Transportation

I read with interest the letters in The Times (May 5), which discussed our transportation problems in Los Angeles. Everyone agrees on one thing--our transportation system is not meeting our needs.

The problems are clear: thousands of frustrated commuters snarled in traffic; a transit district that is criticized daily for serious management and safety problems; and duplication of planning that results in waste and proposals for incompatible rail transit systems.

We desperately need a new approach. I’ve in introduced AB 18, the Los Angeles Transportation Efficiency Act, with several goals in mind:

1--To make more efficient use of our scarce transportation dollars through consolidation.

2--To make those making decisions directly accountable to the people.

3--To eliminate confusing and costly duplication of effort.

4--To provide for coordinated and integrated planning.

The Transportation Efficiency Act will abolish the Southern California Rapid Transit District on Feb. 1, 1988. A new organization, the Los Angeles Transportation Authority, will take over the responsibility of providing bus service, constructing all rail systems in Los Angeles, and planning for highway and transit systems throughout the county. For the first time, all of these essential services will be “under one roof.”

It is clearly time for change. The Los Angeles Transportation Efficiency Act is a balanced and fair approach to achieving our goals. It will create a cost effective and well-coordinated transportation system. A system that holds decision-makers accountable and works for the people, not the bureaucracy.

RICHARD KATZ

Sepulveda

Katz is chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee.