MTA AGREES TO CANCEL SOME BUS ROUTES.

Byline: SUE DOYLE

Staff Writer

Starting in June, bus service will be shortened on some routes and eliminated entirely on others as part of an MTA restructuring plan that officials on Monday said will save the transit agency $7.5 million.

The cuts, which amount to 100,000 hours annually out of a total 7 million hours, will affect 55 bus lines starting June 24.

But the plan also includes adding longer, higher-capacity buses on the MTA's heavily used routes, which officials say will counterbalance the cuts on the underused lines.

Under the plan, 17 routes will see operating hours shortened, while 16 will be canceled because of too few riders. In addition, 22 lines will have their routes altered.

On Monday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board approved the changes, which include adding 100 60-foot buses -- 20 feet longer than the traditional ones -- to accommodate more passengers.

"It's better service where demand is the greatest," said Janelle Erickson, spokeswoman for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who sits on the board.

The MTA already has 275 of the 60-foot buses in its 2,500-bus fleet. The 60-footers have 57 more seats than standard buses and use compressed natural gas -- considered one of the cleanest fuels. The board agreed to pay $86.4 million to buy the additional buses, scheduled to hit the streets next spring.

The board does not yet know how it will pay for the buses but will discuss the cost at its June meeting.

Members of the Bus Riders Union -- an advocacy group that filed a civil- rights lawsuit against the MTA in 1994 that triggered a consent decree -- said Monday's decision to cut routes counters the agreement and its protection of bus riders. They urged the board not to approve the cuts.

Under the decree, the MTA was forced to invest $1.3 billion in bus service. In October, a judge ruled that the transit agency had complied with the agreement and allowed it to lapse. The Bus Riders Union has filed an appeal.

Manuel Criollo, organizer for the Los Angeles-based group, said the cuts will force riders to make more bus transfers to get around town and will add more time to their commutes.

"For MTA board members, these decisions are pretty blind and are not based on what people will suffer when they're out there," Criollo said. "It leaves people vulnerable to certain realities that the board is not sensitive to."

Changes to bus service are necessary to help untangle the transit agency from a stubborn $104 million deficit, MTA officials said.

In addition, the MTA has proposed raising fares on its buses and subways with a two-step rate increase that could start this summer. The plan, unveiled in March, could more than double prices for most tickets by 2009. A public hearing for the proposed fares will take place May 24 at MTA headquarters.

Earlier this year, the MTA's five neighborhood governing councils held public hearings on the proposed bus cuts and made recommendations to the board.

sue.doyle(at)dailynews.com

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