Local News in Brief : Torrance Seeks Funds

Torrance is asking for federal help to get new wheelchair lifts on 16 city buses.

The wheelchair lifts now in the buses do not work because they have not been properly maintained or because parts are not available, city officials said.

This week, the City Council directed City Manager LeRoy J. Jackson to apply for a $192,000 federal grant to put new lifts in 13 1980-model buses and three 1982 models. The grant would pay 80% of the cost, while the rest, an estimated $24,000, is expected to come from the city’s share of the county transportation sales tax, officials said.

Officials hope to have new lifts in the buses by March.

Once the work is completed, the entire 40-bus Torrance transit system will be accessible to wheelchair users, city officials said.

In April, a group of wheelchair users charged the Torrance transit system with discrimination toward the handicapped because many lifts did not work. City officials denied the allegation. Two months later, the city bought eight new buses with wheelchair lifts.