Go Metro, Go Home (Maybe)

Metro Los Angeles has a new phone number that replaced its former number back in December last year. This isn't breaking news, but is still good to know, especially if you have called the number before:

Due to state budget constraints and the recent emergence of the 511 phone number, which provides similar access, Caltrans opted to discontinue the 1.800.COMMUTE number. The cost of operating 1.800.COMMUTE is approximately $800,000 annually. Metro's cost for maintaining the 323.GO.METRO number is estimated at $12,000 annually.

This is also probably why the operating hours of the number (new or old) is and has been and will continue to be from 6:30 am to 7:00 pm Monday through Friday, and from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm on Saturday and Sunday for the foreseeable future. Due to state budget constraints, providing salary for someone to provide timetable information during the actual hours of operation is not a workable option at this time.

All right, so I'm being a little snarky. The phone line is definitely a benefit, and it makes complete sense to have its hours of operation coincide with Metro's peak hours of service. But, truth be told, there are more instances than not when a WI-FI hotspot, or even a smart phone/mobile device or whatever else isn't available with which to access Metro.net for inquiries and trip planning, much less a paper timetable. It would just be cool, and yes, convenient to have a means of information when you've missed a bus or experience some other unanticipated situation.

But Metro isn't always about convenience. (Now I'm not being snarky, I swear. I'm straight-faced.) On a related note, Metro.net, its signs and flyers notifying of the number change don't even mention hours of service. I think it's important to know such things.

Just imagine how frustrating it would be to call on a Sunday at 4:32 pm only to find out you've missed operating hours by two minutes, and essentially go find a book or if you're lucky an LA Weekly because you'll be waiting for the bus with no indication of when the next one will be arriving, let alone if it'll take you in the right direction - sorry, but not really; tough noogies; you're SOL, my fellow Angeleno; better luck next time. Why don't you just get a car?

But perhaps that's just me.

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.