‘Rail First’ Leaves Commuters Last

Transit in Los Angeles is in deep trouble. We have witnessed Hollywood Boulevard sinking, the revolving door of MTA management, a court order putting off a rate increase, bills in the Legislature to overhaul the structure and oversight of the MTA. There are chronic serious problems and deep divisions over public transit and the consensus behind regional subway-rail has withered away. The public now understands that past promises by rail proponents were wishful thinking, and that costs of the “rail first” strategy are far higher than early estimates.

It is time to rethink our transportation policy.

Because of Los Angeles’ spread-out form, most trips by real people have no prospect of ever being served by trains. Rail advocates claim that the city will readjust to the rail network and that much new construction will occur near rail stations, but most new development is happening far away from rail stations. In fact, the serious disruption caused by construction has actually damaged and driven out businesses along the rail corridors.

Daily bus use in Los Angeles is the third highest among American cities, (1.1 million daily boardings), but patronage has declined by nearly 25% since rail construction began. MTA bus service has deteriorated while resources were diverted to expensive and less productive rail lines serving only a tiny fraction of the boardings handled by the bus network (107,500 daily boardings for Metrolink, Red and Blue lines combined).

MTA has consistently reduced bus service, ignored technological improvements for bus operations and accepted poorer service on buses than on trains. The costs of police and security on the Blue Line alone are higher than similar services on the entire bus system, which carries about 95% of all MTA passengers. Not a single new MTA bus route has been added in Los Angeles in more than a decade.

Rail backers argue that a train can carry 15 times the riders that a bus can. But when the total costs of rail--for land, construction and trains--are added to operating costs, trains cost much more than buses. For example, though the Blue Line is carrying capacity loads during much of the day, the fares collected don’t even cover the costs of fare collection. The total subsidy to operate the Blue Line equals the subsidy for just 17 of the most heavily used among MTA’s bus routes, but the Blue Line provides only 12 million transit rides per year in comparison with 184 million rides on those 17 bus routes. Since it costs the MTA much more for a long trip than a short one, poor riders who take shorter trips than the average commuter are hurt the most by MTA’s fare increases.

Given these problems and divisive contention over transit priorities, we need a new approach. Here are some proposals to focus priorities on major objectives and restore public confidence in the MTA:

* The highest priority for MTA for the next five years should be to expand and improve its bus operations. Rail routes not already in service, under construction or part of MTA’s adopted base line plan should be suspended until quality bus service is achieved. The MTA should restore buses where there is proven demand, not on the basis of political pressure.

* The MTA should employ uniform standards of what constitutes overcrowding to treat all riders fairly. Current practices have resulted in overcrowding on local routes, often in the inner city.

* The MTA should guarantee riders clean, safe buses. Per-rider spending on security for bus operations should be similar to spending on rail security.

* The MTA should concentrate its routes where passenger demand is heaviest. Low-demand bus routes to outlying areas do not cover costs and require large subsidies. The service that these suburban communities need should be met with more efficient vans, taxis and private bus companies.

* Busways and high occupancy vehicle lanes are proven, cost-effective alternatives that should be expanded before undertaking commitments to expensive rail expansions. Only 90 of the 527 freeway miles in Los Angeles now have HOV lanes. For the cost of one mile of heavy rail or five miles of light rail, we can build 16 miles of such lanes.

* The MTA should adopt more up-to-date systems of tracking its buses, improving communications to assist bus transfers and managing its bus movements with traffic conditions. It should use automatic fareboxes so passengers can pay different fares for different services using a single debit card.