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September
26, 2002 |
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MTA Board Approves Acceleration of Metro Rapid Bus Program Expansion
(Los Angeles) - The MTA
Board of Directors today unanimously approved acceleration of the planned
expansion of the Metro Rapid Bus Program whose two existing lines have
reduced passenger travel times by approximately 25 percent. The 24-line
expansion, which is slated to begin this December with new lines on
Vermont Avenue and South Broadway, would be completed by 2008. “The two Metro Rapid
bus lines that have been in operation on the Wilshire/Whittier and Ventura
Boulevard corridors for the last two years have been unqualified success
stories,” said Los Angeles City Councilmember and MTA Board Chairman Hal
Bernson. “We are stepping up the expansion of Metro Rapid to bring the
benefits of this innovative program to more L.A. County residents as soon
as possible.” Today’s action also
included the MTA Board’s earmarking of future regional funds to complete
the expansion and authorization to MTA CEO Roger Snoble to negotiate and
execute agreements with the local jurisdictions in each corridor so as to
expedite deployment of the expansion plan. Total one-time capital
costs for implementing the entire program are estimated at $110.5 million
which will be used to construct 24 corridors with 356 miles of bus signal
priority in 34 cities and 11 Los Angeles County unincorporated communities
and to construct 779 stations, all with “next trip” displays. All
funds have been reserved in the MTA’s adopted Long Range Transportation
Plan. The Metro Rapid Program
was initiated in June 2000 with two demonstration lines on the 26-mile
Wilshire/Whittier and 16-mile Ventura Boulevard corridors. Since that
time, total bus ridership on the two corridors has increased by nearly 40
percent, with one third of the increase coming from passengers new to
public transit. Several key attributes
have contributed to Metro Rapid’s success including a bus signal
priority system which reduces the amount of time a Metro Rapid bus is
stopped by extending the length of green traffic signals and reducing the
length of red traffic signals. Other key attributes
include the use of low-floor buses to reduce passenger boarding and
alighting times, easy-to-recognize buses and stations featuring “next
trip” displays and information kiosks, and “rail-like” operating
characteristics. Similar to most light rail systems, Metro Rapid buses
stop approximately every 0.8 miles at major cross streets as opposed to
limited stop and local bus service in which buses stop approximately every
0.3 miles and 0.2 miles, respectively. In addition to Vermont
Avenue and South Broadway, the corridors selected for the five-year Metro
Rapid expansion plan include Florence, Van Nuys, Soto, Crenshaw-Rossmore,
Pico, Santa Monica, Hawthorne, Long Beach Ave.,
Hollywood-Fairfax-Pasadena, Western, Beverly, Vernon-La Cienega, Atlantic,
Central, San Fernando-Lankershim, West Olympic, Garvey-Chavez, Manchester,
San Fernando (south), Sepulveda (south), Torrance-Long Beach and Lincoln. The expansion would add
356 miles to the existing Metro Rapid program, which consists of the
26-mile long Wilshire/Whittier and 16-mile long Ventura Boulevard
corridors. It also would provide a net increase of 15,646 annual revenue
hours over the pre-existing service levels in those corridors. The expansion plan was
developed following a rigorous selection process to identify corridors
where Metro Rapid service would best meet the needs of transit patrons.
Corridors were evaluated on the basis of existing success, potential
success and the need for transit. The proposed span of
Metro Rapid service was determined based on available revenue and
recommends that six of the 24 Metro Rapid expansion corridors operate
seven days a week, five operate weekdays and Saturdays, six operate all
day on weekdays only, and seven operate during weekday peak periods only. MTA-088 |
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