Bill to Force MTA to Purchase New Buses Stalls
A controversial bill to force the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to buy hundreds of new buses and abide by a landmark consent decree stalled Tuesday after running into potent opposition in a key state Senate committee.
No vote was taken on the measure by Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles) after the MTA’s allies argued the bill would wreak havoc on transportation projects in Los Angeles County and further delay construction of a light rail line to Pasadena.
The bill would have prohibited the MTA from spending most transportation funds until the agency complies with the order of court-appointed Special Master Donald T. Bliss to buy 481 new buses to ease overcrowding and improve bus service.
“The MTA should identify a blueprint for funding” the improvements to the bus system, Hayden said. “Instead, they want to use public money to resist the consent decree.”
The MTA board opposes the purchase of the additional buses as unnecessary and wasteful when the transit agency already has promised to buy 2,095 new buses over the next five years.
The MTA signed the consent decree in October 1996 to avoid a trial on a lawsuit by bus rider advocates who alleged the agency discriminated against poor bus riders by pouring billions of dollars into building the Metro Rail subway and light rail lines.
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