Metro modifies bus routes to accommodate new Expo light-rail line in Los Angeles
The Metro 305 line travels daily through South Los Angeles. It will permanently shut down this month to make way for a new Expo light-rail line, forcing many commuters to find alternative routes.
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By Yanting Li
June 10, 2012 10:30 p.m.
Early in the morning, the Metro 305 bus lumbers through South Los Angeles, picking up passenger Patricia Smith on her daily commute.
For 50 minutes, the orange bus zigzags northwest, carrying Smith straight from her home to UCLA, where she works as a faculty support services manager at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
But starting June 17, Smith will have to find an alternate mode of transport. The Metro 305 line will close permanently to accommodate a new Expo light-rail line that will run through Los Angeles, said Rick Jager, spokesman for L.A. Metro.
“The line is kind of staircased,” Jager said. “We have a lot of lines running east-west and north-south, so there was a lot of duplication of service.”
Financially, the line required a much higher subsidy than the other bus lines in the Metro system, he added.
Around 45 students and faculty at UCLA will be affected when the line is discontinued, said David Karwaski, senior associate director for planning, policy and traffic systems for UCLA Transportation.
The direct nature of the line in bringing riders from South Los Angeles to the Westside leaves riders with no comparable alternative, as there is no other uninterrupted route from Westwood to the parts of South Los Angeles the 305 covers.
For Smith, who takes the bus Monday through Friday, the change means losing the convenience and dependability she has been accustomed to for three years. Since one year ago, she has created two petitions against Metro’s decision that have made little headway ““ even though others have signed and presented them to Metro.
The change to the bus lines has been in the works for about a year, Jager said.
“There are other buses you can take, but (with this line) you don’t have to transfer,” Smith said. “Without this line, I’ll have to take two buses ““ three if I don’t want to walk.”
The planned Expo line, which runs east-west, will not be as convenient for those who use the 305 line. Feeder buses will run to the Expo line, but that will still mean time-consuming and costly transfers for riders, Karwaski said.
Smith said taking the bus is a lifestyle choice.
While she has a car, she said she prefers to take the bus for environmental reasons, and also to avoid driving to work in morning traffic.
She said she will miss the camaraderie that has formed with other riders on the bus.
“People know each other,” Smith said. “In the dark months, in the winter, people kind of watch out for you.”
Other riders who take the line less frequently said they will also miss Metro 305 when it is gone.
Bryan Lee, a second-year undeclared student, said he takes the line twice a month to visit relatives in South Los Angeles.
“I don’t own a car, and this line is the most convenient by far,” he said.
To adjust to the line being discontinued, Lee said he will have to look into alternative routes, and perhaps make the journey to see his relatives less often.
And some riders have already made changes in their commute. A handful have switched to the Metro 2, which has some route overlap.
When the Metro 305 pulled out of the Ackerman Union station early Tuesday afternoon, it was empty.
“I’m pretty committed (to this bus), but I have to accept it’s going to be cut,” Smith said. “I’ll have to make the adjustment, I just won’t like it.”
