RTD: Unnecessary Roughness

The Southern California Rapid Transit District has enough problems on the streets, and now it is getting hit in the boardroom. Not only is the bus system facing deficits, service cutbacks and fare increases, but top executives and members of RTD’s board of directors have spent more than a quarter of a million dollars on travel and entertainment over the last two years.

There seems to be nothing illegal about the heavy spending of RTD officials on trips abroad and posh restaurant meals. And certainly some of the trips taken by RTD executives--such as visits by district General Manager John Dyer to Washington, D.C., to lobby for funds for the Metro Rail subway project--were necessary and worthwhile.

But you can’t really say the same about political appointees to the RTD board traveling to places like Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, London, Paris and Rome. Or board member Nate Holden charging for side trips to visit family members when he goes to Washington for the RTD. Or the fact that former board president Mike Lewis didn’t have to file an expense account to explain the more than $3,400 that he spent at fancy restaurants on an RTD credit card.

At a mimimum they all should have to file detailed expense accounts. The public would not stand for it if elected officials operated on the RTD’s “honor system” that says they don’t have to account for entertainment expenses, and there certainly is no call for it among the people who serve on the board as surrogates for elected officials, including county supervisors and Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley.

Nor could they have chosen a worse time to disclose themselves as big spenders. The RTD must pinch every penny for many years to help pay for Metro Rail construction while it tries to keep the nation’s biggest bus fleet running smoothly. In the euphoric aftermath of the groundbreaking for Metro Rail, district officials must not forget that there are still many people in this region--and in Washington--with serious doubts about the feasibility of a Los Angeles subway. Every problem in the RTD will be seized on by critics who want Metro Rail stopped, or who want the local transit agency broken up.

Then there is a string of highly publicized bus accidents. Investigation called into question the safety records, and even the competence, of some drivers. RTD now admits that the system it uses to hire and train drivers needs improvement, and it promises changes.

Then came the controversy over the dramatically higher tax bills that many owners of commercial property near planned Metro Rail stations began receiving last month. While some property owners accepted the increases, others are resisting and have filed suit against the district.

What a time to go on a spending spree.