MTA Committee Approves Plan for Faster Buses

A Metropolitan Transportation Authority committee approved a plan for rapid bus lines Thursday, but earmarked no funds to make it happen.

The rapid buses, proposed for the San Fernando Valley and other parts of the city, would glide through rush-hour traffic in exclusive bus lanes. They would make limited stops and rely on rigged traffic lights to speed their journeys.

Hal Bernson, a northwest Valley city councilman who sits on the MTA board, has backed the high-tech bus system as “an innovative, viable, cost-effective and relatively quick solution.”

The bus network, approved by the MTA’s Planning and Programming Committee, would include a 15.9-mile route along Ventura and Topanga Canyon boulevards.

The lack of funding for the project reflects the MTA’s struggle to comply with an order given earlier this month to buy 532 new buses to help ease crowding. The buses are expected to cost about $250 million, plus $80 million a year to operate, said MTA spokesman Gary Wosk.

“We need to really analyze our expenses before we approve the budget for the rapid bus network,” Wosk said.

The MTA’s full board will consider the rapid bus plan at its March 25 meeting.