Barbara Lott-Holland, who was recently featured in the L.A. Times in a BRU plant piece about how hard it is to find work while using transit, had this to say to Mayor James Hahn in an Opinion feature that had comments from various people to give him advice:
>Barbara Lott-Holland, Bus Riders Union member >I would ask you to keep your campaign promise to support the consent decree >with the MTA to improve the bus system, one element, of course, being the >purchase of 350 new buses.
MTA, from last year to next, has taken or will take delivery of 1,000 buses. All of the buses are new, but these are replacing buses that have reached their life cycle spans. These do not mean a fleet increase of 350 buses. But after the Consent Decree, MTA has increased the fleet by about 250.
The BRU, of course, always wants double what the MTA buys.
> We have to put buses first, not rail. Not only will it reduce bus
overcrowding but >provide more jobs, because they will need more drivers to operate the new >buses.
The BRU controls and monitors what its members have to say. And this sentence here says a whole helluva lot. Nevermind the support of drivers over riders during last year's strike, the BRU believes transit must have a make-work component now.
>Right now the MTA is asking the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse
the >consent decree; we'd urge you to ask the MTA to stop its appeals. I would also >like to see bus service expand. I work in Torrance and live near USC, and I must >take three buses from three different municipalities to get from home to work.
What about the Harbor Transitway? Or ride back up to downtown and catch Torrance 1 or 2? Each of these will get you into Torrance in under an hour. Sorry, Barbie, but it's your fault that you're not taking advantage of a shorter route.
>I would like to see bus service extended so it doesn't take young people who
live >in Watts 2 1/2 hours to get to UCLA.
Want to go to Disneyland, too?(*)
> We need buses that have wheelchair lifts that work;
That I can agree with. Ditto for low-floor ramps that properly fold out.
> we need more buses that run on compressed natural gas for less pollution.
Boy, is she out of step. MTA is no longer allowed to buy diesel.
>We're also asking for the bus fare to be reduced to a $20 monthly pass and a >50-cent one-way fare.
We can always dream, can't we?
> Now it's $1.35, $42 for the monthly pass, and there are no family passes.
What family size are we talking here?
>The majority of people riding the bus are poor--day laborers and such who
don't >work a complete month.
And there are those who have steady employment as well.
> If these families are making $1,000 a month, for a family of five to buy
passes >for everybody costs more than $200 out of the monthly income, and that's too >much.
If the children go to school or college, they can get discount student passes. Geez, you'd think a bus rider would know these things.
> We also need a $10 student pass. You have 6-year-old kid who gets on the >bus, she has to pay $1.35, and that's ridiculous."
There is a student pass. Geez, besides the indignity of only being able to say what Eric Mann tells you to say, you'd think that as the premier transit demagogue of L.A. County, he'd have his facts correct. If he'd get his ass out of his BMW and put his $200,000 annual salary to work to do some basic system research, he might actually have something going on here.
(*)For those of you who do not get this reference, the BRU put out a flier a few years back entitled "Who wants to go to Disneyland?" The BRU demanded that MTA should run a service to Disneyland for both work and recreational reasons. The BRU obviously did not know about Line 460, which runs between downtown L.A. and Disneyland. It's not exactly a hard-to-find line. MTA Customer Information has said that asking for information to get to Disneyland is one of the top 10 most requested questions it receives.
Oops, it did it again. If the BRU wants to pick out random locations to show a lack of service, Watts and UCLA is a bad choice. It is served by not one, but two buses. One is Line 576, an M&B line that goes from south L.A. to Pacific Palisades. The second is Line 305, which zig-zags through Watts, South Central and Mid-City and goes to UCLA. By the way, Line 305 WAS A CONSENT DECREE LINE! The BRU OK'd this route, and it doesn't even acknowledge it.
"Can't living with the bill means it won't become law." -President George W. Bush
Herc Wad at herc...@aol.comNOSPAM wrote on 7/2/01 5:11 AM:
> Barbara Lott-Holland, who was recently featured in the L.A. Times in a BRU > plant piece about how hard it is to find work while using transit, had this to > say to Mayor James Hahn in an Opinion feature that had comments from various > people to give him advice: > Barbara Lott-Holland, Bus Riders Union member > I would like to see bus service extended so it doesn't take young people who > live in Watts 2 1/2 hours to get to UCLA.
It doesn't take 2.5 hours to get to UCLA from Watts. All you have to do is take the Blue Line to downtown (about 35 minutes), transfer to the Wilshire Red Line (5 minute wait), ride the Red Line to UCLA (about 20 minutes), for a total trip time of about 60 minutes. Oh, wait a minute, I forgot the BRU doesn't want any money spent on a real rapid transit system, so you can't get to UCLA on the Red Line.
I guess the BRU is saying that buying 350 new buses will somehow reduce that 2.5 hour trip time to UCLA. Don't understand it, though.
On 02 Jul 2001 12:11:08 GMT, herc...@aol.comNOSPAM (Herc Wad) wrote:
>Barbara Lott-Holland, who was recently featured in the L.A. Times in a BRU >plant piece about how hard it is to find work while using transit, had this to >say to Mayor James Hahn in an Opinion feature that had comments from various >people to give him advice:
>>Barbara Lott-Holland, Bus Riders Union member >>I would ask you to keep your campaign promise to support the consent decree >>with the MTA to improve the bus system, one element, of course, being the >>purchase of 350 new buses.
>MTA, from last year to next, has taken or will take delivery of 1,000 buses. >All of the buses are new, but these are replacing buses that have reached their >life cycle spans. These do not mean a fleet increase of 350 buses. But after >the Consent Decree, MTA has increased the fleet by about 250.
Nope. Since the consent decree, MTA's fleet size has increased by 377. (Source: 2001 State of the Bus System Report)
>The BRU, of course, always wants double what the MTA buys.
At a minimum. >:)
>> We have to put buses first, not rail. Not only will it reduce bus >overcrowding but >provide more jobs, because they will need more drivers to >operate the new >buses.
>The BRU controls and monitors what its members have to say. And this sentence >here says a whole helluva lot. Nevermind the support of drivers over riders >during last year's strike, the BRU believes transit must have a make-work >component now.
I was going to say "hypocrisy" but you already did.
>>Right now the MTA is asking the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse >the >consent decree; we'd urge you to ask the MTA to stop its appeals. I would >also >like to see bus service expand. I work in Torrance and live near USC, and >I must >take three buses from three different municipalities to get from home >to work.
>What about the Harbor Transitway? Or ride back up to downtown and catch >Torrance 1 or 2? Each of these will get you into Torrance in under an hour. >Sorry, Barbie, but it's your fault that you're not taking advantage of a >shorter route.
But if she did take advantage, she couldn't whine. Probably Eric has told her to keep taking the long route so she can be the token pariah.
>>I would like to see bus service extended so it doesn't take young people who >live >in Watts 2 1/2 hours to get to UCLA.
>Want to go to Disneyland, too?(*)
>> We need buses that have wheelchair lifts that work;
>That I can agree with. Ditto for low-floor ramps that properly fold out.
>> we need more buses that run on compressed natural gas for less pollution.
>Boy, is she out of step. MTA is no longer allowed to buy diesel.
>>We're also asking for the bus fare to be reduced to a $20 monthly pass and a >>50-cent one-way fare.
>We can always dream, can't we?
>> Now it's $1.35, $42 for the monthly pass, and there are no family passes.
>What family size are we talking here?
Not only that, what agency has a family transit pass? I challenge the BRU to show me *one* agency, any size, anywhere that does.
>>The majority of people riding the bus are poor--day laborers and such who >don't >work a complete month.
>And there are those who have steady employment as well.
>> If these families are making $1,000 a month, for a family of five to buy >passes >for everybody costs more than $200 out of the monthly income, and >that's too >much.
>If the children go to school or college, they can get discount student passes. >Geez, you'd think a bus rider would know these things.
Hey, they don't know the BRU is a scam, how can you expect them to know something like the availability of discount passes?
>> We also need a $10 student pass. You have 6-year-old kid who gets on the >>bus, she has to pay $1.35, and that's ridiculous."
>There is a student pass. Geez, besides the indignity of only being able to say >what Eric Mann tells you to say, you'd think that as the premier transit >demagogue of L.A. County, he'd have his facts correct. If he'd get his ass out >of his BMW and put his $200,000 annual salary to work to do some basic system >research, he might actually have something going on here.
>(*)For those of you who do not get this reference, the BRU put out a flier a >few years back entitled "Who wants to go to Disneyland?" The BRU demanded that >MTA should run a service to Disneyland for both work and recreational reasons. >The BRU obviously did not know about Line 460, which runs between downtown L.A. >and Disneyland. It's not exactly a hard-to-find line. MTA Customer Information >has said that asking for information to get to Disneyland is one of the top 10 >most requested questions it receives.
>Oops, it did it again. If the BRU wants to pick out random locations to show a >lack of service, Watts and UCLA is a bad choice. It is served by not one, but >two buses. One is Line 576, an M&B line that goes from south L.A. to Pacific >Palisades. The second is Line 305, which zig-zags through Watts, South Central >and Mid-City and goes to UCLA. By the way, Line 305 WAS A CONSENT DECREE LINE! >The BRU OK'd this route, and it doesn't even acknowledge it.
Chris, PLEASE write a letter to the editor on this!
=========================================================================== =============== Kymberleigh Richards Public Affairs Director, Southern California Transit Advocates <http://socata.lerctr.org> Senior Metro Passenger Advisor, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Associate Member, California Transit Association Webmaster, Valley Transit Insider <http://home.pacbell.net/krichrds/> =========================================================================== ===============
>>Barbara Lott-Holland, who was recently featured in the L.A. Times in a BRU >>plant piece about how hard it is to find work while using transit, had this >to >>say to Mayor James Hahn in an Opinion feature that had comments from various >>people to give him advice:
>>>Barbara Lott-Holland, Bus Riders Union member >>>I would ask you to keep your campaign promise to support the consent decree >>>with the MTA to improve the bus system, one element, of course, being the >>>purchase of 350 new buses.
>>MTA, from last year to next, has taken or will take delivery of 1,000 buses. >>All of the buses are new, but these are replacing buses that have reached >their >>life cycle spans. These do not mean a fleet increase of 350 buses. But after >>the Consent Decree, MTA has increased the fleet by about 250.
>Nope. Since the consent decree, MTA's fleet size has increased by >377. (Source: 2001 State of the Bus System Report)
That means MTA has complied, plus 27 buses. Again, the BRU is ill-informed.
>>>Right now the MTA is asking the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to >reverse >>the >consent decree; we'd urge you to ask the MTA to stop its appeals. I >would >>also >like to see bus service expand. I work in Torrance and live near USC, >and >>I must >take three buses from three different municipalities to get from >home >>to work.
>>What about the Harbor Transitway? Or ride back up to downtown and catch >>Torrance 1 or 2? Each of these will get you into Torrance in under an hour. >>Sorry, Barbie, but it's your fault that you're not taking advantage of a >>shorter route.
>But if she did take advantage, she couldn't whine. Probably Eric has >told her to keep taking the long route so she can be the token pariah.
That's right. She could also take, dare I say, the Blue Line and then catch the rush-hour Torrance 6, which is a quick ride.
Veteran riders know how to cut down on travel times. Luckily with L.A., there are enough shortcuts that travel times can be shorter.
I see your point in deliberately taking a longer route. The BRU obviously wants to preserve slow service. This is how Mann gets his strength. If bus service was actually better, the BRU would disband. By keeping the members on slow, dirty, crowded services, the riders stay mad and stay under Mann's spell.
[...]
>>> Now it's $1.35, $42 for the monthly pass, and there are no family passes.
>>What family size are we talking here?
>Not only that, what agency has a family transit pass? I challenge the >BRU to show me *one* agency, any size, anywhere that does.
I could find one that had a similar program...San Diego. MTS (the governing body, not the buses operated by it) had a special on weekends where a single fare would allow two children under 18 to ride for free. I think it was done away with when the fares jumped to $2.
Speaking of $2 fares, why doesn't the BRU jump on San Diego? The fares are the highest in the country, the ridership demographics are similar to L.A.'s, and riders down there are actually complaining that the fares are unaffordable. Oh, and San Diego provides much less service for a higher fare than L.A.
>>>The majority of people riding the bus are poor--day laborers and such who >>don't >work a complete month.
>>And there are those who have steady employment as well.
>>> If these families are making $1,000 a month, for a family of five to buy >>passes >for everybody costs more than $200 out of the monthly income, and >>that's too >much.
>>If the children go to school or college, they can get discount student >passes. >>Geez, you'd think a bus rider would know these things.
>Hey, they don't know the BRU is a scam, how can you expect them to >know something like the availability of discount passes?
Well, the BRU's tactic has always been to repeat a lie often enough that people believe it. It has worked, but recently it's been losing steam.
With the BRU, either the members honestly do not know or they do know but they say whatever gets them in the media, truth be damned.
[...]
>>Oops, it did it again. If the BRU wants to pick out random locations to show >a >>lack of service, Watts and UCLA is a bad choice. It is served by not one, >but >>two buses. One is Line 576, an M&B line that goes from south L.A. to Pacific >>Palisades. The second is Line 305, which zig-zags through Watts, South >Central >>and Mid-City and goes to UCLA. By the way, Line 305 WAS A CONSENT DECREE >LINE! >>The BRU OK'd this route, and it doesn't even acknowledge it.
>Chris, PLEASE write a letter to the editor on this!
I'd rather not. This appeared in the Times and I work for a rival newspaper. Our contract has an "outside interests" clause; newsroom employees can write for other publications on the side. Still, it looks bad if an employee writes anything for the main competitor.
Can you put this up on your "Radio Free BRU" page? The more drivers comment is the most interesting bit. This can tie in to your strike correspondence.
"Can't living with the bill means it won't become law." -President George W. Bush
Kymberleigh Richards <krich...@pacbell.net> wrote: >On 02 Jul 2001 12:11:08 GMT, herc...@aol.comNOSPAM (Herc Wad) wrote: >>(quote from LA Times pass-on of typical BRU lying bullshit)
[snip]
>>> Now it's $1.35, $42 for the monthly pass, and there are no family passes.
>>What family size are we talking here?
>Not only that, what agency has a family transit pass? I challenge the >BRU to show me *one* agency, any size, anywhere that does.
Interestingly enough, Santa Clara VTA is doing something close to this for the summer. On Sundays, $3 buys rides for 1 adult and 2 children 17 and under. Passes are also good for the same deal.
In article <20010703052025.20522.00001...@ng-cc1.aol.com>,
Herc Wad <herc...@aol.comNOSPAM> wrote: >>Chris, PLEASE write a letter to the editor on this! >I'd rather not. This appeared in the Times and I work for a rival newspaper.
Ghostwrite it for your publisher, then, and have them sign it.
If you get the letter in the times, you get a much larger audience than on the web, and it's painfully obvious that the BRU is having a really difficult time with the whole idea of scheduled public transportation.
>In article <3b4129c3.904...@news.pacbell.net>, >Kymberleigh Richards <krich...@pacbell.net> wrote: >>On 02 Jul 2001 12:11:08 GMT, herc...@aol.comNOSPAM (Herc Wad) wrote: >>>(quote from LA Times pass-on of typical BRU lying bullshit)
>[snip]
>>>> Now it's $1.35, $42 for the monthly pass, and there are no family passes.
>>>What family size are we talking here?
>>Not only that, what agency has a family transit pass? I challenge the >>BRU to show me *one* agency, any size, anywhere that does.
>Interestingly enough, Santa Clara VTA is doing something close to this for >the summer. On Sundays, $3 buys rides for 1 adult and 2 children 17 and >under. Passes are also good for the same deal.
Nevertheless, I don't think a weekend pass is what the BRU is babbling about. Based on previous rants, I think they want MTA to let a family pay some flat rate and allow any member of the family to travel unlimited during the month. (Never mind the potential for fraud.)
=========================================================================== =============== Kymberleigh Richards Public Affairs Director, Southern California Transit Advocates <http://socata.lerctr.org> Senior Metro Passenger Advisor, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Associate Member, California Transit Association Webmaster, Valley Transit Insider <http://home.pacbell.net/krichrds/> =========================================================================== ===============
On Mon, 02 Jul 2001 10:15:58 -0700, Merritt Mullen
<mmul...@ispchannel.com> wrote: >Herc Wad at herc...@aol.comNOSPAM wrote on 7/2/01 5:11 AM:
>> Barbara Lott-Holland, who was recently featured in the L.A. Times in a BRU >> plant piece about how hard it is to find work while using transit, had this to >> say to Mayor James Hahn in an Opinion feature that had comments from various >> people to give him advice:
>> Barbara Lott-Holland, Bus Riders Union member
>> I would like to see bus service extended so it doesn't take young people who >> live in Watts 2 1/2 hours to get to UCLA.
Are these people taking the VERRRY slow route? I'd suspect that it isn't 2.5 hours, even if our Ms. Lott-Holland ignores rail. I guess she hasn't heard of the 720, has she?
>It doesn't take 2.5 hours to get to UCLA from Watts. All you have to do is >take the Blue Line to downtown (about 35 minutes), transfer to the Wilshire >Red Line (5 minute wait), ride the Red Line to UCLA (about 20 minutes), for >a total trip time of about 60 minutes. Oh, wait a minute, I forgot the BRU >doesn't want any money spent on a real rapid transit system, so you can't >get to UCLA on the Red Line.
I guess that they're backing Zev, the Hancock Park denizens who want no Red Line, and Rep. Waxman...wow, what strange bedfellows...
>I guess the BRU is saying that buying 350 new buses will somehow reduce that >2.5 hour trip time to UCLA. Don't understand it, though.
As has been pointed out, you'd have had to buy the buses, if only to replace buses that are due for replacement(at this point, we're talking about the 3300-3714 series Neoplans), and some have been bought to comply with the consent decree. But, let's face it, is this spree designed to help riders, or to create more documentation work for myself and Creighton Rabs(see <http://ctrabs74.50megs.com/rosters/> for what I mean)? Or, as has been pointed out by others, it's to keep Eric Mann in Mercedes-Benzes?
> Or, as has been pointed out by others, it's to keep Eric Mann >in Mercedes-Benzes?
Eric prefers Beemers.
Has anyone seen him drive? Does he have the manners of the stereotypical Beemer driver? (Best line I ever heard about this - you have to report to the dealer 2 weeks after you buy the car to get the required anal implant to change your driving habits.)
