SHUTTLE HOMES IN ON RIDERS; BUS SYSTEM VENTURES WHERE OTHERS DON'T.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer

What would Ralph Kramden have thought?

Today's buses have entered the Digital Age and surely would confound Jackie Gleason's famous blustery bus driver, but his riders would have loved being picked up at their doors.

The Smart Shuttle is armed with an array of high-tech gadgetry that allows drivers to make door-to-door pickups citywide for just $4 a trip.

The bus service, sponsored by Los Angeles and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and run by private contractors, has become so popular that public outcry turned back threats to cancel the service earlier this year for lack of money.

And the system has even added new routes, including one through Northridge, Chatsworth and Canoga Park that begins today.

Citywide the system had about 1.86 million riders last year, about two-thirds of that in the San Fernando Valley, according to Phil Aker, a supervisor for the city Department of Transportation.

Key to the shuttle's success is global positioning system satellites, which track every vehicle and allow customized pickups. Also, the buses feature ``smart cards,'' essentially debit cards that allow riders to pay without searching for change.

``It's easy to get on, it's easy to get around,'' said Josh Berg, a 12-year-old who takes the shuttle every day from Francis Parkman Middle School in Woodland Hills to his home in Reseda.

He said the $3 per ride he pays with his smart card is worth it because his mom works late and the regular school bus ``is really crowded and takes a long time to get where I'm going.''

The system is an attempt to infuse cutting-edge technology into public transit, in order to bring in new riders and provide service in areas where big buses don't go, officials said.

``It's amazing the stuff this computer can do,'' said driver Sean Anthony Simon as he tapped the buttons on a terminal next to the fare box during a recent Northridge-Woodland Hills run.

The program citywide costs about $5 million a year to operate, Aker said. Of that, roughly $1.6 million is earned back through fare revenues, which include a number of discounts allowing riders on for less than $1. The rest is subsidized by the MTA and the Department of Transportation.

Each 18-passenger Smart Shuttle costs roughly $40 an hour to operate, compared to about $100 an hour for a 44-seat MTA bus, officials said. The Smart Shuttles tend to earn back between a quarter and a third of their costs, while MTA buses earn about 28 percent, according to Aker. The private companies running Smart Shuttle keep the fares and receive subsidies for the rest of their costs.

``It's another way to offer service,'' Aker said. ``Is public transit subsidized? You bet. It's out there to carry people who don't have another way to go, it's out there to carry them when the car doesn't start.

``You pay for it partially out of the fare box and primarily through sales tax revenues, because people feel it's important to have a system even though they don't have to use it personally,'' he said.

Critics of the Smart Shuttle program said it costs too much and provides inconsistent service, with routes and schedules changing too often.

``It's a waste of money. It's never gonna work,'' said City Councilman Nate Holden, who voted against launching the program in 1997.

Holden, who represents central Los Angeles, said the money would be better spent on other transit programs, including the MTA and DASH.

Ruth Richter, a Winnetka resident and member of the Smart Shuttle citizens advisory committee, said the system has been improving, but the changing schedules create too much confusion.

``I think they really have to work on consistency and service,'' Richter said. ``It's there for two months and then, bingo, it's not there. That doesn't work. I'd rather they did less service and were consistent than did more service and change regularly.''

When not providing the custom service, the shuttles often overlap with the MTA's regular routes. At $1 for a basic ride with no deviations off the main route, Smart Shuttle can cost 35 cents less than a regular MTA bus, officials note, while the customized service, which can cost up to $4, is still cheaper than taxis.

Among those who love the Smart Shuttle is Marlee Darrett, a 58-year-old North Hollywood resident who takes it from her job at California State University, Northridge, to her second job at The Promenade in Woodland Hills. Previously, she said, she had to cut her hours at the mall because the MTA bus was inadequate.

``The (MTA) bus is usually late, and sometimes I'm late for work,'' she said. ``But this (shuttle) is exact. I'm able to get to work on time. I'm so happy about this. Now I can keep two jobs.''

Each bus has a GPS unit on the roof that sends a signal up to orbiting satellites, allowing dispatchers to pinpoint the location of every vehicle in the system on a digital map.

When a call for pickup comes in, the dispatcher takes the rider's name, address, time of pickup and destination, along with any special instructions, said Mark Gillingham, project manager with R&D Transportation, the private contractor that runs the West Valley shuttle.

The computer, knowing the location and route of every bus, then gives the rider options such as fastest route, cheapest route, or one with the least transfers, and then chooses which bus can best make the pickup. The information is digitally relayed to the mobile data terminal in that vehicle.

``Technology has made a difference in ridership,'' Gillingham said. ``By knowing where our vehicles are, when somebody calls and says I need a ride, we can say, well, we've got somebody three blocks away heading in your direction. Can you be out there in three minutes?''

Bill Bicker, marketing consultant for San Gabriel Transit, the firm that runs the East Valley shuttle, said the system has also eliminated mistakes caused by drivers who mishear an address relayed over static in the radio system.

``It allows for very precise communication,'' he said.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

Photo: (1) The Smart Shuttle uses satellite technology to speed the ride.

(2--Color) A Mobile Data Computer, left, and a charge card reader aid drivers of the Smart Shuttle, which can make door-to-door pickups.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer

Box: SMART SHUTTLE

A high-tech system which allows door-to-door pickup and dropoffs on public transit buses for $4 or less a ride.