Opinion: L.A.’s transit officials should try using the convoluted bus system they set up

To the editor: As a daily user of the Los Angeles County Metro bus system, I can suggest a number of changes that might help reverse the decline in ridership. (“L.A.’s dwindling transit ridership isn’t hard to fix. Make riding the bus cheaper and more convenient,” Opinion, Nov. 10)

Imagine it’s hot and you’re waiting at the bus stop, but all will be right soon because the bus is just a few blocks away. But suddenly, just short of your stop, the bus pulls over and waits. And waits.

Why? Because it is running ahead of schedule, and drivers cannot leave a bus stop too early. But what’s so bad about an early arrival?

Then there’s the “bus to nowhere” problem. Line 780, for example, terminates near the Expo Line rail station on La Cienega and Jefferson — not at it, only near it. The bus stops about half a mile short at a Metro facility, forcing passengers to get off and wait for another bus to the Expo Line. This decision may serve the system well, but it is grossly inconvenient for riders.

If Metro really wants to reverse declining bus ridership, its officials should use the system. They’ll find what they need to fix.

Thomas Fuchs, West Hollywood

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To the editor: Rail is the only sane answer for the long commutes typical in Los Angeles. See all those buses on the freeway towing five or six buses behind? Oh, wait, physics prevents that.

During the morning rush hour, the Red Line subway is packed. It should go deeper into the San Fernando Valley than North Hollywood.

There will always be a place for buses, but for not long-distance trips. Ask someone who’s spent three hours to go 15 miles.

Michael Barrett Jr., Burbank

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