CITY EYES RED LINE SHUTTLE SERVICE WOULD RUN FROM MEDIA DISTRICT.

Byline: Alex Dobuzinskis Staff Writer

BURBANK - The city could start a shuttle service early next year between major studios and the MTA Red Line subway to speed the commute for Media District workers, officials said Tuesday.

The proposal would expand the shuttle line that already runs between the Media District and the Burbank Metrolink station - part of the city's mass-transit system that has seen a 16 percent boost in ridership in the last year.

``I've been hearing ... that a lot of employees in the Media District, and especially studio employees, would like to take the Red Line,'' said City Councilwoman Stacey Murphy. ``But there's no real easy way to get from the Red Line to the studios.''

The Media District is home to Warner Bros., Disney, NBC, KABC (Channel 7) and the Pinnacle Building. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has two bus lines that serve the Media District and connect with the Red Line, which has stops in Universal City and North Hollywood.

But one Media District bus line has waits averaging 35 to 60 minutes, while rush-hour commuters have to wait at least 50 minutes for the other, said Greg Herrmann, the city's assistant community development director for transportation.

A shuttle between the Media District and the Red Line would run every 20-30 minutes, officials said.

``It would be a more direct route than these buses follow, so it would theoretically take less time than these MTA buses,'' Herrmann said.

City officials haven't yet decided whether to use the North Hollywood or the Universal City station as the connection point for the proposed shuttle.

However, the MTA's $330 million Orange Line busway across the San Fernando Valley will end at the North Hollywood station, giving that location an added benefit.

In addition, the North Hollywood station has 919 parking spaces, compared with 555 at Universal City.

Burbank would need at least two shuttle buses to operate the service between the Media District and the Red Line, Herrmann said.

``The options are to potentially buy new buses or lease vehicles from our contractor,'' he said.

The Burbank Transportation Management Organization, the nonprofit agency that works with large companies in the Media District and downtown to increase employee use of public transportation, supports the proposed shuttle. The organization plans to distribute surveys to member companies this month to gauge the demand. Results are expected in mid-October.

The TMO could provide some funding for the shuttle, Murphy said, but city officials have not determined how much the project would cost.

More than 186,000 passengers traveled on the shuttles and vans of Burbank Local Transit last fiscal year.

The existing shuttle service is paid for by Burbank, a portion of which comes from the countywide half-cent transportation sales tax. The total budget for the BLT is about $800,000. BLT riders pay $1 if they don't have a ticket from the MTA or Metrolink. Otherwise it's free.

``That's been extremely successful. If you look at those buses, they're absolutely packed,'' Murphy said.

Alex Dobuzinskis, [phone]

alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com