Proterra Ecoliner, used on Foothill Transit #291:

Complete Coach Works electric bus conversion, demoing for Gardena Municipal Bus Lines:

]]> http://morethanredcars.com/?feed=rss2&p=317 0 http://morethanredcars.com/?p=311 http://morethanredcars.com/?p=311#comments Sat, 15 Dec 2012 21:33:37 +0000 mtrcadmin http://morethanredcars.com/?p=311 It’s here! Including color-coded Metro Rail (Red,Green,Blue,Purple,Gold) and Busway (Orange, Silver) trips. No Muni’s though, so it will look thin in the suburbs.

Here is Metrolink: Look for the express trains on the San Bernardino and Antelope Valley Lines, and the last few trains of the night.

And this is Orange County Transit Authority. You’ll especially note the busy core lines (#43 Harbor, #50 Katella, #57 State College and #60-Westminster), as well as activity along Pacific Coast Highway and I-5 to South OC. Watch out for the commuter runs going to/from Los Angeles or Riverside Counties:

Check out the STL Transit site for a few US and international cities. (Hopefully they will consider doing LA Metro soon!)

• Western Riverside County, from the border with San Bernardino and Orange Counties to the San Gorgonio Pass (Beaumont/Banning). This area includes the City of Riverside, which is the county seat.
• Coachella Valley, including Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, La Quinta, Indio, Coachella, etc.
• Palo Verde Valley: City of Blythe near the Arizona border.

Local bus service (Riverside Transit Agency, Sunline Transit, and Palo Verde Transit) within each of these areas developed in the mid-1970s. However, none of these agencies connected with each other. For example, to travel from Riverside to Palm Springs required the use of a private carrier (usually Greyhound Bus Lines).

Although Greyhound provided relatively frequent service, it was not always convenient for passengers making shorter trips, such as between Western Riverside County and the Coachella Valley. Therefore, the transit agencies considered implementing an interconnecting bus route between Riverside and Palm Springs as early as 1978. Such a route presents several challenges. The distance between the two cities is long, about 56 miles. Also, the route would go through areas that were (and, to some extent, still are), lightly populated, limiting opportunities to pick up passengers. Both these challenges make such a service expensive to operate.

The first attempt to link the two areas was in mid-1989. Sunline Transit started operating a new route #31, which provided a commuter service from Banning to the Coachella Valley. The bus left Banning at 6:13 a.m., arriving in the Coachella Valley at about 7. The return trip left about 4:45 pm, getting back to Banning by around 6 p.m Most of the Coachella Valley stops were at hotels; the service was obviously meant for hotel workers living in Banning to get to their jobs in the Coachella Valley. There was even a stop at a day care center in Banning so that parents could drop off their children before continuing on to the Coachella Valley. Route #31 lasted for about six months, then it was canceled by the end of the year. (I was only made aware of the route when, in March 1990, I was traveling through Banning and noticed a Sunline bus stop sign that had not been removed yet.)

Sunline #31

In early 1992, RTA and Sunlink officials held a joint meeting in Banning. The purpose of the meeting was to determine ways in which the two agencies could work together. Most of the discussion centered around ideas such as using the other agency’s buses in an emergency, or perhaps joint purchases of buses, fuel or other equipment. However, I presented a plan to connect the two agencies with a bus route serving Riverside, Moreno Valley, Banning, Beaumont and Palm Springs. The general managers of both RTA and Sunline seemed genuinely interested in my proposal.

In mid 1995 or 1996, RTA extended a bus route, #35 between Moreno Valley and Beaumont. Many transit advocates (myself included) thought this route was a precursor to full Riverside-Palm Springs service.

Sunlink

By the late 1990s, discussion started up again about service between the Coachella Valley and Riverside. Sunline Transit decided to implement a new service, known as Sunlink, that would provide express service from points in the Coachella Valley to Downtown Riverside. The service, which featured tractor-trailer Superbuses, started in January 2000.

Originally, Sunlink was intended as an extension of Metrolink commuter rail service between Los Angeles and Riverside. The Superbuses, which were originally used on commuter routes between Los Angeles and Orange County, were equipped with a restroom, coffee machine, snack bar, and outlets for laptops.

Fares were considerably more expensive than local or even express bus service: $8 each way, or $12 for a round trip. (In a first for California, buses featured credit card readers for passenger convenience). The high fares, as well as the limited number of trips (generally about five or six round trips per weekday) kept ridership low. Sunline tweaked with the route and schedules, adding stops at the Morongo Casino, the outlet mall in Cabazon, and the V.A. Hospital in Loma Linda. But ridership stayed anemic and Sunline, concerned about high per-passenger subsidies on the route, canceled Sunlink in April 2004.

(Not?) the Return of Sunlink

After the death of Sunlink, those needing to travel between Riverside and Palm Springs were forced back on to Greyhound. But Greyhound had significantly cut back schedules over the past decade, and, even worse, lost its lease on its Palm Springs station in 2007. The replacement stop, the Amtrak station just south of Desert Hot Springs, is in an inconvenient location, and poorly served by local transit.

This time, Sunlink planned to cooperate with RTA. Two of RTA’s Commuterlink #210 runs between Banning and Riverside would be cancelled and replaced with Sunlink’s commuter route, which would at the Palm Desert Mall. From Banning westward, the Sunline bus would make all of the existing #210 stops. Fares would be reasonable; $3 (the current Commuterlink fare) from Palm Desert to Banning or from Banning to Riverside; the full trip would cost $6. Some potential riders have expressed concerns about the schedule and the lack of connections between the new commuter service and Sunline’s existing services (the commuter bus would leave Palm Desert before any Sunline locals could connect to it).

Public hearings and other preliminary tasks are currently underway at both RTA and Sunline; service could start in September 2012.

Proposed Sunline extension of RTA #210

References:

1976 Riverside County Subregional Short Range Transit Plan. Riverside County: Planning Dept., 1976

Riverside County Short Range Transit Plan, 1979-1983. Riverside, CA: S.n., 1978.

“Commuter Bus Service to Begin Monday.: Desert Sun, Jan 29, 2000.

http://www.charlesphobbs.com/transit/sunlink.html (retrieved June 12, 2012)

Gabbard, Dana. “Sunline Trip Report.” Transit Advocate, March 2003.

Trone, Kimberly. “New Year Brings Revised Bus Schedule.” Desert Sun, Dec 20, 2003.

____, “Sunline Scraps Commutes Outside Valley.” Desert Sun, April 5, 2004.

Frith, Stephanie. “Greyhound’s gone, but what’s next?” Desert Sun, Jul 2, 2007

http://www.sunline.org/pub/agenda/2012/STA_Apr.pdf (page 23 of PDF)

http://www.sunline.org/pub/agenda/2012/STA_Apr.pdf (page 18 of PDF)

Atagi, Colin. “Palm Desert-Riverside bus route eyed by SunLine Transit Agency.“ Desert Sun, Apr 22, 2012.

_____. “SunLine Commuter Bus from Palm Desert to Riverside a possibility.” Desert Sun, May 30, 2012

_____. “Residents Discuss Commuter Bus Line to Riverside.” Desert Sun, Jun 7, 2012.

Historical Background

Glenn Everett Wallachs, the son of Union Pacific accountant Oscar Wallichs, was born on August 9, 1910 in Grand Island, Nebraska. He became highly interested in both electronics and music. At the age of 10 he built a tiny radio inside of a sewing thimble.

In 1926, the family moved to North Hollywood. Glenn continued to tinker with radios and music. Glenn installed an Atwater-Kent radio in a Model T Ford, possibly the first car radio in Los Angeles. He made some money by installing radios in cars. During the Depression he worked a series of jobs selling radios until 1940, when he opened a music store, called “Music City,” at the corner of Sunset and Vine in Hollywood.

In 1946, Glenn left the business to his brother Clyde and, with singer Johnny Mercer and actor Buddy DeSylva, founded Capitol Records. Clyde instituted several innovations. He put the records in self service bins, allowing customers to select their own records rather than having a clerk retrieve them from a back room. More famously, he installed listening booths where people could hear records before deciding to buy them.. Splashy newspaper advertisements, catchy radio jingles, and a hit chart showing which records sold the most during a given week, attracted an increasing number of customers to Wallichs’ Music City.

About one third of the stores’ floor space was devoted to records and tapes, another third to consumer electronics (televisions and stereos) and the remainder to pianos, organs, band instruments and sheet music. The 1950s and 60s brought expansion to various suburban locations—Lakewood, the San Fernando Valley, Orange County, West Covina and Torrance, with plans to open stores in Santa Monica and Pasadena.

Wallachs evenopened a store in Downtown Los Angeles, but it was not particularly successful and it closed in 1964. Like Glenn’s experiment with installing a radio in a car, Wallichs’ Music City was the product of the Automobile Age.

The Sunset and Vine location was the place to be. Musicians, actors and other celebrities could be seen shopping or perhaps listening to the latest records in one of the booths. A customer might walk in off the street, and see Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, or maybe even Elvis. A young Frank Zappa worked part time at the store. Radio DJ’s often broadcast their shows live from the store. It was the place to be for anyone in the music industry….or who wanted to become a part thereof.

In Suburbia

But “Our” Wallichs’, the store in Torrance, was far away from the glamor of Hollywood. To me and my family, it was a place to buy sheet music,  reeds and other band instrument supplies, and maybe take a look at the new pianos, organs and televisions on display. Wallichs was also my first encounter with a “video game” called “Pong…”

A Nat King Cole Store in a Led Zeppelin World

My last visit was probably late 1976, to buy a music book for a concert….I didn’t know it at the time, but Wallichs’ day in the sun was fading fast. One source of competition, at least for recorded music, was discount stores such as White Front, Gemco, K-mart, and  Zodys. These stores would sell an LP for as low as $4, while Wallichs kept to its standard price of about $7, insisting that customers would pay the higher price because of the higher level of service. Well, not necessarily.

In the 1970s, stores specializing in stereo equipment (Pacific Stereo, Federated Group), recorded music (Tower Records, Wherehouse, Licorice Pizza) and keyboard instruments (Colton Piano and Organ, Sherman Clay) came on the scene. These new stores attracted a younger and hipper crowd. Wallichs Music City now just seemed old fashioned, full of older console-style television sets and stereos, in an era where portables and component sets were becoming more popular. And the clerks still wore jackets and ties as they did in the 1950s, whereas a Wherehouse or Licorice Pizza salesperson would  likely be wearing blue jeans.

The famed listening booths fell victim to the increasing costs of maintaining the demo collection—and people shoplifting the records.

Finally in 1976 Wallichs started offering discounted prices on records, got rid of the jackets and ties on clerks, and renovated stores. But to no avail. In March 1977, Wallichs Music City, nearly $1.6 million in debt to suppliers, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Wallichs’ Music City closed its doors for good in January 1978, save for one or two liquidation sales. The site of the Sunset and Vine store was, for a time, a studio for the “Merv Griffin Show.” It’s now a mixed use development, consisting of apartments and a shopping center.

The shakeout in both the electronics and music worlds continued through the years. 30+ years after the demise of Wallichs, we buy our electronics at Best Buy, our musical instruments and supplies at Sam Ash, and our recorded music … online, mostly.

References

“Wallichs Maps Plans to Expand Disk Outlets.” Billboard, Dec 1, 1956, p. 15

Leap, Norris. “One Day Wallichs Awoke, Found Himself Millionaire.” Los Angeles Times, Jan 5, 1959.

“Wallichs Buys 3d Disk Outlet in L.A. Area.” Billboard, Apr 6, 1959, p. 3

Alpert, Don. “Stereo.” Los Angeles Times, Feb 28, 1960

“$127 Million in Downtown Projects Okd.” Los Angeles Times, June 24, 1960

“Wallichs Will Mark 30^th Anniversary.” Los Angeles Times, Dec 11, 1960

Zhito, Lee. “Wallichs’ Music City Lifts Policy; to Cut LP Prices.” Billboard, January 30, 1961, p. 2

“Dealers Air LP Discount Views.” Billboard, Mar 13, 1961, p. 18

Zhito, Lee. “Earphone Doubles Music City Sales.” Billboard, November 6, 1961, p. 22

“Music Firm Will Build In Torrance.” Los Angeles Times, Jun 30, 1963

“Clyde Wallichs Sells Interest in Music City to Other Stockholders.” Billboard, March 2, 1963,  p. 8

“6,000 Attend Store Opening.” Los Angeles Times, Nov 24, 1963

“Coast Chain Starts Selling Components.” Billboard, December 14, 1963

“Business Wrap-Up.” Billboard, July 4, 1964, p. 35

Tiegel, Eilot. “Los Angeles Market Booms.” Billboard, Oct 17, 1964, p. 40

“Airway Saturation.” Billboard, Oct 17, 1964, p. 40

“Organ Hobby Lesson Plan Now Available.” Los Angeles Times, Apr 4, 1965

“Music City Buys Chain.” Billboard, July 15, 1967, p. 19

Weber, Bruce. “8^th Wallichs is Opened.” Billboard, Nov 11, 1967, p. 62

Turpin, Dick. “New Kind of ‘Downtown’ in Making.” Los Angeles Times, Mar 10, 1968

Freedland, Nat. “Wallichs’ ‘New Look’ Spurs Music City Chain’s Profits.” Billboard, December 18, 1971, p. 3

“Capitol Records Head, Glenn E. Wallichs, Dies.” Los Angeles Times, Dec 24, 1971

Dexter, Dave. “Glenn E. Wallichs—A Fond Farewell.” Billboard, January 8, 1972, p. 3

“Wallichs Music Filed For Protection Under Chapter 11.” Los Angeles Times, Mar 9, 1977.

Sippel, John. “Wallichs Stores File Bankruptcy.” Billboard, Mar 19, 1977, p. 10

Siegel, Barry. “It’s Bankruptcy Blues at Music City.” Los Angeles Times, March 29, 1977

Sippel, John. “Investor Quartet Refloats Wallichs.” Billboard, May 14, 1977, p. 5

Tepper, Ron. “The Eyes of the Industry Watch L.A. Retailing.” Billboard, November 15, 1980, p. LA-46

Ryon, Ruth. “Merv Griffin Buys Hollywood Corner.” Los Angeles Times, Nov 3, 1983

Ryon, Ruth. “Developers Gamble on Spring Fever.” Los Angeles Times, Oct 12, 1986.

Grein, Paul. “The Story So Far, From the Beginning.” Billboard, Jun 13, 1992, p. 48

AMERICAN MONTAGE – 151 “Long-Lost Hollywood”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxxH-GWmNJo

http://martinostimemachine.blogspot.com/2009/09/glenn-wallichs-owned-biggest-record.html

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117907759

Since 1990, the Municipal Area Express (MAX) buses have been carrying commuters from various South Bay cities to employment sites in El Segundo. MAX service is jointly provided by the cities of El Segundo, Lawndale, Lomita, Torrance as well as the City and County of Los Angeles; Torrance,as the largest city in the South Bay, serves as the lead agency.

However, MAX service is now in danger of severe route cutbacks or even total cancellation because the City of Torrance plans to pull out of the joint agreement, citing increasing costs and fewer Torrance residents using the service. As lead agency, Torrance’s share of MAX operating funds is the largest; a Torrance pull out might mean severely curtailed service, or the end of MAX altogether.

 
History of El Segundo and its transit service
El Segundo (Spanish for “The Second”), named because it was the site of Standard Oil’s second refinery in California (the first one was in Richmond), became an incorporated city in 1917. The Los Angeles Airport opened in 1930, and many aviation-related businesses shortly set up shop in nearby El Segundo. Defense and aerospace companies followed suit during World War II and the Cold War.
El Segundo never had much bus service. Perhaps the most important route was the one connecting El Segundo with Los Angeles (via LAX) and the Beach Cities. (see article about the #439 for more details). Greyhound also served the city via its Long Beach-Santa Monica route (now Metro #232). A handful of private transit companies such as Inglewood City Lines and Cross Town Bus of Lynwood, also provided service to El Segundo.
The public transit lines, however, did not serve the industrial part of El Segundo particularly well, so “buspool” operators stepped in to fill in the gap. Passengers paid a monthly fee to ride on a chartered bus from places as far away as the San Fernando Valley, Orange County or even the Inland Empire, to their jobs in El Segundo.

BEEP

Closer-in commuters, such as those living in the South Bay, desired a solution that would combine the direct service of the buspools with the flexibility of regular public transit service. The federal Urban Mass Transportation Administration agreed to fund a demonstration service implementing 14 new Southern California Rapid Transit District bus routes. The service was known as the “Bus Employees Express Program” or simply “BEEP.”
BEEP started operating on June 1, 1978. Each route operated to El Segundo in the morning, dropping off passengers destined to El Segundo Employment Area. Limited stop service along surface streets kept travel times as low as possible. Although the BEEP routes did attract many commuters out of their cars (1979′s gas shortages certainly helped!) they never made the desired 60% farebox ratio, only a disappointing 23%. After the UMTA funding ran out in May 1980, RTD consolidated several BEEP routes and cancelled others. By early 1984 only two routes remained: #685 serving Rancho Palos Verdes and Torrance, and #686, which served San Pedro, Wilmington, Lomita, Torrance and Lawndale on its way to El Segundo. In 1987, Rancho Palos Verdes subsidized the #685, while #686 became part of Los Angeles’ “Commuter Express” network.

 
CTIP
In 1988, the cities of the South Bay, along with the aerospace companies in El Segundo, made plans for a transit system designed for  El Segundo Employment Area commuters.  The original “Commuter Transportation Implementation Plan” (CTIP) called for a 14-route transit system, but this proved too costly to operate. Also, the RTD bus drivers unions complained that the system duplicated too many RTD bus routes, and would take away their riders.
Instead the cities settled on three routes: the existing #686 and #687, plus a route along the coast serving the three beach cities (Redondo, Hermosa and Manhattan). The coastal route replaced the former “Herman” commuter bus, which linked Hermosa and Manhattan Beach with El Segundo until its cancellation in 1986.

MAX
The new bus service, named “Municipal Area Express” or “MAX” began operations on April 18, 1990. After a few hiccups, including a bus driver being cited for not having licence plates on his new bus, the service was well received, with additional buses being dispatched due to overcrowding. MAX Route #1 served the Beach Cities, #2 was the former RTD #685 route through Torrance to Palos Verdes, and #3 was LADOT’s #686 to San Pedro. Torrance Transit also extended its #8 (Hawthorne Bl) route to El Segundo and LAX.
To lure commuters out of their cars, the MAX buses featured amenities such as reclining seats and reading lights. As did the old BEEP service, MAX made limited stops (transfer points and major destinations). Although MAX was primarily for El Segundo commuters, buses dropped off at other destinations such as TRW in Redondo Beach, Allied Signal or El Camino College (both in Torrance).

Bye Bye Surfers, Hello Airmen
In May 1993,  the Beach Cities (Hermosa, Manhattan and Redondo) decided to pull out of MAX due to insufficient ridership a. Thus, Route #1 ended service. (It was thought that extending the route south to Palos Verdes Estates would generate more ridership, but PVE decided not to participate in the system).
About that time an express version of Route #3 started service. The new Route #3X served San Pedro, then ran non-stop via the I-110 and I-405 freeways to El Segundo, shaving xxx minutes off the trip. #3X also served Air Force housing in San Pedro, so this route became extremely  popular with military personnel commuting to the Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo.

New, larger buses were purchased in 2002. These vehicles were solid blue with a new logo.

Rancho Palos Verdes Pulls Out
In March 2011, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes withdrew from MAX. Increasing costs of the service (including new buses once the units purchased in 2002 reached retirement age in 2012), and minimal use of MAX by RPV residents (only 20 daily passengers boarded south of PCH) were the main reasons for RPV pulling out of the system, although officials in that city had expressed disagreements with the way Torrance was managing MAX as early as 1993. In particular, RPV thought that the formula allocating operation costs among the cities was not easily understandable and required RPV to pay a greater share than it thought it should.
As of June 30, MAX service on Route #2 was cut to PCH, and the number of round trips was reduced from four to two.

Et tu, Torrance?
After Rancho Palos Verdes voted to leave the system, lead agency Torrance began seriously questioning its involvement in MAX. RPV’s departure meant that the cost for each remaining city would rise. Torrance’s share of the subsidy was about $6 per passenger (Torrance Transit’s per-passenger cost was only $3). And, the number of Torrance residents who actually rode MAX had dropped by 12% from 2010 to 2011.  Torrance’s share of the cost of the new buses would be about $300,000. The money spent on MAX, Torrance officials surmised, could be better spent on dealing with the rising costs of own bus services.
Current MAX Route #2 passengers could use Torrance Transit #2 along Anza and transfer to #8 at Artesia Bl for service to El Segundo. Most MAX Route #3  passengers were observed riding the bus to/from El Camino College; most these trips could be accommodated on Torrance Line #5 along Crenshaw. (Passengers from San Pedro would need to use Metro #205 and #232 to access Torrance #5 at PCH/Crenshaw.)  Those along Crenshaw who still needed to go to El Segundo could cobble together a three-bus trip via Torrance #2 at Artesia and then Torrance #8, or use any number of Metro lines, but a one-seat ride would no longer be possible.
But then there was the matter of Route #3X, which did not serve Torrance at all, but bypassed it via the freeway. #3X is heavily used by Air Force personnel, and it remains uncertain who would operate it if MAX ceased to exist.

The Council Votes…
On February 28, 2012, the Torrance City Council voted to continue supporting MAX for one more year, using city reserve funds. Torrance does plan to end support for MAX in 2013; this means that if MAX is to continue, another source of funding will have to be found.

References
“History of El Segundo” City of El Segundo (http://www.elsegundo.org/working/history/default.asp)

Municipal Area Express-History (http://www.maxbus.com/108.htm)
Descriptive Summary of the Bus Express Employee Program : a demonstration of employment center bus service. Final report. Washington DC : US Department of Transportation, September 1980

Evaluation of the El Segundo Employment Center Subscription Bus Service Demonstration : Executive Summary. Final Report. Washington DC : US Department of Transportation, July 1982
“10 cities ratifying South Bay transit pacts.” Daily Breeze, November 3, 1988
Rae-Dupree, Janet. “South Bay transit plan irks union.” Daily Breeze, May 13, 1989
Ryan, Carol. “Bus program for aerospace workers stalls.” Daily Breeze, December 27, 1989
Radcliffe, Jim. “Comfort to the MAX – Commuter buses roll into spotlight” Daily Breeze, February 6, 1990
Ryan, Carol. “South Bay commuters offered lift – Workers to take bus to El Segundo jobs” Daily Breeze, April 15, 1990
Ryan, Carol. “MAX steers into innovative future – Shaky start-up doesn’t deter bus commuters.” Daily Breeze, April 19, 1990
Radcliffe, Jim. “Traveling in style – South Bay’s MAX bus line warned to boost efficiency or lose funding.” Daily Breeze, September 26, 1992
Montgomery, Marie. “MAX bus line under fire – RPV blames Torrance Transit for bad service.” Daily Breeze, March 19, 1993
“MAX bus service canceled in Redondo – Council cites low ridership, high cost.” Daily Breeze, March 11, 1993
Radcliffe, Jim. “MAX bus route runs out of gas.” Daily Breeze, April 9, 1993
“Hermosa to withdraw from MAX bus service,” Daily Breeze,April 15, 1993
Sudano, Andrea. “Bus line survives aerospace ups, downs.” Daily Breeze, April 18, 2005
Pamer, Melissa. “RPV council set to reconsider support of MAX bus services” Daily Breeze, November 30, 2010
Dobruck, Jeremiah. “Peninsula loses MAX commuter bus service.” Palos Verdes Peninsula News, December 2, 2010
Parner, Melissa. “Rancho Palos Verdes withdraws from MAX bus service” Daily Breeze, March 16, 2011
Dobruck, Jeremiah. “Worries about lack of transparency spurs move to leave organization headed by Torrance Transit.” Palos Verdes Peninsula News, March 17, 2011
Green, Nick. “Torrance signs on for one more year of MAX bus service” Daily Breeze, March 31, 2011
Green, Nick. “Bus system reaching end of line?” Daily Breeze, April 1, 2011
Green, Nick. “Municipal Area Express service may be canceled” Daily Breeze, January 22, 2012
Green, Nick. “Torrance opts to consider cuts, fare hikes rather than leaving MAX” Daily Breeze, January 24, 2012
Green, Nick. “Torrance’s planned withdrawal from MAX transit may kill entire service.” Daily Breeze, February 7, 2012
Green, Nick. “Torrance proposes using reserve funds to continue MAX service” Daily Breeze, February 9, 2012
Green, Nick. “MAX bus line wins one-year reprieve.” Daily Breeze, February 29, 2012
[Torrance city council reports]

In May 2011, I listed all of the Metrolink stations by Walk Score . In this post, I’ll do the same with Metro Rail stations (including the Orange and Silver Line busways). Since Metro will open the Expo Line (from LA to Culver City) and the Chatsworth extension of the Orange Line sometime in 2012, I added those stations to the list as well.

To recap, this is how Walk Score rates stations (or other neighborhoods):

90–100 Walker’s Paradise — Daily errands do not require a car.
70–89 Very Walkable — Most errands can be accomplished on foot.
50–69 Somewhat Walkable — Some amenities within walking distance.
25–49 Car-Dependent — A few amenities within walking distance.
0–24 Car-Dependent — Almost all errands require a car.

With the same caveats as my prior article, let’s take a look at the stations with the top 10 Walk Scores.

Top 10 Walk Scores
(tie)

• Pershing Square (Red/Purple, no parking, Walk Score 100)
• Memorial Park (Gold Line, no parking, Walk Score 100)

(tie)

• Hollywood/Highland (Red Line, no parking, Walk Score 98)
• Wilshire/Western (Purple Line, no parking, Walk Score 98)

(tie)

• Wilshire/Vermont (Red/Purple Line, no parking, Walk Score 97)

(tie)

• Vermont/Sunset (Red Line, no parking, Walk Score 95)
• North Hollywood (Red Line, 803 spaces, Walk Score 95)
• Wilshire/Normandie (Purple Line, no parking, Walk Score 95)
• Del Mar (Gold Line, 290 spaces, Walk Score 95)
• Figueroa/Olympic (Silver Line, no parking, Walk Score 95)
• 3rd/Grand or Olive (Silver Line, no parking, Walk Score 95)

(tie)

• Hollywood/Vine (Red Line, no parking, Walk Score 94)
• 7th/Metro (Red/Purple Blue Lines, no parking, Walk Score 94)
• Mission (Gold Line, 118 spaces, Walk Score 94)
• 5th/Fig or Grand (Silver Line, no parking, Walk Score 94)
• Jefferson/USC (Expo Line, no parking Walk Score 94)

(tie)

• Long Beach Transit Mall (Blue Line, no parking, Walk Score 92)
• Vermont/Santa Monica (Red Line, no parking, Walk Score 92)
• Little Tokyo/Arts District (Gold Line, no parking, Walk Score 92)
• 1st/Spring (Silver Line, no parking, Walk Score 92)

(tie)

• Pico (Blue Line, no parking, Walk Score 91)
• Figueroa/Adams (Silver Line, no parking, Walk Score 91)
• Figueroa/Pico (Silver Line, no parking, Walk Score 91))
• 23rd St (Expo Line, no parking, Walk Score 91)

(tie)

• Civic Center (Red/Purple/Silver Lines, no parking, Walk Score 89)
• Hollywood/Western (Red Line, no parking, Walk Score 89)
• Expo Park/USC (Expo Line, no parking, Walk Score 89)
• Culver City (Expo Line, ???? spaces, Walk Score 89)

• Westlake/MacArthur Park (Red/Purple Lines, no parking, Walk Score 88)

Honorable Mention:

• Union Station (Red, Gold Lines, paid parking only, Walk Score 83)

(tie)

• Chinatown (Gold Line, no parking,Walk Score 80)
• Soto (Gold Line-Walk Score 80)

• Fillmore (Gold Line, Walk Score 75)

(tie)

• Willow (Blue Line-Walk Score 74)
• Florence (Blue Line-Walk Score 74)

Bottom 10

(tie)

• Wardlow (Blue Line, 82 spaces, Walk Score 57)
• Norwalk (Green Line, 2050 spaces, Walk Score 57)
• Vermont (Green Line, 155 spaces, Walk Score 57)
• Woodman (Orange Line, no parking, Walk Score 57)
• Tampa (Orange Line, no parking, Walk Score 57)

• Mariposa (Green Line, no parking, Walk Score 55)

(tie)

• El Segundo (Green Line, 90 spaces, Walk Score 54)
  Expo/Western (Expo Line, no parking, Walk Score 54)
  Artesia Transit Center (Silver Line, xxx spaces, Walk Score 54)
  Pierce College (Orange Line, no parking, Walk Score 54)
  Artesia (Blue Line, 292 spaces, Walk Score 54)

• Imperial/Wilmington “Rosa Parks” (Blue/Green Line, 975 spaces, Walk Score 52)
  Balboa (Orange Line, 270 spaces, Walk Score 52)

• Vernon (Blue Line, no parking, Walk Score 51)
• Lakewood (Green Line, 545 spaces, Walk Score 49)
• Aviation/LAX (Green Line, 405 parking spaces, Walk Score 45)

(tie)

• Del Amo (Blue Line, 391 parking spaces, Walk Score 40)
  I-105/I-110 (Green/Silver Line, 253 parking spaces, Walk Score 40)

Avalon (Green Line, 158 parking spaces, Walk Score 34)

Average Walk Score for each line:

• Purple Line: 93
  Red Line: 91
  Expo Line (LA-Culver City): 81
  Silver Line: 79
  Gold Line: 78
  Orange Line (including extension to Chatsworth): 70
  Blue Line: 69
  Green Line: 57

Systemwide average Walk Score: 75. Not too bad.

Meanwhile, enjoy this video of a Metrolink express train barreling through Montclair….
Metrolink Express thru Montclair

The Big Blue Breakthrough

In the early morning hours of August 29, 2011, a bus pulled up to the intersection of Wilshire and Western, loaded a few passengers, and continued on its route.

But this was not one of Metro’s orange Local or red Rapid buses. Nor was it a LADOT DASH shuttle. Instead, this was one of Santa Monica’s Big Blue buses, for the first time operating on surface streets east of the Pico/Rimpau transit center (not counting Santa Monica’s #10 Express to Downtown via the freeway).

Appreciation of the historic significance of this route extension requires a discussion of the history of the Pico/Rimpau transit center, the Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines (“Big Blue Bus”) and of transit in West Los Angeles in general.

Do You Know The Way to Santa Monica?

From the late 1800′s onward, passenger transportation between Santa Monica and Los Angeles was provided by a variety of rail lines which became the Pacific Electric. In 1924, PE started a busroute along Pico Boulevard between Santa Monica and its Vineyard depot, near the intersection of Venice and San Vicente.

Additional rail service west of Downtown Los Angeles was provided by Los Angeles Railway. LARY operated streetcar routes on Pico Bl, Washington Bl, 3rd St, etc. These terminated at or just short of La Brea Avenue.

Dissatisfied with PE’s service and fares, the City of Santa Monica began running its own bus service along Pico Bl. on April 14, 1928. Santa Monica’s bus line used the same route as PE’s, except it terminated at Rimpau St. At Rimpau, passengers could board LARY’s “P” streetcar line to Downtown LA. The combination of Santa Monica’s bus and the LARY streetcar offered a lower fare than PE did between Santa Monica and LA. PE resented the competition, there was nothing they could do about it, since municipal bus services were not constrained by the same Railroad Commission regulations as private companies were. So PE discontinued its Pico Bl line, leaving the market to Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines.

Birth of the Pico/Rimpau Terminal

The SMMBL buses layed over off-street in a leased lot at Muirfield Road. This facility, which was also used by Bay Cities Transit buses, was inadequate; buses and boarding passengers often blocked the nearby sidewalk. (Bay Cities Transit, another bus company serving Santa Monica and West Los Angeles, was acquired by Santa Monica Municipal Bus in 1951.)

In mid-1934, the owner of the Muirfield lot announced plans to erect a building on the property. No longer would it be available for use as a bus depot. The transit agencies, along with the City of Los Angeles scrambled to find an alternative. By March 1935, construction began on a transfer facility, just south of Pico at Rimpau Bl. This terminal provided off-street loading areas for both streetcars and buses. The new terminal opened for service in April.

Reaching Beyond Rimpau

Although the new terminal made transferring between bus and streetcar much easier, some people in Santa Monica demanded a direct, one-seat bus service into Downtown Los Angeles. Although PE provided such services over their rail network, many in Santa Monica considered PE’s fares too high. They believed that Santa Monica’s municipal bus could provide a better service at a lower fare.

In October 1935, the City of Santa Monica applied for a permit with the City of Los Angeles to operate a proposed bus route via Wilshire, Santa Monica, Burton Way, Alpine to 3rd St through Beverly Hills and Los Angeles into Downtown. Fares for the entire trip would be 20 cents one way, 35 cents round trip. Santa Monica planned to cover the entire route in slightly under an hour.

LARY operated its “R” streetcar on 3rd St, between Downtown Los Angeles and La Brea Avenue. LARY, along with PE, vehemently protested against Santa Monica’s proposed bus route. Since Santa Monica planned to provide local service along the entire length of its proposed new route, PE and LARY worried that they would lose business to the new line, and perhaps even be foreced to cut service.

Another issue was that the Santa Monica line, as part of a government agency, would pay no franchise fees or taxes as the private companies (such as LARY and PE) were required to. The rail operators also questioned whether Santa Monica could run the line in as short a time as 55 minutes. A City of Los Angeles traffic engineer strongly advised against allowing more buses into the Downtown area, as it was already choked with auto and streetcar traffic.

Testimony, both for and against the Santa Monica line, before the Los Angeles Board of Public Utilities and Transportation went on for five days. Finally, in March 1936, the City of Los Angeles rejected Santa Monica’s application, in favor of a competing proposal by the rail operators to offer shuttle bus service between the La Brea streetcar terminal and Beverly Hills. Santa Monica mulled suing Los Angeles, but decided it had other issues to deal with at the time.

Santa Monica tried again in 1955 to provide direct service to Downtown LA. This time the bus line planned to extend its Pico Bl. route (#7) eastward from the Pico/Rimpau terminal via Rimpau and Olympic into Downtown. Unlike the 1935 proposal, this would be an express service, stopping only at major transfer points to discharge passengers on eastbound trips, and to board passengers going westbound.

Again the streetcar company (now Los Angeles Transit Lines) and PE’s replacement Metropolitan Coach Lines, which operated bus service along Olympic Bl, protested, claiming that the proposed Santa Monica bus route would cause them to lose money. The Los Angeles City Council, concerned about losing franchise fees paid by the two private operators if Santa Monica started operations east of Rimpau, also voiced its opposition.

On May 29, 1956, the LA BPUT voted aganist allowing Santa Monica Bus to serve Downtown LA. Santa Monica officials considered operating the service without LA City permission, claiming their right to do so under the California State Constitution, but did not push the matter further. The eastern limit of the Santa Monica bus system remained at Pico/Rimpau.

In 1971, the passage of the Transportation Devlopment Act (TDA) codified the areas in which each municipal bus company, including Santa Monica’s, covered; service could not be extended outside of its so-called “reserved service area” without permission from any other affected transit agency. During the mid-1970s, LA’s dominant transit agency, now RTD, reconfigured its services throughout the region into a grid pattern. But Santa Monica still held the rights to Pico west of Rimpau, and RTD’s Pico route (#30/31) ended at the Pico/Rimpau terminal just as its forerunner, the LARY’s “P” streetcar, did. RTD and Santa Monica did trade a few operating rights, most notably RTD’s acquiring local rights along Wilshire west of Westwood in exchange for Santa Monica getting exclusive coverage of Lincoln Boulevard between Santa Monica and LAX.

Blue Diamond Express
A major service change came in March 1976 with the opening of the “Diamond Lane,” a carpool lane on the Santa Monica Freeway. Santa Monica implemented a new Line #10, otherwise known as the “Blue Diamond Express,” along the freeway between Santa Monica and Los Angeles. While the Diamond Lanes proved politically unpopular and were removed within a few months, the express bus service remained and continues to be one of Santa Monica’s most popular bus routes.

Under New Management

Big changes were in store for the Big Blue Bus with the retirement of Jack Hutchinson and the appointment of John Catoe as General Manager in 1992. Since the early 1960s, Hutchinson had run the Santa Monica bus system efficiently but conservatively, and rarely considered route modifications or other changes to the system. With Catoe at the helm, Santa Monica’s bus service planners began to look at ways to modify the system to bring in new ridership.

A few years later, several transit advocates (including the author) presented some service change suggestions at a Big Blue Bus public hearing. Included was a proposal to extend several SMMBL routes, including the Pico route (#7), from Pico/Rimpau to the Wilshire/Western Metro Red (now Purple) Line station. In effect, Wilshire/Western would become the “new” Pico/Rimpau terminal. Although the advocates’ comments were welcomed, it was not until the mid-2000s when Santa Monica seriously began considering extending the route to Wilshire/Western. LACMTA resisted the expansion, which would have duplicated several of its own routes on Crenshaw and Wilshire Blvds.

Midtown Crossing

In 2006, the extensive redevelopment of a shopping center near the Pico/Rimpau terminal required that the bus transfer facilty be moved to the south side of the center, near San Vicente Bl. The relocation did not change the basic function of the Pico/Rimpau terminal: it was still the place where Santa Monica and LACMTA (“Metro”) exchanged passengers.

In August 2008, Big Blue Bus started their “Rapid 7″ service, using limited stops and signal preemption to provide a faster trip between Santa Monica and the Pico/Rimpau terminal. The Pico/Rimpau transfer point was becoming more and more crowded, as it was served by both local and Rapid #7 buses, other Big Blue Bus routes and Metro buses.

Breakthrough!

Finally in late 2010 or early 2011, Metro relented, and allowed the Big Blue Bus to extend its Rapid 7 to the Wilshire/Western Metro station. As part of the deal, Santa Monica agreed not to handle local passengers west east of Pico/Rimpau. But this restriction could not take away from the fact that the “Rimpau Curtain” had finally been broken after all these decades.

As more and more transit users become aware of the new connection, ridership on the extended Rapid 7 will only increase. Once Big Blue Bus starts accepting the TAP card (a universal transit pass) the ridership will increase even more.

Sources:

California Railroad Commission Decision #13841 (July 1924 – establishes PE bus service on Pico Bl.)

Ayer, Bob. History of Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus.

Minutes of the Board of Public Utilities and Transportation (Los Angeles) 1935, 1936

“Proposed Bus Route On File.” Santa Monica Evening Outlook, October 3, 1935.

“Board Rejects City Bus Line Extension Plea.” Santa Monica Evening Outlook, March 4,1936

“SM Buses Get OK For LA Run.” Santa Monica Evening Outlook, Feb 28, 1956

“SM Bus Line to LA Meets New Protests.” Santa Monica Evening Outlook, Mar 19, 1956

“SM to Seek OK on Bus Line May 29.” Santa Monica Evening Outlook, May 16, 1956

“SM Bus Extension Rejected.” Santa Monica Evening Outlook, May 29, 1956

TDA (Transportation Development Act). Sacramento: California Department of Transportation, p. 67

http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/MassTrans/Docs-Pdfs/STIP/TDA7-15-2011.pdf

SMMBL Short Range Transit Plans: 2005-2007, 2006-2008, 2007-2009

“New Pico/Rimpau Transit Center Opens.” Metro News, February 2006, p. 2

(http://www.metro.net/news_info/publications/images/metronews_2006_02_eng.pdf)

http://transittalk.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=muni&action=display&thread=465

(discussion on LACMTA’s reluctance to allow SMMBL access to Wilshire/Western)

“Big Blue Bus starts ‘Rapid 7′ service on Pico Blvd. Corridor” Argonaut, August 28, 2008.

http://www.argonautnewspaper.com/articles/2008/08/28/news_-_features/santa_monica/s5.txt

“SMC Students to Get Free Ride.” Santa Monica Lookout, April 18, 2008

http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2008/April-2008/04_18_08_SMC_Students_to_Get_Free_Ride.htm