RTD to Offer Free Rides on Tardy Buses

In response to “RTD to Try a Novel Lure: A Free Ride if Bus Is Late,” July 26:

Anger is the only way to express my feelings about this article. Anyone who has to take his or her car into the dealership for repair and dares to try a ride back to the office or home on an RTD bus--or a Santa Monica Blue Bus--is going to run into frustration: At most bus stops, you find absolutely no information about the buses, where they go, and when they arrive. You would have to make a trip to the public library first and do some research about the bus lines in the area, because the phone numbers are busy most of the time, the drivers are too busy and oftentimes no help at all; if you need a transfer to a different bus line to get to your final destination, that means instant trouble.

Lateness is a problem too, but, of course, if you want to be fair, you cannot always blame the drivers or the company if buses get stuck in Los Angeles’ chaotic traffic. No matter how you cut it, anyone who has to work for a living simply cannot afford to waste time playing the RTD game, unless he or she takes the same bus line every day, is extremely familiar with the system and can risk arriving late--15 to 20 minutes or more. In European cities, where public transportation is much more common, you find information about times and routes at each and every bus stop! Why not in Los Angeles?

Furthermore, RTD might even be dangerous to your well-being or even your life after dark. Unfortunately, the only thing you can do in this city to ensure your personal safety and punctuality is ignore the urge to use buses and get yourself into a car or at least a taxi wherever you go.

If RTD Board President Nick Patsaouras wants to know why daily ridership has fallen from 1.8 million passengers to 1.3 million in the last five years, there is only one question to ask: “Have you ridden a bus lately?”

ARMIN AMLER

Los Angeles