Valley's Orange Line has appeal

Soaring gas prices have fueled record-high ridership on the Orange Line, where passengers in June took a record average of 26,596 daily bus trips, officials said Wednesday.

[Don_Stanton_CA]

Instead of fewer stops, the MTA should install crossing gates and prioritized signalling at surface street intersections of the Orange Line. It works for rail. Then the Line could more honestly represent itself as Rapid Transit.

[Alek F]

The sooner MTA converts this mediocre busway into a real Light-Rail corridor, the sooner things will become more efficient!
Higher capacity of LRT trains will drastically reduce overcrowding and allow more people to ride in comfort;
the ride will be much smoother and not bumpy and awkward like it is on the bus, resulting in higher passenger appeal;
the commute will become faster, since LRT trains run faster than buses;
and finally - crossing gates are required for all LRT corridors (because it's a train, not a bus!) ensuring a much safer ride.

[Gregg from Sherman Oaks]

This reminds me that not long after the Orange Line opened, one of the senior editorial staff of the Daily News (who shall remain nameless) complained at a remote broadcast of one of the local radio stations, that "LA had promised the Valley a Subway, then a light rail, and all they gave us in the end was... a bus."

I think the bus we got is pretty darned good; it moves a ton of people, having consistently exceeded the ridership projections; we've got it now, not in a decade from now; and my grandchildren won't have to be paying off the bonds for construction that a rail system would have required. If we followed the examples in Europe and South America, we could make serious dents in our air quality, greenhouse gas emissions and road congestion. And wouldn't that improve our quality of life?

We need to get clear that public transportation, efficient commuting - whether it's commuter express, carpool or high-occupancy toll lanes - flexible scheduling and telecommuting need to become part of our mindset. We all love the independence of our individual vehicles, but the consequences of that are starting to resemble the aftermath of a Las Vegas drinking binge spent at the craps tables. We can't do it anymore. And we've got to tell the Governor and the Legislature to stop raiding transit funds to fill the general coffers and pave more of this great state.

[WestValleyRoland l]

Anyone who rides the Orange Line from North Hollywood to the West Valley between 5PM and 8:30PM knows most buses are packed like pickles. Always standing room only until things start to empty out in Van Nuys. Like the article says we need more buses...bigger buses...an express line once in a while or something. Even now during peak and some off peak times ridership is outgrowing the Orange Lines capacity to handle..

[Andria]

I love riding the Orange Line. It is relaxing, and I average 3 books a week. I do notice now more people are fighting to get a seat, and I think more buses, and less stops would be great. I think more people would ride more often if they knew they would definitely get a seat on the bus.

[Chuck]

It's funny that Zev Yaroslavsky is quoted, since he's one of the main reasons we don't have the Subway to Sea already built.

[Mike]

Take note MTA .... The Orange Line should have been built as a light rail line and we wouldn't have to be cramped on the these buses like sardines .... but AS USUAL, the valley gets short changed!

[KLL]

The Orange Line is a joke, If anyone knows the history of the Valley, they can recall where the same route the Orange Line is located there was once railroad tracks there 10 yars ago.

The MTA could have save billons of dollars by keeping the infrastructure there and having a Light Rail there, making it more efficient and faster.

Now they are proposing to extend the Orange Line north via Canoga Ave to the Metrolink Station in Chatsworh.

Guess what? There used to be RR tracks running parallel along Canoga Ave to where the Metrolink Station is located until they ripped them out 10-12 years ago.

So everything they did or are planning to do was once already there, except they wanted to spend more money and do it the hard way.

[Tina]

Why is a classist like Zev Yaroslavsky on the Metro Board??

He gloats about how he's prevented the Orange line to become rail, and believes buses are a cheaper alternative to help curve traffic for his personal commute.

Him and his obese wife are oppose to modern transit, and is the part of the reason the orange line missed its full potential.

Stop buying bigger buses, and continue to repave the roads often, and build the rail there, as its already proved its ridership, repeal Zev, and other backward thinker's ban on rail in the "oh-so-charming" valley.