Coordinate Buses

Mayor Richard Riordan wants to establish additional “transit zones,” which is seen as an attempt to “break the union” (Sept. 28). While establishing a transit zone may achieve his objective, it would be a major disservice to the bus-riding public. One of the major problems with bus service as it exists in the L.A. area is the fractionalization of service.

In addition to the MTA, there are Gardena, Torrance, Long Beach, Orange County, Santa Monica and Foothill Transit bus lines, just to name a few. None of them coordinates schedules or routes. The result is a patchwork that makes it virtually impossible to go any distance using bus service. For example, to get from Orange County to El Segundo by bus requires three different transit systems. What the Los Angeles area really needs for improved bus service is more coordination and cooperation among transit systems and not more transit zones.

JOHN H. UNRATH

Seal Beach