Council OKs 2-Year Test of Novel ‘Smart Shuttle’

Taking a new tack to attract more transit riders, the Los Angeles City Council gave the green light Tuesday to an innovative $10-million shuttle program to be tested in parts of the San Fernando Valley and Central Los Angeles.

Unlike regular bus and shuttle lines, the so-called “Smart Shuttle” program will provide taxis and various sizes of vans that will run on semi-fixed routes that can be changed to accommodate passengers. The shuttles are scheduled to start in the fall.

Some of the shuttles will operate like the city’s dial-a-ride program, allowing passengers to call to request trips. High-tech vehicle tracking devices will allow dispatchers to locate the shuttles and reroute them to pick up additional passengers along the way.

The program will be tested in four areas with distinct transit problems: in the West Valley, where public transit is little used; in the northeast Valley, where transit-dependent riders must travel long distances to reach transit stops, and in South-Central Los Angeles and MacArthur Park, where transit systems are overcrowded.

“You can call up and change the route half an hour beforehand,” said James Okazaki, head of the city’s transit programs. “The idea is that you can have your own private chauffeur.”

In addition, the program will provide more fixed routes to shopping malls, hospitals, subway stations and major employment centers, such as Warner Center in Woodland Hills.

It is an idea that has been studied and endorsed by UCLA, the Southern California Assn. of Governments and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

In a unanimous vote, the council agreed to spend $2 million on the program, adding to the $8 million offered by MTA.

The number of shuttles, the specific routes and the exact fares will be decided by the private firms that are chosen to operate the program. The council’s vote also gave the go-ahead to seek bids from firms interested in operating the shuttles.

The Smart Shuttle was proposed in a 1993 transit study by the Southern California Assn. of Governments, which found that traditional rail and bus lines would not attract enough riders to meet regional ridership and air quality goals.

The next year, a UCLA urban studies group concluded that a Smart Shuttle program was feasible, assuming that it could attract 1.7 million riders by 2010, each paying fares ranging from $1.10 to $5 per ride, depending on the distance traveled.

“Smart Shuttle Transit evolved as a conceptual approach to filling the gap between the automobile and fixed route transit,” the study said.

City transit officials have crafted a few proposed routes for shuttle lines in the Valley to serve the Northridge Fashion Center, West Valley Occupational Center and Metrolink station in Chatsworth.

Okazaki said some shuttle routes can be created specifically for the employees of major firms or business centers.

The $10 million will subsidize the program for two years, but city transit officials hope that the private firms chosen to operate the shuttles will continue to run the program after the two-year testing period on a citywide basis without a subsidy.

“They are going to have to find a company that knows how to run a transit company,” Okazaki said.

Mayor Richard Riordan and several council members who represent the areas that will be served by the shuttle have voiced support for the program.

“The mayor likes it,” said Stephanie Bradfield, Riordan’s council liaison. “He has always supported this idea.”

Councilman Richard Alarcon, who represents parts of the northeast Valley, said he hopes that the shuttles will improve the transit services for bus riders in his district.

“‘The problem with the San Fernando Valley is that it’s so spread out that the bus system doesn’t get people where they want to go.”

Councilman Mike Hernandez, who represents the MacArthur Park area, said traditional bus lines are designed on a regionwide basis but do not provide the short, flexible routes most needed by his constituents.

“Most people don’t travel more than three miles to do things,” he said.

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A New Transit Option

Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to provide funding for an experimental shuttle program to serve portions of the San Fernando Valley and central Los Angeles. The council agreed to spend $2 million; the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will spend $8 million. Boundaries of the four test areas are shown here.

Key Features

* Shuttles will operate in some ways like a dial-a- ride services, with door- to- door service.

* Much like city DASH buses, service will also include fixed routes to major business centers and other popular destinations.

* Ride prices will be determined after private contractors are selected.

* Vehicles will range from minibuses for heavily used routes to sedans for residential areas and hillside communities.

Quote

“You can call up and change the route half an hour beforehand. The idea is that you can have your own private chauffeur.”-James Okazaki, head of the city’s transit program.