~ Progress Report
on
Bus Planning Activities
Prepared by
Southern California Rapid Transit District
Planning Department
September 10, 1974
T}ie work program for the bus planning section of the
SC}tTD Planning Department for the 1974-75 fiscal year will
consist of efforts in three different areas: (1) implementa-
tion of Lhe County-requested bus service; (2) ongoing bus
planning matters; and (3) refining the near-term program.
Staff efforts will be supplemented in these areas by consult-
ant activities in: (1) route planning studies; and (2) near-
term service criteria. These activities will be supervised
by the planning staff. Upon completion of the planning pxo
cess for the County-requested bus service, the pilot pro-
gram for decentralized Surface Planning staff activities in
the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys will he initiated.
T'lie work flow for bus planning as described herein is also
depicted in the attached work flow chart. Also attached is
a copy of t}ie current approved organization chart for the
llistrict's Planning Department.
County-Requested Bus Service
As part of the agreement with the County of Los Angeles
to subsidize losses incurred from instituting the 25¢ flat
fare program, it was stipulated that the District would insti-
tute pilot systems of grid bus routes in two areas of the
County, and a saturated hus service program. The cost of
operating the additional buses required to create or complete
-1-
the grid systems and operate the saturation service would be
included in the contract.
Two geographical areas were selected for pilot bus grid
operation -- the San Fernando Valley and the South Central
area. It is proposed that two groups of planners be assigned
to do the route planning for these projects -- one for each
area -- and that development of the plans for their respective
areas be their sole responsibility during this phase. Work
tasks would be similar on both projects, and would he generally
as indicated herein.
During the planning phase of the grid system work, plan-
ning staff will work closely with Operations Department staff
to assure the operability of the plans that are devised. Route
planning will be accomplished by the planning group to meet
the reQuirements of route spacing and schedule freQuency as
stipulated by the County contract. Bus test trips will be
operated under the auspices of the planning group and will in-
clude representatives from the operations group, including In-
struction, Schedules, Stops ~ Zones, and Maintenance. The test
trips will be designed to acquaint operations personnel with
the proposed routes and to give them the opportunity to make
suggestions for changes in the tentative routes and schedules
to improve actual operation. The planning group will also
work closely with operations staff on finding suitable tempor-
ary locations for support facilities (Divisions). Inasmuch as
-Z-
all existing Divisions are currently functioning at capacity,
it will be necessary to establish facilities at new locations
in the two pilot areas. If the service improvements are re-
t~ined, and/or if general system service improvements are insti-
tuted throughout the system, then a large number of permanent
support facilities will he required. However, for the purpose
of beginning operation of the grid systems at an early date,
it is suggested that temporary sites be used, such as existin~T
truck facilities, or vacant industrial land.
Once plans for bus routes, schedules and the location and
operating schemes for the sup}~ort facilities have been devel-
opccl, the plans \will be submitted to the Neer Services Review
t3oarcl (NSIZB) for approval; upon approval by NSRB, or after
adjustments requested by that body, the plans will he submitted
to t}ie llistrict's Board of Directors (BoD) For final approval,
and then to the County for concurrence.
Once the grid system plans have received proper approval,
the ~~rojects will be turned-over to the Operations Department
for implementation, at this time work ~tiTill commence on develop-
in~; final schedules, tariff and route instructions, driver
training, bus stop location and sign-posting, and acquisition
and i~reparation of the temporary support facilities. The agree-
ment with the County of Los Angeles calls for operation of the
pilot grid systems for a minimum of 13 weeks during the 1974-75
fiscal year. If this demonstration period is assumed to end
-3-
at the end of June, then operation of the grids must start
before the beginning of April. Because of the complexity o£
the San Fernando Valley grid system, it is felt that at least
two months for planning and five mont}is for preparation will
he required. This implies that ~TSRB/BoD approval must be
accomplished by the end of October, and operations commencing by
the first of npril. Fox the South Central grid, it is antici-
pztecl that one and one-half months for planning and four and one-
llal f months for preparation iti~ill be sufficient. In this case,
i~'S1~I>/RoD approval would be reotuested in mid-October and operation
~vaul cl start around March 1 .
1'he saturation l~us service grogram is to consist of a pro-
ject to test tree value of_ very frequent bus service in a heavy
travel corridor. The test is to occur on a portion of Fairfax
Avenue-Line 89 het~ti7een Sunset and j+tilshire boulevards, and i~~ould
improve the f-rec~uency of the existing Line 89 service in the test
area daily from 12 to S minutes.
Ongoing Thus Planning Platters
1lnother group of the plannin;~ staff ~ti~ill be involved in on-
goii147 bus planning matters. The main brunt of this work caill be
on either routine matters such as ne~a service requests and can-
tiriuing system monitorization. Put an equally major effort c~ri.11
he spent on the Nety Services development Program (NSDP). The
NSllP work will consist of identifying specific route or schedule
improvements that could be implemented under present funding and
vehicle availability, to prioritize the order of implementation,
anti to report these findings to NSP.B/BoD. A report containing
a recommended listing of priorities will he presented to the
E~oll at the second meeting in September. Another project that
will receive early attention will he the saturation bus service
program. The remainder of the ongoing effort included in this
category will he preparation of reports for and Partici~~ation
in NSRB and BoD meetings, public meetings and in liaison with
(:ommunity Relations staff. Included in the latter function will
be preparation of and periodic updating of a handbook that will
outline proposed improvements to he instituted in each of the
several-communities in the District; this handbook is to he used
by Community Relations staff, and will he disseminated to ttie
communities.
`The final area of work under ongoing programs will be the
development of the Decentralized Surface Planning program. The
pur~>ose of this program will be to create closer ties between
community representatives and bus planning staff by having per-
sonnel physically located in their area of concern. It is
anticipated that the decentralized planning groups will handle
all service requests, participate in all public meetings, and
lie t}ie main source for communication to and from the individual
~~reas. It is proposed that two areas be selected to test the
<lecentralized planning concept, the San Fernando and San Gabriel
Valleys. It is proposed to initiate these programs as soon as
practicable by staffing these t~tito groups with personnel that had
-5-
been involved in route planning for the San Fernando Valley
anti Sout}i (ventral grid systems . Personnel previously working
on the San Fernando Valley grid would be appropriate to staff
the San Fernando ~"alley Decentralized Planning Group; this
~rou~~~aould work on refining the grid network and handle all
routine service requests for this area. In addition, it will
supervise and provide input into evaluation of the San Fer-
nanclo Valley grid system operation. The San Gabriel Valley
llecentralized Planning Group will be manned by personnel w}io
had worked on route planning for the South Central grid system.
1'liis group will provide input to and work closely with consul-
tants on the San Gabriel P.oute Study; they will also act upon
all routine service requests for this area.
Near-Perm Program
The ;tear-Term. Program is a plan to provide improved bus
transportation service throughout the County until such time as
the ~,1ass IZa~id Transit (MRT) system can he built and placed in
o~~eration. This plan assumes passage of financing measures at
t}ie November election, and would delineate the distribution of
1,700 additional buses between 1975 and 1985.
I~rior to November, the Near-Term group will develop a ten-
year plan for possible deployment of 1,700 additional buses at
the target goal of 1,000 during the first three years and 100 a
year for t}le next seven years. The group will supervise and
provide input for the work done by consultants in the area of
service allocation criteria.
~ contingency plan will also be devised that would he
lased on the assumptions of an unsuccessful financing election.
One plan would assume continued County support, while the other
would assume no such subsidy.
Subsequent to the financing election, and assuming a posi-
tive vote, the Short-Term group will commence a process of re-
fining the Short-Term Bus Improvement Program, developed by
staff and consultants under Phase III of the Rapid Transit study
program, using service allocation criteria developed by a consul-
tant. The Short-Term refinement will take place in three primary
areas: (1) park-ride express services; (2) inter-community serv-
vices; and (3) local circulation services. The refinement work
will be done with the assistance of the consultant that developed
the guidelines for service improvements.
Work on refining thenear-term program will be a continuing
process that will parallel actual implementation of the program.
After t11e election, and assuming a successful vote, planning
staff will intensify activity in the area of long-range bus plan-
ning, and will institute a series of community meetings to gain
input into this plan. Particular attention will he given at that
time to providing feeder service to areas identified by the Dis-
trict's Board of Directors as being the initial locations for TIRT
construction.
- 7-
Consultant Activity
Consultant activity in bus planning activities is proposed
to take place in two fields: (1) development of service alloca-
tion criteria and implementation of this service on a near-term
basis; and (2) area route studies and grid system operation
evaluation.
iVork on allocation criteria is to he done by staff with
the assistance of the firm of flan TT. Voorhees F~ Associates
(nhN). Prior to the election, AMV will develop service alloca-
tion formula, a bus distribution formula, service level criteria,
and a cost sharing formula for additional or specialized ser-
vices requested. This work will he done by October 15, 1974,
and will be input into the route studies to he done by the
other consultants. After the election, ATiV will assist the
Short-Term group in refining the bus deployment program and in
developing a specific implementation plan.
In the field of needed route planning, a series of plan-
ning areas were defined on the basis of need as ascertained
from service requests received from the public, from planning
staff's knowledge of community needs, and from a survey of the
District's Board of Directors. Four specific geographical
areas were found to be in the greatest need for service improve-
ments: (1) the San Gabriel Valley; (2) the Southeast area; (3)
t}ie South Bay area; and (4) the Los Angeles Central Business
District. On the basis of the criteria listed above, the
south-east area was found to be in the greatest need of atten-
tion; this was also felt to Ue so because the area is one of the
fastest growing, and has received very little attention in re-
cent years. The second most important area was found to be
the San Gabriel Valley. Although service improvements
were instituted recently with the inauguration of service on
the F1 nionte ~usway, local service in the Valley, particularly
t}le eastern section, is very sparse, wit11 virtually no nort}i-
south linkage. The third most important region was felt to be
the South Bay area. The South Bay has also experienced a high
population growt}i (particularly in the Palos Verdes area), and
very little attention has been given to service improvements in
recent years. The study of destinations in downtown Los Annele~
was originally considered to he of greater importance than either
the San Gabriel Valley or South Bay areas, because of the shift
in t}ie center of activity to the westside of the area. But
because of the strike, it was felt that it would be better to
delay the start of the study for a period of time following the
resumption of service to allow travel patterns to return to
normal. X11 four studies are scheduled to be completed in six
months. t~ tentative schedule is given below:
Study Area
Southeast
San Gabriel Valley
South Bay
LA CBD
'~'~
Initiation Pate
Early August
Early September
Early November
Early December
Route planning studies will be assigned on a one-for-one
basis to the firms of Wilbur Smith F, Associates (1VSA) and
Centers for Studies (CENTS). CENTS was assigned a route study
in the Southeast area (this was started on August 6), and WSA
will he assigned to do a route study of the San Gabriel Valley.
Upon completion of the Southeast route study, CENTS will be
assigned to the South Bay 'route study; and upon completion of
the San Gabriel Va11ey route study, WSA will be assigned to do
a study of destinations in the Los Angeles Central Business
District. F.ach of these four route studies is expected to take
three months, for a total of six months per consultant.
Upon completion of route planning studies, and following
initiation of the grid systems operation, taSA and CENTS will be
assigned the job of evaluating the operation of the San Fernando
and San Gabriel Valley grid systems. This evaluation will con-
sist of documenting the effect of the existence of the two grid
systems upon patronage, in travel time and user statisfaction.
-10-
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