Measure M
OCTA Weekly Update: High Speed Rail investment, Amante & Kempton's 2010 goals, & new Metrolink cars
Submitted by Steven on 28 January, 2010 - 6:12pm
A ton of news packed in OCTA's weekly e-mail newsletter. I've pasted it here below, and you can also view the original post here. In a nutshell:
- OCTA cheers for the new $2.34 bil investment in California High Speed Rail (the bullet train to link Anaheim, Los Angeles, and San Francisco). Improvements to existing track should bring Metrolink and Amtrak up to a max speed of 110 mph.
- Amante & Kempton talk goals. OCTA Chairman Jerry Amante wants to stabilize bus operations, but most of his details talk about further reducing bus service to an "efficient" level. CEO Will Kempton wants to further integrate Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, Coaster, and Metrolink Orange County Line / Ventura County Line services.
- Santa Ana is hosting two Go Local meetings next week about its planned freeway offramp through Garden Grove & the streetcar linking Garden Grove and Santa Ana's depot.
- OC Register takes a pessimistic view of the Irvine Shuttle, claiming that Irvine spends $19 per rider on a shuttle service that serves the Irvine Business Complex.
A look back: "What’s Next for O.C. Transportation?"
Submitted by Steven on 24 April, 2009 - 8:33pm
Abe Ahn, who writes for the UC Irvine student publication Forest Fire, has graciously allowed me to re-publish his article, which gives some insight into the politics of Orange County's public transit, and dives into the stories of people who ride OCTA.
Santa Ana College professor Roy Shahbazian has not owned a car in over a decade, an impressive feat in a county that embraces private transportation. As a member of the non-profit Transit Advocates, he lobbies city council meetings and citizen advisory boards for improved services. But in Orange County, it’s difficult for Shahbazian to persuade people to leave their cars.
“When I say I’m taking the bus home, people who don’t know me are sort of alarmed and they want to help me out and ask me, ‘What’s wrong? How come you’re taking the bus home?’” said Shahbazian.
This kind of reaction is typical in the county. In the 1990s, transit advocates pushed for the construction of the CenterLine, a nine-mile light rail system running from Santa Ana to Irvine. But in 2005, lack of public support resulted in the suspension of all plans for the rail. Instead, the county reallocated its funds to improve express bus services and the Metrolink train system. read more→
