MTA: Heed the Past, Spend Wisely

Brace yourselves--the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its board of directors are discussing the possibilities of new money and maybe even new rail lines. What gives? First, an unexpected $50 million that President Clinton has proposed for new buses. Congress may carve into that proposal in a big way, but the MTA is certain to get more than the $3 million it received for buses last year.

By far the most substantial pot, perhaps in the hundreds of millions of dollars, figures to come from a deal between legislative leaders and Gov. Gray Davis that could bring additional transportation funds to Los Angeles. But the potential new funding is small compared with the long-gone days of throwing dough down the sinkhole and $300-million- per-mile subways. So considerable effort should be made to ensure that the money, if and when it arrives, is spent equitably and efficiently.

Already there is grand talk of light rail or a dedicated busway from Union Station into East Los Angeles, a study for an exclusive busway along Wilshire Boulevard and a study of a proposal for a San Fernando Valley busway. All this sounds precariously similar to those times when plans and resources seldom matched up.

And there are complicating factors. Because the MTA and other transit agencies are facing a new mandate from the state Air Resources Board for sootless and smokeless buses by 2007, the already sharp competition for alternative-fuel buses will get more intense as all transit fleets clean up to meet the deadline. The MTA will be severely impacted. It has already committed itself to buying up to 2,100 new clean-fuel buses by the end of 2004 and may have to purchase even more. In addition, the usual political infighting colors the discussions, with Valley residents pressing for their own bus transit system and some Eastsiders demanding light rail rather than buses.

The additional money can be obtained and put to good use only if the MTA, its board and civic and political leaders finally join ranks on realistic and efficient plans.