ORANGE STILL HAS APPEAL.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

A month after its celebrated launch, the Metro Orange Line busway is drawing large numbers of commuters and, better still, motorists are missing the buses.

With no collisions in more than two weeks on the $350 million bus route from North Hollywood to Woodland Hills, transportation officials say drivers have learned to stay clear of the silver Orange Line coaches.

Sgt. Dave Willard, head of Orange Line security operations for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, said that after a couple of rocky weeks, motorists are getting it.

``My motor officers say it's getting more difficult to catch violators because the public is aware and abiding by the law,'' Willard said.

Transportation officials said Monday that ridership on the San Fernando Valley bus line remains strong at between 10,000 and 12,000 commuters per weekday, with 16,000 riders per weekend.

In the first 10 days after the Orange Line opened, Oct. 29, there were three collisions between motorists and buses, all involving drivers who ran red lights, officials said. One elderly driver, possibly talking on a cell phone, drove her car into the side of a bus, injuring 15 passengers.

During that same period, a joint law enforcement task force issued an estimated 480 traffic tickets.

In the past 10 days, however, sheriff's deputies handed 120 tickets to motorists who have failed to heed Orange Line signals - a 75 percent drop.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which administers the Metro Orange Line and connecting subway system, said new safety measures have also helped.

``New Crossing'' and ``Look Both Ways'' signs have been added along the 14-mile route. Some buses have also been fitted with experimental strobe lights.

The agency is also looking into installing crossing gates, colored crosswalks, grooves or embedded lights before intersections and more visible paint schemes for Orange Line buses.

Metro Orange Line revenue receipts suggest 11,000 boardings per workday since the first day of paid service. An official tally of Orange Line riders is expected in mid-December.

``So far, so good,'' MTA spokesman Dave Sotero said of the Orange Line system. ``Ridership is steady. People love it. It's improving their commutes - the response has been very positive.''

While critics hail the new extension to the Red Line subway, they say there's much room for improvement.

Bart Reed, executive director of the Sylmar-based Transit Coalition, said the cost of running the Orange Line has bled service on north-south bus routes across the Valley, particularly to the Northridge Fashion Center mall.

``You certainly can't get to the mall and spend your day on a Sunday,'' said Reed, an advocate for riders whose main transportation is the bus.

On Monday, late afternoon commuters filled buses to standing room only along the 35-minute ride across the Valley, with bicycles upended by the door. Some read. Others talked. Some gazed into the dusk. Others escaped into a din of headphones.

When asked, everyone agreed that the Orange Line had quickened their everyday bus commute. Others said they saved gas money - and their sanity.

``To me, it was a godsend,'' said Matt Wright, 35, of West Hills, a Gold's Gym trainer who has ridden the Orange Line for a month to gyms in Woodland Hills and North Hollywood. ``I used to drive - it was horrendous, with all the traffic.

``Ever since the bus, I've been stress-free.''

Juan, a student at Birmingham High School who declined to give his last name, said he's saved 45 minutes on his bus commute from North Hollywood to Lake Balboa.

Prior to the Orange Line, he took two city buses to school, with up to half-hour waits at each stop. New Metro Orange Line buses stop every five minutes and do it in a single trip.

``It's great,'' said Juan, 16. ``The Orange Line is cool - people smell better.''

Marcus O'Donnell had loaned his car to a friend and took the Orange Line for the first time Monday from the Pierce College Station to a station near his home in Tarzana.

``They really put some thought and effort into it,'' O'Donnell, 45, marveled as he boarded the bus. ``It reminds me of the (rail) system in the Bay Area.

``I liked that they landscaped it. Within a few years, it'll really look nice.''

Dana Bartholomew, [phone]

dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Metro Orange Line passengers squeeze into a crowded bus at the North Hollywood stop at the end of the workday.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer