Local Buses: Part One

The other evening I was on my way home from Northridge when I saw a gentleman sitting on the northwest corner of White Oak and Saticoy waiting for the 239 bus to come. I was rushing home because I was about fifteen minutes late as far as getting ready to have dinner with a friend at a sushi place, which somewhat conveniently, was in the same block I was passing.

The only inconvenient things when my friend and I came back an hour later only to see the same gentleman sitting at the same spot, occasionally getting up and into the street, wondering where the bus was.

It's not rare that I'm in that same position. Sometimes it happens when I'm on Sunset Blvd waiting for the 2 (a line that I praise quite frequently), which can run ten or so minutes late heading west because traffic is awesome. (Very rarely does it run late coming from Beverly Hills.) But even though it's annoying when it happens, at least the 2 runs ever twenty or so minutes.

That said, an amount of local lines in the Valley run every 40-60 minutes midday, with a more than fair percentage of them being north-south buses. I really don't understand the reasoning behind it, and haven't for quite a while. If you've read here recently or at all, you know that I've come to the conclusion that local service needs attention if Metro's apparent goal of reducing fuel emissions and lessening traffic is ever, ever to get off the ground.

I only found out recently that there are local council meetings held in the Valley the first Wednesday of every month. Knowing that it's short notice, I still feel it worth mentioning that one will be held this evening at 6:30 pm at the following address:

Marvin Braude Constituent Service Center
6262 Van Nuys Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91406

The intended agenda is highlighted in full here, per Metro.net.

I almost challenge next month for local service to make its way on the agenda, or at the very least, an item not on the agenda open to discussion. Why? It's because the squeaky wheel (or brake, or chain) that gets the grease, gets the lube.

I also challenge that anyone who is affected by local service in the Valley - whether you drive, cycle, walk, or bus it - attend and take in the information, if not join in the topics. And if you're not in the Valley (and if you are) check out and see if there is a meeting you can attend soon. Being informed and having a voice are the strongest tools a person or collective group can have.

Local service in the Valley is not the best, and during rush hour it is far from the worse. Thank goodness for the Orange Line and Rapid lines 741 (Reseda Blvd), 750 (Ventura Blvd), and 761 (Van Nuys Blvd). But what about Topanga Cyn Blvd? Winnetka Blvd? Balboa Blvd? Sepulveda Blvd? Laurel Cyn Blvd? Vineland? These streets heading in the north-south direction are just a few of the streets that benefit from local lines, but not frequently enough to efficiently serve the local areas. There are malls, schools, businesses, recreational facilities, bridges over the hill and accessibility to Metro itself that the having of more efficient local service would greatly benefit the economy. I don't even think the ways need counting. Aside from that, there are homes in which people hope to get to without having to walk three to five miles at the end of a work day.

I don't think I've left much out, and I'm not sure what else can be said at this point.

But if able to attend, whether tonight or next month, I highly encourage it. And if not, make use of Twitter regarding your thoughts and use the #metrolosangeles hashtag. Send an email. Write a letter. Start a blog. Take pictures. Get the grease, get lubed. It's a serious issue and I think it would be pretty cool to see local service boom.

On the Flyaway and Local Service

I've been back in Los Angeles/the Valley for a week, and it has been a great week. Catching up with friends, celebrating my birthday, and enjoying the warm weather has been an absolute blast.

Having landed at LAX, I took the convenient, reliable and affordably-priced Flyaway to Van Nuys, which is a hop, skip and a jump from where I live. But with two heavy rolling bags and, well, no car, it was a bit of a challenge in figuring how to get home. There were two options, sans car: (1) walk a couple of blocks and take the 163, then walk a bit more to my house; and (2) walk more than a couple of blocks and take the 165, then walk across the street to my house. The real challenge involved more of the idea of walking and then getting my luggage on the bus without pulling my arm out of its socket than actually figuring out how to do it.

Now maybe I over-dramatized it, but I thought it over enough to call my friend Adam and have him pick me up, which was a total relief because I love him and couldn't have been happier to see him. Also jet lag had hit me in the head something fierce and it was really time to be done with the day already.

What's funny is that I heard a lot of people on the Flyway bus calling people - roommates, parents, friends, etc. - to come pick them up from Van Nuys. I was thinking how nice it would be if there was a bus line that made some kind of perimeter route just North, South, East and West on Woodley to other connecting buses. Wouldn't it be a nice thought?

I know that the 169 goes East along Saticoy, South a portion to Sherman Way, then back North on Woodley to Saticoy, continuing East (and naturally in the opposite direction once at the end of the line), which is a great start. But what about a main line along Woodley and in conjunction with perhaps Lindley in some respect, connected by Parthenia and Burbank Blvd? Both North-Southbound streets don't have local buses running much on them, yet there is a major university on one and a service to LAX on the other, among other things such as residences and businesses. It's not an issue of frequency, but at this point an issue of being there at all. In doing so, Metro might be able to service points along major East-Westward streets, which would lead to better efficiency overall to its Orange and Red lines.

I realize I'm rambling. Please let me know whether or not this makes any sense. If you must know (rather, if it wasn't apparent enough already), I think about this kind of thing all the time.