Other North America Transit Services - Photos and Discussion

[Northern Exploration]

Well despite the Union going down to the wire and negotiating a number of improvements and an increase in wages for the Transit employees in Toronto (TTC), including a very controversial guarantee that they will be better paid than any of the other transit workers in surrounding areas, workers failed to radify the deal and went out on strike at midnight on Friday evening with no notice. The union had promised a 48 hour notice if a strike would be called. The union went back on that promise because "they were concerned about angry transit riders taking out their frustrations on drivers and attendants." DUH.

The public was already a bit steamed and this unexpected strike left a lot of people stuck. Now the provincial government is sitting tomorrow on a Sunday to pass emergency back to work legislation. So all the workers will have done is rile up the general populace.

A city this size cannot function without a transit system and the economic impact of a strike like this is enormous. Workers who are just getting by - having to cab, walk for hours, or beg rides. A single mother was interviewed who had to pay additional child care because she had to walk home (an hour and a half each way) to and from work and couldn't afford to not work nor afford to pay the additional child care costs.

Early in the labour process, the provincial government had floated the idea that they were ready to consider transit an essential service and take away the right to strike. So it is likely the workers and union have now made this a much more likely event. The mayor and much of the city is fuming. With gas sitting at $1.20 plus having to fight rush hour style traffic on a Saturday got me steamed. So much for Earth Day week.

This relates to the discussion earlier where transit in Victoria was moving into areas PCL feels it shouldn't. I guess this is one more reason for ensuring there are multiple service providers, both public and private.

It also relates to BC Ferries. Since so many businesses and individuals rely on the Ferries as a basic service, should they be considered an essential transportation link that is vital to the economy of certainly the Island, the lower mainland and the province? Should alternative service providers such as the new passenger ferry service to Gibsons from downtown Vancouver be considered a higher priority and encouraged and/or subsidized at least through tax incentives? Maybe others have other questions to add to the discussions.

[Nick]

BCF is considered an essential service. I don't know all that much about the required service levels, but back when the union went on strike in 2003 (or 2004?) they first cut service levels to "essential service levels". If I recall correctly, this was a sailing about every 4 hours on route 1, with no food services etc.

After the company failed to give in to the union's demands, they went out on an illegal strike that lasted 3 or 4 days and shut everything down. After that, the union and the company agreed to bring in Vince Ready (sp?), a labour negotiator, to provide "binding arbitration". That is the collective agreement the union is currently working to.

This is how I understand it, perhaps someone who was present at this strike or knows a little bit more about the union and collective agreement can elaborate/verify/disprove.

[cohocatcher]

Sigh! The union really ticked off transit users in Toronto by going out so quickly. Had they waited until the end of the service day (early Saturday morning if they are like most municipal transit systems) and then gone out for today, there would not have been such an outraged reaction (IMO).

As a result, the union is going to get wacked by the provincial government.

In this particular situation all parties lose.

[Northern Exploration]

There are no Nova buses in the Mississauga fleet. I believe the older model ones that were in the TTC fleet are being replaced. Brampton Transit has some. The short wheelbase, designed to navigate the narrow and twisty Quebec streets, always looks funny to me. In the TTC fleet there are still a few of the old GM tank buses kicking around that have been rebuilt/refitted more times that the NorAd. ;D

[Northern Exploration]

Toronto placed a massive transit order a few years ago for Orion buses with Daimler Hybrid Diesel Engines. By the end of this year 560 will be in service with another 130 due in 2009.

They are quite quiet and are flooding less polution into the atmosphere.

However, the buses have only saved about 10% over conventional diesels. Part of the problem apparently is that the traffic moves too well here. In NYC the Hybrids save about 30% due to more stopping and starting. The problem is that 10% saving comes at the cost of an additional $200,000 upcharge over a regular clean burning diesel. That is a large amount of money to recover over the vehicle's life if it only saves 10% of fuel.

Another big problem is the very high failure rate of the lead acid batteries. They are supposed to last up to 2 years but are lasting around 2 months and have a very high breakdown rate. They are looking at replacing the batteries with lithium batteries. But the expense and service interuptions are causing havoc. And since by year end they will account for almost a third of the fleet the impact is huge.

The TTC has over 1500 buses and a large number of them are also bio diesel buses. Having rejected propane and liquid natural gas through previous large scale testing in the fleet, the green options are starting to run out. The rumour is that the TTC is negotiating to revise the order for the 130 buses to come to clean burning diesels from Hybrids.

[Dane]

Perhaps this is a better question for CPTDB but aren't lead acid batteries almost restricted to Tdot entirely? I know the former GVTA's Alternative Fuel & Technology Program recommended the other form of battery as, in effect, the only option.

[Northern Exploration]

The Lithium batteries added over $18,000 per vehicle as an added option. A $10,808,000 addition to the bottom line. The problem was that the existing batteries aren't fullfilling their promised performance levels. Due to the heavy demands on the system the TTC usually falls on the side of reliable and hard working. For example they became very proficient at rebuilding the old tanks of the GM buses inhouse. There are still some around.

The threat of downgrading to clean buring diesels will hurt Daimler by $200,000 per vehicle or around $26 million in lost sales. There is talk that the remaining vehicles on this years order will be switched to lithium. I would expect Daimler would make a deal to replace the old batteries as long as the hybrid order for the additional 130 buses is maintained.

As the second largest hybrid fleet in North America I hope they will work this out and keep the buses rolling.

[Dane]

I think your reply speaks to the problem of thinking at TTC.

Different batteries = more $, so we'll buy product that is known to be inferior.

There are examples of functional hybrid vehicles working with varying degrees of success around the USA. While fuel reduction numbers are not be met universally, they don't have to replace batteries after two years.

Poor decision by TTC lead to their current issues. Self fulfilling prophecy in a way.

[Northern Exploration]

These days I have been taking transit more. Besides the cost of gas (although down to 82.3 or there abouts here) I have found going downtown becoming very expensive. With all the condos underway still, surface lots are becoming scarce. There are scads of underground spots but the rates for these are quite steep. If you go downtown for more than one location the parking costs become quite exorbinant. I try to park at the city owned lots called Green P. But it is easy to get to the daily maximum. $30 to $40 parking is not unusual.

So a $9 day pass with all the rides you want on any of the subway, streetcars and buses, is quite the bargain. I can drive ten minutes to a large mall and catch a quick bus right to the subway. Parking is free. Or a half block from my house I can ride a Mississauga Transit bus direct to the subway but it costs an additional $2.75 because they are just working on regional cross system fares.

Here is the start with the bus at 10am:

Interior of the Orion lowfloor bus fueled by BioDiesel.


One of the older subway cars that has new red plush seats but still has the orange dividers. The newer trains are grey and red. The newest trains to arrive next will be articulated so you can walk from one end of the train to the other rather than have segregated cars with doors in between. Unlike NYC they don't tolerate people walking between cars here.


One of the bendy Streetcars here. A number of the routes now run on their own dedicated lanes that are separated from the traffic by a rounded curb, designed so emergency vehicles can easily cross.


This is on Queen Street just west of University Avenue with the Old City Hall in the background. It is a bad view of a logo Streetcar from the rear.


This is a pic of a new Prevost Coach used for the Airport Express Service from downtown to Pearson Airport (YYZ). It is the latest model complete with wifi service. I can see that for rush hour that can take a bit longer, but 20 minute downtown service and no sooner had you booted up and logged in and you would have to start to pack up again. This is in front of the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.

[Mike C]

Cool, thanks for the TTC shots NorEx! It is my understanding that you guys have an ALRT network. It is in as bad a shape as everyone says it is?

[Northern Exploration]

Nov 10, 2008 18:57:06 GMT -8 Mike C said:

Cool, thanks for the TTC shots NorEx! It is my understanding that you guys have an ALRT network. It is in as bad a shape as everyone says it is?

The route runs well normally. However, it runs far past the capacity it was intended to carry. It was a government demonstration project with first generation equipment. The Skytrain was upgraded second generation. It was supposed to be the start of a whole new network of transit that is subtantially cheaper than full grade subways. The other difference with the Skytrain is the TTC Union demanded it have drivers.

The problems happen when it snows - the grades on the run are too steep when it gets very icy. Thankfully Toronto doesn't have that many true snow days (ignoring last year).

There are three options being looked at currently under the new Metrolinx regional transportation body as well as the TTC's initiative Transit City. 1. Buy new cars for the existing network (not likely). 2. Replace the network with true LRT with either new generations streetcars or another LRT on a ground/partial underground network. 3. The most expensive is to extent the subway along the route.

Both Metrolinx and Transit City have obtained huge public involvement and input. To say the least the plans already being developed are massive.

On another day I will post the exterior pics of a number of the TTC buses. I will also post pics of the Mississauga Transit New Flyer buses. As well I will post the double decker Scottish and single decker MCI buses for GO Transit and pics of the GO Trains (your express commuter trains use the same sets).

The really cool buses are in York Region and are called VIVA. That is a long way away from me and not likely going to get any pictures soon. The network is great and the buses are from Vanhool. www.vivayork.com/

[Northern Exploration]

Ok here are the promised Mississauga Transit and GO Bus pictures. It was a Coastal Gray Day .

The pictures are taken at the Mississauga City Centre Bus Terminal. It is T shaped. The cross portion of the T runs parallel to the road.

The looking down the east side of the perpendicular portion of the Terminal.




Looking down the west side of the Terminal with New Flyer and Orion buses.




A newer New Flyer bus exiting the Terminal with City Hall and other city centre buildings in the background.




One of the two models of bendy New Flyer buses used on the heaviest traveled routes.




Across the street is the GO Bus Terminal with a standard MCI M4500 GO Bus with bike rack on the front. These are used on highway routes.




Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) Enviro 500 78 passenger bus used on the high volume route from Oakville to York University.




Another view with the bus heading to York University.

Next week I will post some other TTC pics. ;D

[waynem]

Does anyone have current information about the proposed blue 22 run out of Toronto? I understand they were going to use refurbished RDC's from Industrial Rail services. Is this still in the works ?

[Northern Exploration]

Dec 3, 2008 21:32:24 GMT -8 @waynem said:

Does anyone have current information about the proposed blue 22 run out of Toronto? I understand they were going to use refurbished RDC's from Industrial Rail services. Is this still in the works ?

The approval process had gotten totally bogged down for two reasons. Firstly, some proponents wanted the service to not be an express route downtown but rather wanted additional stops added.

The other issue was the impact on the Weston neighbourhood. A number of streets would be blocked off and turned into dead ends and there was controversy how many bridges would be involved.

MetroLinx the new provincial body that overseas the meshing of a range of provincial and municipal transit systems included the route in its plans. There are 8 Municipal and one provincial transit body involved.

They also wanted to hold off while new rules for transit approval came into effect. It used to be that new transit and other approvals could be totally frozen in seemingly never ending environmental assessments and other "studies". The new rules allow for the fast tracking of new transit.

For those that don't know, the Blue 22 service was to refurbish Budd Cars/Dayliners and run them on existing tracks from Union Station in downtown Toronto to Pearson airport with one or two stops. The service was to take 20 to 30 minutes max. A stop near the Dundas West Subway station would be the second transit hub it connected with.

Now with light rail and streetcar lines being planned all over the city I am not sure if they will end up using the same equipment or go ahead with the Blue 22. There are plans for at least 3 light rail routes to the airport in addition to Blue 22 or whatever it will be called.

Ottawa is kind of distracted right now but I think once things settle the final funding with be forthcoming and it will proceed. There is a strong push for infrastructure investment as part of the economic package that will come from whoever ends up putting it forward. Including possibly high speed rail from Toronto to Montreal.

[Northern Exploration]

The only transit system locally with a Nova bus is Brampton Transit which is the Toronto equivalent of Surrey.

I have ridden them in Gatineau (formerly go to Hull), Montreal and Quebec City. I find the wheelbase oddly short (designed for the sharp corners of the old areas of Montreal and Quebec City). The Montreal ones always seem a little grubby so not necessarily a good representation. I only seem to ride them in winter and not summer as it is too freakin cold there to walk ;D.

The NewFlyer and Orion/Daimler buses here at the TTC have the same brushed red fabric on the seats as the subways. They keep your tush in place when the driver gets wheeling around the corners. I haven't been on Mississauga transit's NewFlyers so no idea what the seats are like there. I find the Hybrids nice and quiet to ride in, the BioDiesels seem to be noisier than the regular diesels but it might be my limited exposure to them. All have the automated stop announcements which can get very monotonous. All the buses are adding LED displays which also include the next stop information. All bus stations and major hubs will also have "Next bus in xx minutes" that is being added now. You can get text for cell and internet updates for your IPhones that tells you for an individual stop. Subway stations also have the next train displays so you know if you have time to buy a very bad coffee from the Kiosks. This year too they are adding cellular coverage in the tunnels so you can listen to some bozo yell into their phone over the noise in the car .

[Northern Exploration]

Another provincial announcement here about the BLUE 22 (seems to be still called that) rail link from downtown Toronto to Pearson Airport (YYZ).

Public hearings were posted in ads today in the paper. Once that is over it hits the environment approval process that is now restricted to 6 months. The Premier said the shovels should hit the ground by December.

Although one area of improve that also impacts the GO Train started last week where the GO and Blue 22 line will be run in a ditch that will run under the other two CP lines that cross there. The area is known historically as the Junction as three railway lines cross there. This will speed the trains up through the area as they won't be as impacted by the heavy freight traffic and facilitate additional frequency.

The Blue 22 is still envisaged to start with diesel Budd cars initially, that will be signifcantly upgraded to an executive type standard. The line will be upgraded to electric in conjuction with electrifying the GO line in 10 to 15 years. I am unclear whether the Budd Cars will be electrified or replaced by new technology.

The big delay has been the NIMBY's in the Weston neighbourhood stalling the process for many years. They have been successful partially in that the line will travel in a tunnel/ditch in many areas of Weston so that fewer streets will be impacted. There will also be an additional Weston stop added. Weston was already about to benefit from upgraded GO Transit service and enhancements so I am not sure what added the Blue 22 stop will accomplish other than slow the express service to downtown.

I rode the Dayliner between Edmonton and Calgary many times and loved hearing the E&N Dayliner pull into Duncan a couple of times a day. So it will be interesting to see the refurbished cars.

As mentioned above the airport is planned to be served by an additional two light rail lines, one of which will be the Eglinton line - similar is a way to the Canada Line in that it will be "subway lite". It will run in a tunnel throw the middle of the city emerging to an above ground dedicated right of way the rest of the way. The tunnel portion is being built in such a way so that it could easily be upgraded into a full blown subway without additional tunneling.

This plus the finishing of the dedicated busway (a la Ottawa) that will run through Mississauga to the Eglinton Line and into the airport will result in pulling a lot of traffic off the road and provide better service for the people that work in the area.

[Northern Exploration]

The TTC is going ahead with the extention of the Yonge Subway line into York Region (outside of Toronto's border). Not covered in the article is how money the TTC is asking for above the $2.4 Billion budget. Their starting point is to double that much to make significant upgrades to the line further south to handle what they claim will be substantially more volume on the very busy line. Sounds like a Quebec ploy for additional funding - they have learned well .

The currently underway extention to the Spadina side of the subway loop is making progress. Mind you York University, which the line is supposed to serve, will likely still be on strike when the line is ready in a couple of years.

[islandboy]

Hi folks Sorry I was incommunicado over Christmas - went to a wedding in Mexico and hung out for a little bit afterwards . During my travels I took public transit a few times, especially in Mexico City. Here's a couple of shots of the regular public buses I took there (originals at s498.photobucket.com/albums/rr349/vanislandboy/Transit/):





There were so many of these little mini-buses running around Mexico City, and most of them had two workers: one person driving, the other collecting fares and forcing the door open so there was decent airflow through the bus




A train pulling out of a station on one of Mexico City's metro lines. Unfortunately my camera died before I could take any shots while actually waiting at a station .

[Northern Exploration]

Well the Ontario Premier has just annouced a 9 billion funding of transit for Toronto and region and this was no April Fools Day announcement either.

Three light rail lines, one study for a Hamilton light rail, and an expansion of the Viva Bus System and more. The one light rail Eglinton line will connect Scarborough to the Airport right through the middle of the city. It will have a substantial underground section in the middle of the city, that is built to accomodate a full blown subway later. Nothing new that hasn't already been announced but rather the confirmation of the funding and go aheads. Frankly the economy has been the final push for this agressive expansion. So there are a few silver linings to the greed induced situation .

[D'Elete BC in NJ]

An oddity, but interesting to me:

www.delawareonline.com/article/20090429/SPORTS17/90429064/1002/SPORTS

---

44 more subway cars sunk at Redbird Reef

Forty-four New York City subway cars recently were added to Delaware's largest and most popular artificial reef.

The cars were sunk at Redbird Reef to enhance fisheries habitat, which increases fishing and diving opportunities.

"The 44 new subway cars are a valuable addition to Redbird Reef,” said Jeffrey Tinsman, of DNREC’s Fisheries Section. “The more extensive we can make our reef, the more opportunity we create for greater and more diverse fish and sea life as well as for providing greater fishing opportunities for anglers.”

The operation was carried out by the marine transportation division of Weeks Marine Inc., a towing and barge operator contracted by MTA New York City Transit, which also completed the car cleanup to remove all greases and buoyant materials that might be harmful to the marine environment. The operation was funded by MTA New York City Transit. DNREC’s role was to oversee the placement of the subway cars at the reef.

Each stainless steel subway car is 60 feet long. According to Tinsman, one barge carried all 44 cars stacked two-high from New Jersey, and “a large excavator with forklift-like tongs lifted each 18-ton car and set it overboard.”

The addition of 44 subway cars brings the total number of sunken cars on Redbird Reef to 934. Although the artificial reef was created in 1997, the first subway car sinking at the reef occurred in August of 2001, when 27 cars were sunk. Redbird Reef is now more than 1.3 square nautical miles of ocean bottom located 16 nautical miles off the coast of the Indian River Inlet.

Since the reef was first created, a variety of materials have been deployed, including 890 subway cars, 11 large vessels -- including decommissioned barges, commercial vessels and tugboats, 86 armored military vehicles and 6,000 tons of ballasted truck tire units. The reef now supports more than 13,000 angler visits per year, up from fewer than 300 in 1997.

Reef construction is especially important in the Mid-Atlantic region, where the ocean bottom is usually featureless sand or mud. Subway cars make ideal reef material, because voids and cavities in its structure provide sanctuary for reef fish. Within a few weeks, blue mussels, sponges, barnacles and soft corals attach to the structure, and in about a year, the reef will be fully productive, resembling natural habitat.

Delaware has 14 permitted artificial reef sites in the Delaware Bay and coastal waters, with five of these sites located in federal (ocean) waters. Development of the sites began in 1995 as part of a comprehensive fisheries management effort by the Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Delaware Reef Program.

For more information, visit the reef program's Web site or contact Jeff Tinsman, Delaware Reef Program administrator, at 302-739-4782.

---

Photos here and more about the project here.

[D'Elete BC in NJ]

Some old Philly transit pictures and history can be found here:
www.oldchesterpa.com/transportation.htm

[Northern Exploration]

The money released by the feds for the Toronto to Montreal portion of the corridor are to alieviate current bottlenecks speeding up the travel time by 15 to 30 minutes and provide more ontime service. It is a baby step towards HSR but not an indication of the go ahead for the line. Currently in this route, as with most of the VIA Rail network, freight takes the priority. So it isn't unusual for a VIA Train to pull onto a siding or to slow considerably to due to a freight train. Not surprizing given that it is CP and CN who own the rails. If you want to see power, look at the railway act and see the powers that the railways have that were needed to built the rail infrastructure coast to coast. They are federally regulated and much of those powers are still in place.

The corridor is very busy as you can imagine. On the lines immediately behind my brothers house can have a freight train every ten minutes on one of the 3 lines that cross there. Massive amounts of car carriers are parked in various locations and on not often used spurr lines so volumes is a little bit lower right now. Driving in the country recently, I was shocked to see vast numbers of them as far as the eye could see, parked on a weed grown spur line.

The car sets used are quite nice and are called Renaissance sets (ring a bell?). They are painted a different colour scheme (all tones of green) and the sets are European designed and step above the standard LRC sets. The LRC's are pretty good themselves.
www.viarail.ca/en/about-via-rail/our-fleet/renaissance-coach-car

The only time we see the older cars is for the Canadian or other premium services. One train full of sleeper cars and bedrooms, and dining cars, leaves Toronto before midnight and pulls over onto a siding for everyone to sleep. Then at breakfast the train begins to move again pulling into Montreal at 7am. Everyone has rested, had a nice breakfast, for an amount less than a hotel in Montreal, and competitive with air travel. It has proven to be quite popular and friends who have used it find it so relaxing compared to hustling and bustling at the airports.

[BreannaF]

I got to have a little transit fun today, with a ride on the new Portland Light-Rail Green Line that began service just before noon today. I wasn't in line for the first train -- I had to fit this in around a full day worth of work-related stuff. But I rode in the first official hour of service, and a great time was had by all.

Yeah, this is the 4th or 5th line on the MAX system, depending on how you count them. Yeah, I have already rode on one of the new trainsets that began use on other routes a few months ago. But I still get excited about riding something new for the first time, and today was one of those days.

Portland has actually got to the point where adding a new rail line is just something that happens, as opposed to being the "new" light rail or the "new" streetcar. Seattle should have been doing this all along, and Tri-Met is running a much more efficient system than Metro/Sound Transit/ a bunch of suburban systems ever will.

But that being said, despite the familiarity of the system, despite the fact that half the route parallels existing routes, and despite the first day standing-room crowds -- the "little-kid-excited" feeling I got just hearing the PA voice lady saying "This is a westbound Green Line train to Clackamas Town Center" for the first time gave me real goose bumps. Hearing the name of each new station announced as we approached each station for the first time was a wonderful moment for me. Laugh. You will. Hello, I'm Bryan, and I'm addicted to riding transit. But I love it. So there.

[Retrovision]

( From: latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/11/crowds-applaud-the-inaugural-ride-of-the-gold-line-extension.html )

Crowds applaud the inaugural ride of the Gold Line extension
November 14, 2009 | 12:17 pm

Los Angeles County's latest light-rail line — the $898-million Gold Line extension through the Eastside — was dedicated Saturday morning at Union Station and a sparkling silver train full of dignitaries rolled out for the inaugural ride.

The six-mile extension of the line from downtown L.A. through Boyle Heights and into East Los Angeles opens to the public on Sunday, when passengers will be able to ride the entire length of the line to Pasadena for free. The Saturday event gave elected and transportation officials a chance to give speeches and laud the newest public transportation offering in the county.

At 9:30 a.m. sharp, the glimmering rail cars glided into the East L.A. Civic Center station, which sits in the middle of 3rd Street, where a crowd was assembled. As the train rolled into the station, it broke through a plastic black banner. Firecrackers rang and cannons blew out confetti.

"When I was on this train a few minutes ago, going through downtown and Boyle Heights, and here in East L.A., all the memories came back -- the memories of your boyhood, the memories as you go into manhood," said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who grew up in Boyle Heights. "I'll tell you something: I couldn't be prouder of this community today."

Santino Hernandez, 28, who lives in Boyle Heights, was elated at the rail line, which has been under construction since 2004.

"We're happy it's finally here. We've been needing public transportation out here to connect us with Union Station," said Hernandez, a day laborer. "It's more dependable than the bus."

His wife, Celene, added that it would be easier to load their baby stroller carrying their 2-year-old son, Christopher, onto the rail line than the bus.

Mary Louise Sevilla, 67, a retiree who lives in East L.A., was worried about the safety of the Gold Line, as she eyed a child playing flag football across the street from the station at David Wark Griffith Middle School.

"Hopefully, the kids understand that they have to look both ways before they cross," she said. "You know how kids are."

There are eight stations along the route: Atlantic, East L.A. Civic Center, Maravilla, Indiana, Soto, Mariachi Plaza, Pico/Aliso and Little Tokyo Arts District. At Union Station, riders can continue onto the existing Gold Line, which winds its way toward Pasadena; transfer to the Red Line subway to Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley; ride the Purple Line, which ends in Koreatown; or connect to Metrolink trains that carry riders to neighboring counties.

On Sunday, the East L.A. Civic Center station will feature live music, a farmers market and activities for children. And, of course, mariachis will perform at the Mariachi Plaza station.

-- Baxter Holmes reporting from East Los Angeles


Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times

( From: latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/11/gold-line-opens.html )

Workday commuters ride Gold Line extension for first time
November 16, 2009 | 8:44 am

Officials handed out coffee to commuters riding the new Gold Line Eastside extension this morning for its first day of service during the workweek.

The line opened to the public Sunday with about 75,000 riders taking part in a day of free rides and festivities along the Gold Line, which now runs from East Los Angeles to Pasadena. A ticket costs commuters $1.25.

“It’s still a party here,” said Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar, who was at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights this morning giving commuters free rail passes, commemorative pins and coffee.

Metro Chief Executive Officer Art Leahy also greeted commuters.


Huizar, who represents Boyle Heights, said he wants to continue promoting the line and said mariachi musicians were playing outside the station this morning to attract attention to the new route. Huizar said he persuaded some commuters at a nearby bus stop to ride the faster extension to their destinations.

“Right now I’m standing here and more and more people are trickling in,” Huizar said at about 7:45 a.m. “They’re thrilled. One lady told me that she had been waiting for this for a long time.”

Construction began on the Gold Line Eastside extension in 2004. The six-mile route runs from Atlantic Boulevard in East L.A. to Union Station and connects with the original Gold Line, which runs from Union Station to Pasadena. The extension project cost $898 million.

“I think we’re going to see the expected 13,000 daily riders soon, but I think it’s going to take awhile for everyone to get used to it,” Huizar said.

-- Ari B. Bloomekatz


Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times

[novabus9228]

Halifax Metro Transit

From my August 2009 trip:
rides.webshots.com/album/574629792ePDPro