Advisory Panel for Merger of Transit Agencies Is Named

Leaders of the county’s two major transportation agencies on Friday named the seven members of an advisory Merger Steering Committee that will decide how to combine the two agencies to eliminate waste and duplication.

Supervisor Mike Antonovich, chairman of the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission board of directors, named himself, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley and Rancho Palos Verdes City Councilwoman Jacki Bacharach to represent the LACTC on the panel.

Marvin Holen, board president of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and Supervisor Ed Edelman’s transportation adviser, appointed himself, Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alatorre and Glendale Mayor Carl Raggio to represent the RTD.

Antonovich and Holen appointed the seventh member of the merger panel, Mas Fukai, Supervisor Kenneth Hahn’s chief deputy.

The appointments were made according to a formula proposed by Bradley to speed the merger and ensure broad representation. The formula required that the LACTC and RTD each appoint one representative for the county, one for the city of Los Angeles and a third for the county’s 87 smaller cities. The tie-breaking seventh member was to be agreed on by both agencies.

“These seven individuals represent a vast cross-section of communities throughout Los Angeles County and will pave the way for a smooth transition in merging both the RTD and the (LACTC) into one unified transit organization,” Holen said.