Response to
MTA Mid-City/Westside Draft EIS/EIR

Friends 4 Expo Transit

June 15, 2001

Summary

Ridership and Speed
  Weekday Boardings    Ocean Ave. - Flower St. - p.m.   
Expo Light Rail   51,400 :42
Expo BRT ~20,000* ~:60*
Metro Rapid 720 (April 2001) 28,200 1:24
Wilshire BRT (with Expo LRT) 32,500 :58-:60

Source: DEIS/EIR; BRT corrected*; Long Beach Blue Line = 62,850 (April 2001)

Dense Corridor Population, Employment, and Recreation– denser even than the Long Beach Blue Line corridor (most successful light rail line in U.S.); over twice other successful light rail systems (2000 U.S. Census)
2000 Population/Square Mile    Within ½ mile     Within 2 miles     Minority 2 miles   
Exposition 12,200 13,300 75%
Long Beach Blue Line 12,000 12,600 92%
San Diego 6,800 6,100 61%
Portland 5,300 4,800 23%


Capacity - three times Metro Rapid 720 buses
  Seats/hour    
Light Rail - 2-car trains @ 5 minutes    1,824
Light Rail - 3-car trains 2,736
Metro Rapid 720 @ 4 minutes 600
Metro Rapid with 60-foot articulated buses 900


Lower Operating Cost
MTA FY 2001 Operating Cost per Passenger Mile
Light Rail $ .33
Bus $ .51


Broad and growing popular support for light rail, not busways

Westside connection to emerging L.A. rail network - Valley, Long Beach, Pasadena, Eastside

Quality of life - better communities and alternative to traffic gridlock

* A basic flaw in the Draft EIS/EIR for Exposition BRT distorts the projected ridership and costs. Estimates of 47-minute travel time (39 skip-stop) assume signal priority that is not possible with planned bus frequency, and 55 mph speed not compatible with grade crossing safety. Projected ridership (29,000) is therefore overstated and costs per passenger understated.

Detailed Comments

Alternative 3/3A - Exposition Light Rail (LRT)

Alternative 2/2A - Exposition Busway (BRT)

All Alternatives - Wilshire BRT

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