Brazilian Buses

Re “Mayor’s Lonely Samba for Brazilian Buses,” Washington Connection, Jan. 19: The last thing we need is another dirty, noisy, graffiti-covered bus line that doesn’t give public transit riders what they need or what they deserve and which will not get middle-class people out of their cars. We should be studying light-rail systems like in Portland, Sacramento or San Diego instead of taking junkets to see a Brazilian system--where labor costs and employment patterns have no relation to our own. Or maybe we should look in our own backyard, where our Long Beach Blue Line has begun to revive the world’s most extensive and successful interurban system ever.

JONATHAN WEISS, Cheviot Hills

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When Mayor Richard Riordan returns from observing the Curitiba busway network in Brazil, he should know that land use played a large role in the success of the system. The land use is centered around the busways. The problem is, the busway isn’t taken seriously enough by Riordan or any other MTA board member. It’s not meant to be a serious mode of transportation but another big-ticket project where politicians can spend millions and chant the “but this is better than rail” mantra.

CHRIS LEDERMULLER, Los Angeles