December 9, 2004
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Hollywood-Pasadena, Hawthorne Metro Rapid Bus Lines Poised For December 20 Debuts

• Both Commute-Busting Lines to Serve Key Destinations, Metro Rail Stations

Metro's sleek and fast Metro Rapid Buses are set to roll on two new lines, effective Monday, Dec. 20. Hollywood-Pasadena Metro Rapid Line 780 and Hawthorne Metro Rapid Line 740 will introduce Metro customers on those two corridors to the same quick service enjoyed daily by thousands of riders on nine other Metro Rapid lines already in service.

"Metro Rapid has consistently lived up to its promise by delivering fast and efficient service," said Frank Roberts, Lancaster Mayor and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board Chair. "It's the only on-street bus service that's beating congestion, as evidenced by the patronage on our existing Metro Rapid lines and the emulation of this great service by many other transit agencies across the country."

Hawthorne Metro Rapid Line 740 will operate Monday through Saturday and serve the cities of Redondo Beach, Lawndale, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Los Angeles and a portion of unincorporated Los Angeles County. Starting at the South Bay Galleria on the south end, the approximately 19-mile line ends at Patsaouras Transit Plaza in downtown Los Angeles and travels via Hawthorne Boulevard, La Brea Avenue, Florence Avenue, Crenshaw Boulevard, Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and Broadway.

In addition to South Bay Galleria, Hawthorne Metro Rapid Line 740 will serve Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw Plaza and Union Station. Line 740 also will connect with the Vernon-La Cienega, Florence, Crenshaw, Vermont and Broadway Metro Rapid bus lines, as well as the Metro Red and Gold Lines at Union Station.

Hollywood-Pasadena Metro Rapid Line 780 will operate Monday through Friday and serve the cities of Los Angeles, Glendale and Pasadena. The line will span approximately 15 miles from the Metro Red Line subway station at Hollywood and Vine to Pasadena City College via Hollywood Boulevard, Vermont Avenue, Los Feliz Boulevard, Central Avenue, Broadway and Colorado Boulevard. In addition to Hollywood, the line will serve other popular destinations including Glendale Galleria and Old Pasadena.

Metro Rapid has succeeded in reducing passenger commute times by up to 25 percent, as the result of several key system attributes including a transit signal priority system developed by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), less frequent station stops (approximately every 0.8 miles at major intersections versus 0.2 miles for local service), and the low floor design of the Metro Rapid buses that allows for faster and easier boarding and alighting.

LADOT's transit signal priority system tracks the movement of each Metro Rapid bus and determines its approximate speed via loop detectors embedded in the pavement along the route. Depending on the proximity of a Metro Rapid bus to a signalized intersection, the system will extend green signal time up to 10 seconds or activate a green signal up to 10 seconds earlier to reduce the amount of waiting time at intersections.

As a result of its competitive advantage over local and limited stop bus service and speeds that rival the private vehicle, Metro Rapid has generated significant gains in ridership on the nine existing corridors, attracting discretionary riders as well as people who depend on public transit.

The Metro Rapid Bus Program debuted on Wilshire-Whittier and Ventura Boulevards in June 2000. Seven other lines were added on Vermont Avenue and South Broadway (December 2002), Florence Avenue and Van Nuys Boulevard (June 2003), Crenshaw Boulevard (February 2004), and Vernon-La Cienega and Soto Street (June 2004). Metro Rapid buses will operate on a total of 28 lines when expansion of the program is completed in 2008.

Metro Rapid was selected as a semifinalist in Harvard University's 2002 Innovations In American Government Awards as an outstanding example of creative problem solving in the public sector.

METRO-208

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