Bravo! limited-stop buses to no longer stop at Downtown Long Beach
OCTA has quietly de-listed Downtown Long Beach as a proposed destination from the new Westminster-17th line as part of the Bravo! limited-stop bus service rollout. All mentions of Downtown Long Beach were removed from their website and its corresponding Westminster-17th PDF publication.
Downtown Long Beach was a part of the line that spanned Tustin, Garden Grove, Seal Beach, and Long Beach, as a faster (and dare I say more rapid) version of the slower-moving line 60. However, OCTA recently cut line 60 so that buses wouldn't travel farther west than at the VA Hospital and Cal State Long Beach. Unfortunately for riders, the move has forced bus riders to transfer to and from Long Beach Transit at an additional cost.
In other Bravo! news, a recent Google Image search turned up this future website promoting the Bravo! service. Not sure when it's to be deployed, but the website was completed in mid-2008, when OCTA was supposed to have launched the new bus service:
Comments
Haha, nice find on the web
Haha, nice find on the web site. I think the OCTA wants people to forget it's been delayed for two years.
Too bad...
I remember taking OCTA route 60 back in 2002 from Westminster to the Long Beach Metro Blue Line Station and back. That was an excruciatingly long and slow commute. Having a Bravo! Line along that same route certainly would have been much better. But, NOOOOOO! OCTA had to spend what little money they had left on a damn freeway sign and freeway expansion efforts at the expense of expanding bus service. So far, I haven't heard LACMTA consider doing the same thing (cutting service, that is).
LA County passed Measure R, a
LA County passed Measure R, a half cent sales tax, much of which goes to mass transit. There's the difference. If it had not passed, LA County bus and rail riders would be looking at massive cuts.
Why is Bravo being delayed?
I forget. Is there a reason why OCTA keeps on pushing back the date for the rollout? (2010 is "supposed" to be the latest they can deploy the service, but when it comes to figuring out how to bend rules, never say "never.")
Time to replace OCTA
The OCTA is totally incompetent. I think we should replace them.
Think about this - Orange County has about the same population as the city of Chicago. Have you seen their transit system?
If not, take a peek
www.transitchicago.com/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Transit_Authority
Chicago has a system that mostly runs 24/7. I think all but about two or three buses are night owl, about every five minutes during the day and every 30 minutes at night.
They have a subway and a few elevated rail lines that work well.
If they can do it (and without sales tax revenue), why can't we?
Keep in mind...
...that (I believe this to be the case for here and New York as well) a lot of Chicago's transit system was built up by private companies before they started going under, and CTA had to step in.
CTA is chronically underfunded and I keep reading stories about how Illinois and Chicago insufficiently fund CTA, Pace, and Metra to the point where "slow zones" on CTA tracks were enacted b/c CTA couldn't maintain their rails properly.
In this case, just know that OCTA's Board of Directors (politicians) are separate from OCTA's Staff. I know some of OCTA staff are trying the best they can to keep the transit system going, and on some level, they are successful: buses are mostly on time (even the 57 that I ride through rush hour), very clean, and are well-maintained. It's just that there isn't more of this because there's not enough pressure from the general public on our politicians to make OCTA more successful.
Cut backs and elimination of bus service
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJL2Z_ZPqGU&NR=1
YouTube - Sao Paulo Subway - Blue Line - Linha Azul Metro de Sao Paulo
Ride and weep. You won't have anything like this if Moorlach and his cronies have their way. Check OC Register website!
Tony