1;1BUSWAYRAMP

PENS 11E1.1973

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A very important piece of legisla-tion became effective Jan. 1 em-powering RTD to place a District-widereferendum on the ballot which, ifpassed, would finance the local shareof its proposed rapid transit program.Signed into law by Governor RonaldReagan in October, Assembly Bill1727 has been hailed by the Districtas a distinct breakthrough toward in-creased mobility for commuters in theLos Angeles Basin.

RTD President Thomas Neusom• said area voters will now have the op-portunity to vote in November on theDistrict's two-fold program for transitimprovement. The legislation,authored by State Assemblyman JoeA. Gonsalves of La Mirada, permits avote on funding the local share re-quired to build the first phase of thearea-wide rapid transit system. If ap-proved by a simple majority of thevoters, the measure will authorize theBoard of Directors of RTD to levy upto a one cent special sales tax withinthe District.

One half of the proceeds from thetax would be used exclusively forcapital costs associated with the con-struction of a rapid transit system. Theother half of the tax would be used toreduce bus fares to a flat 25 cent rate,and provide the District and municipalbus companies in the area with suf-ficient funds to expand and improvetheir existing systems during the rapidtransit construction period.

If the referendum is passed for thelocal funding of the rapid transitsystem, the Urban Mass TransitAuthority is expected to provide theremaining two-thirds of the project.

There are other key provisions setforth in A.B. 1727.Majority vote: Reduces the vote re-

quirement for passage of a special

(continued on page two)

.10e fare Jan. 20

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Southern California Rapid Transit District

Volume 1 Number 2 January 14, 1974

• Ramps to Busway open at Del Mar Ave.'San Gabriel Connection' joins buswayin midstream; big step into Stage II

'Breakthrough'for rapid transitgoes into law

In an effort to further acquaintSouthern Californians with RTD ser-vices, the District will hold a 10 cent"Sample Sunday" Jan. 20. The once-only event will run from 5 a.m. to mid-night.

While service normally available onSundays amounts to 444 buses —1/3 of those in service on weekdays— District officials indicate that themany seats available on most routeswould enable RTD to handle most ofthe increased passenger ridingwithout augmentation of normal Sun-day service.

Operations Department supervisory

(continued on page three)

San Gabriel Valley commuters tooktheir first trip down the Del Mar on-ramp to the El Monte-Los Angeles Ex-press Busway during its first full day ofservice Dec. 31. District personnelgreeted passengers on the 52F, 53F,63F and the 507 subscription bus andpresented each patron with a penengraved to commemorate the open-ing of the ramps.

Residents of the 62,000 homes inthe area are now able to board busesin their neighborhoods on three newRTD routes which, by utilizing the newramps, feed directly into the high-speed special bus lanes running downthe center of the San BernardinoFreeway.

Officials of RTD hailed the openingof the ramps as not only a method ofreducing commuting time, but as away to combat the energy crisis.

"Since one bus is capable ofremoving 40 cars from the roads, thepotential savings of scarce fuel areconsiderable," said Thomas Neusom,RTD president. "And the opening ofthe Del Mar access ramps means arearesidents no longer have to take theircars to our El Monte station to makeconnections to the Busway — theycan catch our express buses at variouslocations near their homes and stillsave 18 to 20 minutes on the down-town trip."

General Manager Jack Gilstrapemphasized the new routes are notreplacing any existing service; that allother bus lines in the area will con-tinue.

"San Gabriel Valley residents havealready demonstrated their support ofthe Busway concept," Gilstrap added."A new all-time record was setDecember 4 when 5560 passengerscommuted to Los Angeles that day viaexpress buses. And betweenThanksgiving and Christmas there wasonly one weekday when we hauled

The state's new 55 mile per hourmaximum speed limit went into effectlast week, but the "California BrakeDown" is not expected to affect thearrival times of RTD buses.

The new law, which will remain ineffect until June 30, 1975, quicklypassed both houses of the StateLegislature and was signed by Gover-nor Ronald Reagan early in December.Proponents of the measure estimatethat it will save 300 million gallons ofgasoline in California annually. Theyalso anticipate that, in addition to con-serving fuel, it will result in fewer ac-cidents and, consequently, fewer in-juries and deaths.

fewer than 5000 passengers. The newDel Mar ramps should encourage evenmore commuters to ride the bus."

The completion of the Del Marramps in San Gabriel marks an impor-tant step taken into Stage II of theBusway construction. When complete,Stage II will provide an additionalparking facility for 700 automobiles atthe new El Monte Terminal, runningthe total capacity to 1400 spaces, andthe construction of two on-linestations. One will be built at Cal StateLos Angeles and the other at LosAngeles County-USC Medical Center.

The original seven miles of theBusway will then be extended fourmiles from the Long Beach Freeway toMission Road. Another intermediateramp, similar to the Del Mar ramp, willalso be built to provide access fromthe Long Beach Freeway serving areasnorth and south of the Busway.

District officials have proposed tothe City of Los Angeles that preferen-tial curb-lane operation be grantedbuses on dowtown surface streets tofurther reduce the time involved ingetting bus commuters to theirdestinations, and increase the reliabili-ty of this expedited service.

Buses serving the El Monte-LosAngeles Express Busway travel at thelegal speed limit, now 55 m.p.h., ex-cept where restricted by the District toa lower speed for safety con-siderations. Busway operators alsoreduce their speed when weather con-ditions dictate slower operation.

The speed limit law also requirestrucks, trailers, and "most buses" totravel in the right hand lanes of thestate's major highways. RTD busesare already directed to operate in thetwo right hand lanes of SouthernCalifornia freeways whenever pbssi-ble.

California 'Brake Down'won't affect arrival time

. . . people makethings happen

CAROLYN FRANKLIN (formerlyCarolyn Nall) happily shows off themoney tree her fellow informationclerks gave her as a wedding present.Carolyn was married Dec. 30 to Jay B.Franklin. From left to right are GloriaRiley, Gloria Cottrell Madeline VanLeuvan, Carolyn Franklin, Ricci Alford,and Rae Richardson.

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PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT'S MarySacre explains employe benefits to agroup of division clerks assembled atDivision 3 during a session of the Em-ploye Relations Workshop. RTD divi-sion clerks, instructors and supervi-sors studied the application and inter-pretation of the United TransportationUnion contract, employe benefits, andproper payroll reporting procedures asthey rotated through two 2-hourworking sessions.

JOHN LONG, passenger service direc-tor at the El Monte Station (seated),received some important visitors re-cently when Superintendent of Trans-portation Johnny Johnston (left) ledState Senators James R. Mills and Al

-HEM We-WRYVolume 1 Number 2

Published by and for the employesof the Southern California RapidTransit District. Send stories,photos, or just the facts to PatrickBarry, Editor, Public InformationDepartment, 1060 S. Broadway,Los Angeles, California 90015.

fred E. Alquist on a tour of the termi-nal. After inspecting the facilities, thetwo senators boarded an RTD Free-way Flyer for the express trip to down-town Los Angeles via the bus-onlylanes on the San Bernardino Freeway.

Entertainment soughtEverything is all set for RTD's an-

nual Management Dinner, scheduledfor Jan. 14 at Rudi's Italian Restaurant everything except the entertain-ment, that is. If any group of employesor their acquaintances are willing tosing or play for their supper, contactHEADWAY at Ext. 431.

ASSEMBLYMAN Joe A. Gonsalves(D-La Mirada, left) accepts a citationand fare box from RTD President

A. B. 1727(continued from page one)

sales tax from 60 percent to a sim-ple majority.

Gas tax diversion: Anticipates thatgas tax revenues will becomeavailable to help fund the construc-tion of the rapid transit system.

Sales tax reduction: Ten years afterthe tax is levied which supports thecapital costs of system construc-

Thomas Neusom in recognition for hiscontinuing legislative efforts towardimproved public transportation.

tion, the District is required to sub-mit a report to the State Legislaturesetting forth procedures by whichthe tax would be reduced.

Audit of District activities: Eachyear, CALTRANS and the JointLegislative Audit Committee mayaudit activities and programs of theDistrict.

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Page three

Southern California's ridingpublic has a great deal at stakewhen RTD's rapid transit referen-dum is presented to Los AngelesCounty voters this year, but no onehas more to gain than the District'sown employes. Besides creatingthousands of jobs directly related tothe construction of the systemitself, the proposal also calls for animmediate expansion of RTD's busservice, which means new contractand non-contract promotional op-portunities and greater seniority forcurrent contract personnel.

The passage of the propositionwould provide RTD with funds toincrease its bus fleet by 1100 units.To operate and maintain the newbuses, the District could require theadditional services of up to 2000operators, 500 maintenance per-sonnel, and 500 clerical, super-visory and administrative employes.

"The many new non-contractsupervisory and managementpositions that would be establishedwould, of course, be filled,whenever possible, with our ownqualified personnel," said PersonnelDirector Byron Lewis.

Since the District's 10 operatingdivisions cannot presently maintainthe additional equipment and per-sonnel, they would have to be ex-

panded or new divisions wouldhave to be built. It is estimated thatthe equivalent of six new divisionswould be built and manned withthe capacity to operate and main-tain 230 buses each. The District'smain overhaul facilities would haveto be enlarged by approximately 75percent.

Described as the largest publicworks ballot proposition in statehistory, the referendum is expectedto create 10,000 jobs related to theconstruction of the rapid transitsystem.

In the twelve year interimbetween the start of rapid transitconstruction and the beginning offull revenue passenger service onthe recommended rapid transitsystem, the consultant project teamhas recommended a comprehen-sive program of bus service im-provements.

Already included in this shortrange improvement program arethe El Monte-Los Angeles ExpressBusway, the new West Valley-CBDFinancial Center Subscription Com-muter Service (first of a continuingand expanded program of"subscription" services), and theBus Service Improvement Programbegun last spring in the San Fer-nando Valley and elsewhere.

Rapid transit to bringhundreds of bus jobs

Series E and H Bonds•now yield higher interest

The White House has announcedthat all Series E and H Savings Bondspurchased on or after Dec. 1, 1973,will now earn 6 percent when held tomaturity. Savings Bonds have beenearning 51/2 percent when held tomaturity.

The annual rate on Savings Bondsand Savings Notes not yet mature isalso increased by the same amount.Twenty-three million Americanspresently holding more than $60billion in Savings Bonds and Noteswill receive an additional 1/2 percentreturn on their present Bonds. No ac-tion on the part of Savings Bond orNote holders is necessary to take ad-vantage of the higher rate.

Commenting on the increase,Treasury Secretary George P. Shultznoted that the Savings Bond programhas been a cornerstone of Treasury'sdebt management program.

The maturity of Series E Bonds soldafter Dec. 1 will be shortened from 5years 10 months to 5 years. Thepurchase price of new Bonds will re-main unchanged.

Payroll deduction forms for par-ticipation in the District's U.S. SavingsBonds program are available toemployes at their supervisor's office.Call the Personnel Department forfurther information regarding theprogram.

billion year old celestial body. The besttime for viewing will be after sunsetand before moonrise, and a pair ofbinoculars should help.

RTD Line 95 provides service to theGriffith Park Observatory via VermontAvenue where the planetarium willpresent "Mysteries of Great Comets"through February 10.

Div. 8 operator cited by Board

RTD employees will be able to gettheir best look at what is left of thecomet Kohoutek (pronounced Kah-HOE-tek) now through Jan. 15 when*it passes the earth on a trip it makesonce every 50,000 years.Astronomers recommend a high van-tage point with a clear view to thesouthwest for the best look at the 4.6

Comet-watchers' hopes dim

(continued from page one)

personnel will be closely observing thepublic response to "Sample Sunday"to determine the effect of such a farereduction on service needs on par-ticular routes as well as its effects onrevenue and costs.

A flat 25-cent fare is contemplatedby Assembly Bill 1727, and this testwill give the District an opportunity to

evaluate the cost and effect on servicerequirements of a flat fare.

Additionally, greater use of publictransportation, particularly on Sundaywhen gasoline stations are being clos-ed, provides the District with an op-portunity to contribute to the allevia-tion of the energy crisis while at thesame time minimizing the economicimpact of the energy crisis on thecommunity.

Division 8's Morris Taylor has beenpresented with the "Operator of theMonth" award in ceremonies duringthe Jan. 3 meeting of the Board ofDirectors. Taylor, a San Fernando resi-dent was selected for the honor afterthe District received a glowing letterof commendation from one of hispassengers.

The letter read, in part, "in spite ofthe heavy traffic and number of peopleboarding the bus, he was extremelycourteous and helpful in telling peoplehow to reach their destination. I was

impressed and amazed — he didn'tlose his patience ... So many peopleare new to the point that they dependon bus drivers to answer theirquestions. It's a joy to have themanswered so pleasantly. I wish therewere more drivers like him."

Director George Brewster, a citycouncilman for the city of Torrance,presented the award to Taylor onbehalf of the Board. Taylor, now atwo-time winner of the honor,operates on RTD's Pacoima-VanNuys-Los Angeles line 93.

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Page four

What we're doingabout the energy crisis

A special message from the Southern California Rapid Transit District.

The most difficult part of the energy crisisis admitting to ourselves that its real, itshere and its going to get a lot worsebefore it gets even a little better.

Let's face it. Gas restraints are going tocome in one form or another. Ourpersonal driving is going to be curtailedconsiderably. Getting from place to placecould become a monumental problem.

For the first time since horses becamerecreational vehicles, Southern Californiansare going to have to give up their utterdependence on the automobile. And agreat many people will have to turn tothe only mass transit we have.

You're going to ride the bus.Before you turn pale and conjure upimages of rickety, reconditioned Red Cars,we'd like to tell you what has happenedto bus transportation in SouthernCalifornia since you began going steadywith a steering wheel.

Large on comfort.Riding the RTD isn't exactly like riding anold school bus. Today's ExtraCar iscomfortable and smooth-riding. Manyhave air-conditioning, bucket seats, extraleg room, indirect lighting and space forparcels under seats. The modern bus islarger, more powerful and operates onclean-burning diesel fuel.

You'd be surprised how many peoplepreferred commuting by ExtraCar evenbefore gasoline became headline news.

600 thousand trips a day.At the present time, the RTD operates1,648 regular buses over 169 lines serving180 communities. We cover 20,332 busstops in Los Angeles, Orange, SanBernardino and Riverside Counties. Wemake 600,000 passenger trips a day.

But we know it's not enough. Especiallynow. There are places you'll want to .goand times you'll want to travel that justaren't convenient by bus. We'd like tosatisfy everyone's needs, but of course,that isn't possible. But with the addition ofover 30 new lines and more than 200 newbuses in the past fiscal year, we'recertainly going more places than everbefore. In fact, we are placing an orderfor another 300 new buses to upgradethe fleet.

Since 1972, we improved service in areassuch as the San Fernando Valley andCentral Los Angeles. We added bus linesin San Pedro and the city of Pomona to

our system. But it's still not enough. Sowe've been inaugurating special servicesas fast as we can plan them, pay for themand get them into operation.

The special buses.If you live in the San Gabriel Valley andwork downtown Los Angeles, you canride the new El Monte Busway. It travels inits own freeway lanes, makes the trip inless than 20 minutes and costs only 704each way (less with a monthly pass). Youcan take a feeder

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the short distance inyour car. Parking is ample and inexpensive.

If you live in any other suburban area andwork downtown Los Angeles, you couldtake advantage of our new reserved-seatSubscription Bus service. ARCO was thefirst to establish subscription service forits employees, and other companies havefollowed. If you're interested, too, justhave a company representative get intouch with the RTD and we'll tell him how45 fellow employees can have their veryown bus. Phone 749-6977, and ask for theSubscription Bus representative.

If you still can't resist taking the freeway,you can take one of our Freeway Flyers.These express ExtraCars can move youfrom here to there in no time. Not just towork, but shopping, visiting, sight-seeing,whatever reason you have to travel.If you still want to do a little driving, we'llmeet you part-way. The RTD is planningPark-and-Ride facilities in many areas.There's one in operation at the LosAngeles Convention Center right now. Youpark in a reserved location and take aspecial bus to the central business district.

If you just want to get around downtownLos Angeles, there's always the Mini-Bus.It goes just about anywhere you'd want togo and it only costs a dime. And duringthe summer, we operated specialrecreational Mini-Buses through GriffithPark and to beaches.

Cheaper Than DrivingOne reason many people have beentaking the bus for years is the simple factthat it's so economical.

The basic fare inour district is304. Seniorcitizens pay only

104. And students ride for 154. Extrazones cost 84 (54 for students). Transfersare 54.

Interestingly, our rates are exactly thesame as they were in 1967. And almostthe same as they were ten years ago.

Of course, if you're going to ride the buswith any consistency, you'll want to takeadvantage of our Monthly Pass or otherspecial package rates. And you cancharge it with your BankAmericard orMaster Charge.

Will the RTD run out of fuel?We don't think so.

The Federal Government is giving toppriority to mass transit for the use ofdiesel fuel. It makes good sense. While abus uses enough fuel to power threeautomobiles, it can do the work of forty.

Looking at it another way, a bus gets200 passenger miles to the gallon. Whichkind of makes it the world's largesteconomy car.

How fast is rapid?We're the first to admit, the bus isn't ourideal for Rapid Transit. But it's the bestwe've got. In 1968, the voters of LosAngeles turned down the opportunity tohave a real Rapid Transit system. Thatmeans we lost four precious years ofdevelopment and construction. But ourplanning has continued. And this year,we're going to get a second chance,because in November 1974, Rapid Transitwill be back on the ballot.

Until then, the bus is the rapidest masstransit in Southern California. And we'redoing everything we can to make it workfor you.

It's your bus.The RTD is a public agency. It was createdby mandate of the State Legislature. Itsprimary job is to be responsive to your

transportation needs. In providingthis service, we are dependent

on local, state andfederal funding.

That means our plans

for service improvement and expansionare limited by available funds, yet wehave made gratifying progress.

More information.There are two ways to get specificinformation about RTD bus service. Bytelephone or mail.

The RTD operates the largest telephoneswitchboard this side of the telephonecompany. We have 80 operators answeringroute and timetable questions 18 hours aday, 7 days a week. If you've called andgotten a busy signal, it's becausehundreds of other callers are holding.Please try again. Our special Los Angelesinformation number is (213) 747-4455.Please check your directory for thenumber in your local area.For more complete information, we urge

you to use the coupon below. It will getyou a free Rider's Kit with a comprehensivebus line map, plus fare, route and specialservice information.

We want to help you use and enjoy anRTD bus. The best way we know is bykeeping you informed about our progress,our plans and service with messageslike this.

We certainly hope this announcement andothers like it will help to alleviate yourpersonal energy crisis.

r Mail to: Southern CaliforniaRapid Transit DistrictPublic Information Department1060 So. BroadwayLos Angeles, Calif. 90015Please send me the following:❑ A free RTD Rider's'Kit❑ Information on this route:

I want to travel

from (closest motor Intersection or street oddresskommurety)

to (closest molar Intersection or street oddress/community)

Normal travel times a m P m

I'm interested in RTD mainly for:

❑ Commuting to work ❑ For shopping

❑ Recreation ❑ Other

❑ Tell me more about Subscription Bus service

Name

Address

City Zip

KEYING ON READERS' "personal energycrisis," the District has placed this ad-vertisement in local metropolitan news-papers as a first step toward informingthe public on exactly what RTD is, what itis not, and what it hopes to accomplish inSouthern California. A series of ads willfollow encouraging the public's use of theexisting system with the remainder thatrapid transit will be on the ballot againin November. Coupons from the adhave been pouring into the Public Infor-mation Department at a 600-per-day clip.

Southern California Rapid Transit District1060 South Broadway, Los Angeles 90015 U.S. POSTAGE

paidFIRST CLASS

Los Angeles, Calif.Permit No. 28201

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