More Than Red Cars

Since the mid 1910s, agricultural interests in California’s Imperial Valley had proposed a 220-mile highway stretching from Calexico to Los Angeles. 1930 saw the start of construction on this so-called “Imperial Highway,” a new road through southern Los Angeles County, northern Orange County, through the Santa Ana River Canyon into Riverside County, then southeasterly into San Diego and Imperial Counties via the old “Butterfield” stage coach route.  The Los Angeles County section opened in 1932; the last bit of paving in San Diego County was completed in 1961. However, only the portion between El Segundo and Yorba Linda kept the name “Imperial Highway,” and this portion will be the subject of this transit history article.

During the 1920s and 1930s, transit service in south Los Angeles County was relatively sparse and designed to carry passengers to and from the central city. Crosstown service (bus routes running along east-west streets) was uncommon, especially in the southern part of the county.

The first bus service to serve a major portion of Imperial Highway was the “Cross Town Bus Lines,” started in 1945 by Lynwood businessman Dean Carson and his sons David and James.  Cross Town started with a short line along Imperial Highway within the city of Lynwood. Two years later, Cross Town extended the route westward to Hawthorne. After a merger with Compton-based Southern Cities Transit in 1954, Cross Town extended the route southward along Wilmington Avenue to Compton, forming a roughly “L”-shaped route. Upon acquisition of Cross Town by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (LAMTA) in 1961, this route was numbered #115.

#115, as was the Cross Town service prior to the SCRTD takeover, ran infrequently, about once an hour. Most of the cities along Imperial Highway had transitioned from agricultural to low-density suburban by the late 1950s . However, the portion of the highway serving South Central Los Angeles (between Western Ave. and Alameda St.) was more densely populated with low-income, minority residents who were transit-dependent. The infrequently-running #115 was just one of the bus lines in the area that simply did not meet their needs. Indeed, one of the underlying causes of the 1965 Watts Riots was lack of public transportation.

In response for the growing need for public transportation in this area, SCRTD started a new route, #137, along Imperial Highway in November 1968. #137 operated between El Segundo to Norwalk, terminating at the Metropolitan State Hospital at Norwalk Blvd. This new line provided additional access to the aerospace plants in El Segundo, as well as to St. Francis Hospital in Lynwood and Rancho Los Amigos Hospital in Downey. However, #137 also provided only hourly service, and no weekend service at all.

A vast improvement to bus service along Imperial came in 1975 with SCRTD’s “Grid” bus system. Before the Grid was implemented, bus routes usually fanned out from Downtown Los Angeles or suburban city centers (Lynwood, Compton, Hawthorne, etc.) on zigzagging, sometimes complicated, routes. The Grid simplified the bus routes along major streets and made them more frequent (20 minutes or better). Transfers between routes could be made with a minimum of waiting, allowing easy access between any two points on the grid. As part of the Grid, #137 became #836, and was extended from El Segundo, all the way to the Orange County line at Beach Blvd in La Habra. #115’s meandering route to Compton was no longer needed or desired; the route was cancelled in 1977.

Bus service along Imperial flourished under RTD’s Grid system. Not only were frequencies improved, but #836 had its route lengthened in 1979 to Brea Mall. In 1981, #836 was renumbered to #120, under the new route numbers provided in the “Great Renumbering.” The route even had a short-lived extension further eastward to Yorba Linda; it was cut back to Brea Mall around early 1983. Two years later, #120 only served Brea Mall on rush hour trips (otherwise terminating at Beach Blvd).

On the El Segundo end, some #120 trips served LAX’s Imperial Terminal, which was mostly used for cargo and charter air operations, but also for a time served “MGM Grand Air,” a luxury, all-first class airline. In 1987, most #120 trips were rerouted to serve the LAX City Bus Center; trips to Imperial Terminal were at first operated during peak hours only, and then were cut out entirely. All #120 service was cut back to Aviation Green Line Station in mid-2003.

The Century Freeway (I-105), which paralleled Imperial Highway between El Segundo and Norwalk, opened in late 1993. While the freeway itself did not affect the bus service all that much, the Metro Green Line, which opened in mid-1995, changed the game considerably. Many former Route #120 passengers found the Green Line faster and more frequent.

#120 also underwent several changes once the Green Line opened. The bus route, which had up until now extended from El Segundo to Brea, was split into four sections:

· The portion designated #120 now only operated between El Segundo and Wilmington/Imperial station, where the Blue and Green Lines met.

· New route #121 ran along Imperial Highway between Wilmington/Imperial Station and the Norwalk Metrolink station.

· The route east of Norwalk Metrolink station was now covered by new Norwalk Transit #4, which ran from the Norwalk Green Line station (I-105/I-605) to Beach Bl. That meant that #121 and Norwalk #4 overlapped between the Green Line and Metrolink stations in Norwalk, providing frequent service for people transferring between the two rail lines. This practice continued until early 2004, when MTA cut back #121 to the Norwalk Green Line station, leaving Norwalk Transit to perform interstation shuttle duties via its #4 route.

· Service within Orange County (between Beach Blvd. and Brea Mall) was provided by new OCTA #20, which was eventually extended eastward to Yorba Linda.

In late 2006, #121 was extended via Leffingwell Road to Whitwood Center in Whittier, replacing a portion of #111 (Florence Ave).

It is also worth mentioning Line #622, the “I-105 Nightline Shuttle.” #622 was an experimental service designed to replace certain late-night trips on the Metro Green Line. It ran via either Imperial Blvd. or the I-105 freeway along the length of the Green Line, making limited stops at rail stations. #622 operated between June 2005 and June 2007, when it was cancelled due to low ridership.

Sources:

“Trucks Will Link Counties.” Los Angeles Times, December 15, 1918.

“Old Road May Come To Life.” Los Angeles Times, December 1, 1930

“Plane Cuts New Road Tape.” Los Angeles Times, June 1, 1932

“State Officials to Open Road.” Los Angeles Times, July 30, 1937

“Final Link Dedicated on Imperial Highway.” Los Angeles Times, December 3, 1961

Bourne, William D. “Cross Town Suburban Bus Lines.” Motor Coach Age, January-March 2007
Jones, Lionel. Los Angeles Bus Line History Book (updated route histories as of 2004)
Southern California Association of Governments. Transit Development Program.
(contains histories of bus routes up to 1971)
“The Consumer and the Commuter.” Violence In The City: An End or a Beginning (Governor’s Commission on the Los Angeles Riots)

“Proposed Changes to Metro Bus Service,” October 19, 2006

“Proposed Modifications to Gateway Cities Bus Lines,” March 8, 2007

Gabbard, Dana. “LAX-Valley Owl Tour.” Transit Advocate, September 2006, p. 6