MTA to Introduce Additional Rapid Bus Routes

Expanding one of its most successful traffic-busting projects, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Sunday will unveil two new Rapid Bus routes in Los Angeles.

The red-and-white Rapid buses, praised by the Federal Transit Administration for innovative design, will begin offering service on Vermont Avenue and South Broadway. The new routes are part of the MTA’s planned 24-line expansion of the Rapid Bus system, meant to create a network of the lines throughout dense parts of Los Angeles County by 2008.

“This is one of the true success stories in transit project development anywhere in North America,” said MTA spokesman Ed Scannel, noting that transit agencies across the country are starting Rapid Bus lines based on the MTA model, which first went into service two years ago. “As a result, we want to expand the number of Rapid Bus lines as quickly as possible. This is just the start.”

To increase speeds and mimic the effectiveness of light rail, Rapid buses have special features, such as the technology to keep traffic signals on green at intersections as they approach, shaving trip times by about 20%.

The initial two Rapid Bus routes, on Ventura and Wilshire boulevards, have proved remarkably successful since their inception in 2000. The Rapid Bus on Wilshire, which runs from Santa Monica to Montebello, is the MTA’s busiest bus route. It has nearly 50,000 boardings each weekday, helping nearly double bus use on the Wilshire corridor.

The 11.9-mile Rapid Bus route on Vermont Avenue will run from the Red Line station at Sunset Boulevard and Vermont to the Metro Green Line. The new route on South Broadway will run from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles to the Green Line.

The MTA is spending at least $110 million to create 24 new Rapid Bus routes, to be competed by 2008. To handle the crush of patrons expected on the routes, the agency plans to buy larger buses while repaving some roads to help the buses run more efficiently.

The MTA will offer free service on the two new routes on Sunday and Monday.