BURBANK, GLENDALE : Forum Will Address MTA Line Changes

City and county transportation officials will hold a public forum this week to discuss proposed changes to about a dozen Metropolitan Transportation Agency bus lines serving the Glendale-Burbank area, including the elimination of three lines and the addition of a new bus line offering “flexible” service.

The changes, part of the MTA’s San Fernando Valley Transit Restructuring Study, are aimed at saving the Los Angeles County transportation agency up to $4 billion a year in operating costs.

Although the proposal has caused some alarm among bus riders, Glendale officials said they expect the effect on riders to be nominal.

“Overall, we support the plan. It’s directed at trying to restructure service to save money, but also to improve services in some areas,” said Steve Adams, an assistant to the city manager.

At the forum, scheduled at 7 p.m. Thursday at Glendale City Hall, an MTA official will map out the changes affecting the area and explain why they are being implemented, said Larry Zarian, a Glendale city councilman and vice chairman of the transportation agency.

“Some people are very concerned, so we want to give them as much information as possible,” Zarian said. “In some cases the city (of Glendale) will be taking over the service, and in other cases there will be changes. So it can be confusing.”

The bus lines to be eliminated under the plan are Line 97, which passes through Glendale and Burbank en route to the San Fernando Valley; Line 183, which runs between North Hollywood and Glendale, and Line 412, which runs from the Burbank Media District to Los Angeles. The cancellations are all set to take effect before the end of the year.

In addition, route modifications would be made to lines 177, 180, 181, 92, 93, 94, 201 and 234. In some cases, the bus lines are being shortened and in others they are being extended.

Glendale city officials said they are also negotiating with the MTA to save part of Line 177, which runs from the Glendale Galleria to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

The MTA has been considering dropping the line, but city officials said they want Glendale’s Beeline shuttle bus service to take over the route. Another part of the plan calls for the creation of Flexible Destination Shuttles, a new bus service with the ability to deviate from its fixed route in order to drop passengers off at their individual destinations. MTA Line 675 would offer such a service on city streets between the Burbank Transportation Center on 1st Street and the Glendale Galleria, officials said. A start date for the service was unavailable.