Mass Transit, Now More Than Ever : The Quake Was a Lesson, but Better Options Are Needed

Not even the worst earthquake in modern Los Angeles history was enough to break up the romance of solitary Southern California drivers and their automobiles. That was the finding, at least, of a recent Times poll in which 86% of respondents in the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys said they do not plan to switch to mass transit or organize car or van pools.

The percentage of San Fernando Valley workers who had been using public transportation, for example, was quite small before the quake, ranging from a high of just 7.5% in the Mission Hills-Panorama City-North Hills area to a low of 1.3% in Granada Hills.

This is unfortunate because success in coping with the Northridge quake depends on the use of more efficient transportation options.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Federico Pena said as much when he emphasized that the long-term plan to rebuild the Los Angeles area’s transportation network must include efforts to persuade as many commuters as possible to park their cars and use mass transit. To make such options more convenient, Pena was arranging to have more locomotives and trains added to Metrolink. He was also securing federal waivers to allow an increase in the average speed of Metrolink trains running between Palmdale and Los Angeles.

As we have said before, if this disaster gets enough people out of their cars and riding to work by bus or rail, the quake may help put Los Angeles on its way to a more efficient and far less vulnerable 21st Century transit system.

We have repeatedly applauded, for example, the safety valve of the new rail options. Transportation officials, with the help of Navy Seabee crews, have done an admirable job of pressing new stations and alternatives into service in the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys. Ridership, however, must resume its climb to alleviate the strain on congested roadways and broken highways. True, Metrolink ridership on some lines increased more than tenfold, but that says more about how few people were using the trains in the first place. And ridership took a disappointing dip last week--by 40% in the Santa Clarita Valley--which we hope represents only temporary testing of resumed commuting by car.

As more and more stations are rushed into service, we must also remind Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials and local governments that parking cannot be forgotten. It hardly helps to spark interest in the rails if drivers cannot find a parking spot.

In this regard, the San Fernando Valley Bus Restructuring Study takes on a heightened importance. Residents are unhappy with their bus options and the study was designed to take a comprehensive approach to the problem. Perhaps it will conclude that Valley residents would be better served by a point-to-point system in which the routes would connect major activity and employment centers, rather than the current grid system, which involves north-south and east-west routes and too many transfers.

Lastly, we are pleased to hear that MTA officials and Caltrans were working on adding high-occupancy vehicle or car-pool lanes to several freeways that serve the Valley before the quake. What better way to stress the advantages of ride sharing than the sight of car-pool traffic speeding past commuters during rush hour?