Local News in Brief : Last 3 Cities OK Commuter Bus Line

A $4-million commuter bus service, designed to cut traffic in 10 South Bay communities, has gotten the go-ahead from the last three of the 10 cities it will serve.

The commuter service, which will focus on aerospace industries in the El Segundo and Los Angeles airport area, will run 21 buses on three routes during rush hours. The buses will run every 20 minutes from the southern ends of San Pedro, Rancho Palos Verdes and Redondo Beach. The service is to start in July.

This week, the Torrance City Council voted unanimously to be the lead agency of the system, and the city councils in Redondo Beach and Rancho Palos Verdes voted to approve the plan, which had already been endorsed by El Segundo, Lawndale, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Lomita, Los Angeles and Rolling Hills Estates.

“I am very excited about this,” said Los Angeles County Transportation Commissioner Jackie Bacharach, who also serves as a Rancho Palos Verdes city councilwoman. “It’s very hard to get cities to agree on anything.”

A federal grant, requested by the commission, will provide $2.3 million, or about 75%, of the cost of the buses. The Transportation Commission and the cities will split the $800,000 balance.