RIDERS SLAM BUS SERVICE A.V. TRANSIT AGENCY PUTS LAIDLAW ON NOTICE.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Antelope Valley Transit Authority officials pledged Saturday to improve commuter services after listening to two hours of complaints from dozens of angry bus riders.

Bus riders told of repeated breakdowns that make them late for work or late picking up children from day care, of overcrowded buses leaving them stranded at bus stops, of uncleaned chemical toilets and malfunctioning air conditioners that turn buses into sweatboxes.

``We are tired of slipping transmissions, bad brakes and leaking urinals,'' said passenger Denise Golliday, who rides the AVTA's 785 line to downtown Los Angeles.

Apologizing for the bus passengers' experiences, AVTA executive director Bill Budlong said the private company that operates, dispatches and maintains the public agency's fleet of buses has already been formally notified it must improve quickly.

Laidlaw Transit's general manager for the AVTA operations left last week, and a new one will be named, he said.

Budlong said the AVTA's administrators were not informed by Laidlaw about the frequency of breakdowns or about complaints phoned in by irate riders. People at the meeting said they seldom got responses to their calls and e-mails.

``I think Laidlaw had a vested interest in not letting us know,'' Budlong said. ``We will spend a lot more time looking over their shoulders.''

The AVTA administrators also promised to set up an advisory board of riders as a way to improve communications between passengers and the agency, which is a joint operation controlled and subsidized by the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale and by Los Angeles County.

Laidlaw, a national bus firm, has operated the AVTA buses under supervision of the agency's six-person staff since buying the previous contractor, Budlong said. Its five-year contract expires in June 2002.

More than 70 passengers, mostly those who take commuter buses to work in downtown Los Angeles, attended the Palmdale City Hall meeting called by the bus agency in response to complaints and a petition signed by more than 250 riders.

The meeting came 15 days after the bus agency hiked its fares for the first time in five years and on the same day that MTA bus drivers in Los Angeles went out on strike.

Rider after rider walked to the podium to recount bus horror stories.

One woman told how a universal joint fell off her bus on the Antelope Valley Freeway and smashed a car's windshield. An Aug. 10 blowout on a double-decker bus's front tire sent the bus careening into the next lane, as passengers screamed and the driver struggled to keep control.

Some buses can't travel more than 35 mph up the grade at Escondido Summit, riders said. Others pull to the side of the freeway - sometimes two or three times between Los Angeles and Palmdale - because of overheating and wait to cool down.

Desi Manyweather told how her overheating bus had to pull over Wednesday afternoon near Agua Dulce Canyon Road as a brush fire burned nearby. Passengers watched the helicopters pass overhead to fight the flames.

Some riders said they make sure they arrive early for the morning buses so they are among the first in line, in fear of being left behind at the Park and Ride lot because the bus is full. Being forced to drive their own cars because the bus was full is especially irritating after paying $163for a monthly pass.

``Within the last three weeks I had to drive four times,'' said Gwen Roberts.

``We can't be constantly late for our jobs - the bus broke down and they didn't send another one. This is a constant problem. No employer wants to hear that all the time,'' Carole Gordon said.

Breakdowns usually mean long waits, sometimes for hours.

Thomas Thomas' bus broke down on his way home from work last Valentine's Day, making him miss a date with his wife.

``I left on a 4 o'clock bus, and I didn't get to the Park and Ride lot on Avenue S until 9:15,'' Thomas said.

Thomas added: ``In the last three weeks, I have been on three buses that broke down.''

The breakdowns seem to worsen as the buses age, longtime riders said. Some of the buses have been in use since the agency was created 8 1/2 years ago. The AVTA policy is to retire buses after 12 years.

Oftentimes replacement buses are smaller than the bus that breaks down, meaning that some of the passengers must be left behind.

Budlong said the agency is considering hiring an outside consultant to study maintenance staffing, procedures, the parts inventory and other factors, trying to analyze why breakdowns occur so frequently.

Budlong got angry at one point in the meeting, when a woman told him his office should have a sign like President Harry Truman's ``the buck stops here,'' because he was blaming Laidlaw and others for the problems.

``I'm standing here taking the flack,'' Budlong said, eyes flashing.

Although he was unaware of the extent of the problems until hearing the riders' complaints, Budlong said the AVTA has already started trying to make changes.

``We are beginning the legal process,'' he said. ``We have put the contractor on notice. We identified a variety of shortcomings and said they have to be corrected in 10 days.''