PALMDALE : Officials Fear Delay in Bus Expansion

Palmdale officials said Thursday they fear that a bus expansion plan for the Antelope Valley may be delayed due to a Los Angeles County Transportation Commission decision to divert $58.2 million in transit tax funds to the Southern California Rapid Transit District.

To close a budget shortfall, the RTD had asked for $117 million from funds raised by Proposition C, the half-cent sales tax increase approved by voters in 1990. The transportation commission decided to give RTD only $58.2 million.

The commission allocates Proposition C funds for local transportation programs, including a commuter bus service from Palmdale and Lancaster to downtown Los Angeles. Proposition C funds are also used to help build rail projects throughout the county.

Palmdale administrative analyst Dolores Buddell-Teubner said the Antelope Valley Transit Authority had requested at least $1.6 million to buy eight buses to expand the commuter service and to add new routes over the next three years. The transit authority, which was formed recently to serve Landcaster, Palmdale and parts of Los Angeles County, operates six commuter buses to downtown Los Angeles and two buses to the San Fernando Valley, Buddell-Teubner said.