L.A. Bus Link to Antelope Valley Gets County OK

A new commuter bus service from the Antelope Valley to downtown Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley responds to the demands of commuters burdened by worsening traffic congestion and longer drive times, officials said Wednesday.

Palmdale and Lancaster city officials said they hope the $1.2-million, one-year pilot program approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday bolsters efforts to encourage commuting alternatives.

“This is a major concern in our community,” said Lancaster spokeswoman Nancy Walker. “One of the top issues is traffic, and that includes the Antelope Valley Freeway.”

About 40,000 of the valley’s more than 200,000 residents work in the Los Angeles Basin, officials said. Rush-hour traffic snarls along the mountain route of the Antelope Valley Freeway and four-hour round trips have become commonplace.

The program scheduled to begin in early January will offer two initial bus runs from Palmdale to the downtown Los Angeles business district, said Greg Kelley, transit manager for the county Public Works Department. It will cost $5 one way, with a monthly pass costing $145, he said.

Tentative morning departure times are 5:05 a.m. and 5:50 a.m., with arrivals downtown at 6:45 and 7:35 a.m. Buses traveling the afternoon routes will leave downtown at 4 and 5:05 p.m. and arrive in the Antelope Valley at 6:10 and 7:25 p.m.

The San Fernando Valley route will begin in February, Kelley said. It will probably exit the San Diego Freeway at Rinaldi and make stops on Sepulveda, Van Nuys and Ventura boulevards and Parthenia Street, said Ron Carter, vice president of Antelope Valley Bus, which is slated to provide the service.

The San Fernando Valley fare will be $4.50 one-way, with a $135 monthly pass, Kelley said. Fares will pay for more than half of the $1.2-million program cost, with $450,000 coming out of state transportation funds.

A “park-and-ride” lot at 6th Street East and Tri-Star Way near the Lockheed plant in Palmdale is the only designated departure point, with a Lancaster location still to be chosen, officials said. The number of runs may increase depending on the amount of ridership, Kelley said.

A county survey drew about 600 responses from interested commuters, Kelley said, and Carter said he received numerous calls Wednesday inquiring about the service.

Palmdale spokesman Steve Buffalo said the affordability of homes in the Antelope Valley has some residents driving to jobs in the South Bay, Long Beach and Orange County, which are grueling commutes of more than 100 miles in one direction. Car and van pools encouraged in Palmdale and Lancaster have increased over the past years, officials said.

The pilot program will show to what extent commuters are willing to leave their cars behind, officials said.

“I think this new service is going to tell us a whole lot,” Carter said.