Valley Bus Service Deficiencies

The MTA, for a number of reasons, is not ready, willing or able to give the San Fernando Valley good bus service.

Many of our lines run once an hour and hardly run into the night. Much of the present service is cut off around 8 p.m. That tells the transit dependent that they can have no night life, that they cannot have jobs in factories, restaurants and other facets of the service industry. They cannot attend night schools to learn skills and the English language.

We need at least 30,000 more hours of bus service in the Valley. We need several more lines. Other lines need to be extended into more areas. More frequent service is needed on most lines. All need to be operated longer into the night, and at least four need to run all night long. We need a fleet of minibus lines to reach people in outlying areas with narrower streets and / or lower population densities but with definite transportation needs. This facet of the transit delivery system must not be in the form of relatively expensive “smart” shuttles. They should be regularly scheduled lines charging regular fares. The fare should be reduced to a dollar with one free transfer.

It is in fact a responsibility of government to provide public transportation systems. They are almost as important as fire, police, education and health departments. This is especially true in areas such as we live in because of earthquakes and other natural disasters, but the systems should be in place for all emergencies, such as when our cars or our bodies break down.

CHARLES J. THOMAS

North Hollywood