within their (the RTD’s) overall budget.”