LACMTA Orange Line

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NABI 60-BRT Orange Line bus at Warner Center Transit Hub

Side view of the NABI 60-BRT at Warner Center Transit Hub

Interior view of the NABI 60-BRT.

The Metro Orange Line is a dedicated busway operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. It travels fourteen miles between Warner Center and the North Hollywood Metro Red Line subway station in the San Fernando Valley.

The Orange Line is designed with characteristics similar to an urban light rail system such as a dedicated right-of-way, more broadly dispersed stations approximately one mile apart, platform ticket machines for faster boarding, public art, park-and-ride lots, and other amenities.

Because of its many differences from a standard bus service, the authority has branded the transitway as part of the region's network of light and heavy rail lines. It appears on the Metro Rail System Map. Orange Line vehicles, called Metro Liners, are painted in the silver and gray color scheme of Metro Rail vehicles. Likewise, it is the authority's only bus line that has been marketed with a color designation rather than its line number (901). In addition, the Orange Line is also built on the former Southern Pacific Railroad Burbank Branch right-of-way.

The busway's color name, the Orange Line, refers to the many citrus trees that once blanketed the San Fernando Valley. The name was adopted in January 2004 by the Board of Directors. In the planning stages the busway was known as the "San Fernando Valley East-West Transitway," and later the "Metro Rapidway." The idea for the busway itself was inspired by the Rede Integrada de Transporte, which board supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky noticed during a visit to Curitiba, Brazil.

[edit] Construction delays

During construction the contractor experienced several delays. There was a dead body found tucked in a barrel along the alignment and toxic soil had to be removed.

Twenty-two months after construction had begun, on July 19, 2004, the California Court of Appeals ordered the temporary halt to construction activity on the Orange Line. This action was the result of a successful appeal by a citizens' group known as C.O.S.T (Citizens organized for Smart Transit), which claimed a network of Rapid Lines should have been studied as possible alternative to the Metro Orange Line. The 30-day shut down cost $70,000 per day.

On October 22, Metro issued a Revised Final Environmental Impact Report (RFEIR) that concluded that the Metro Orange Line was superior to each of three Rapid Bus Alternatives studied in the revised report. The RFEIR studied:

1. Three East-West Rapid Bus Routes Alternative (Sherman Way, Vanowen Street and Victory Boulevard)
2. Five East-West Rapid Bus Routes Alternative (Sherman Way, Victory Boulevard, Oxnard Street, Burbank Boulevard, and Chandler Boulevard)
3. Rapid Bus Network Alternative (as submitted by Citizens Organized for Smart Transit, this network of nine Rapid Bus routes would consist of three east-west routes and six north-south routes)

The revised FEIR examined the environmental impacts, costs and benefits of each Rapid Bus alternative and concluded:

1. The Metro Orange Line would attract substantially more new riders than any Rapid Bus alternatives.
2. The Metro Orange Line would result in the greatest system-wide travel time savings.
3. The Metro Orange Line would maintain the most consistent travel time, which would not be compromised over time as the result of increasing traffic congestion.
4. The Rapid Bus alternatives would all have lower capital costs than the Metro Orange Line because of their minimal construction requirements. However, because the Rapid Bus alternatives would attract fewer new riders than the Metro Orange Line, the Rapid Bus alternatives exhibit poor cost-effectiveness measured on a per-new-rider basis.
5. The exclusive transitway operation of the Metro Orange Line has distinct land use benefits that would encourage transit oriented development at/around stations and is consistent with adopted local planning documents.
6. Operating costs for the Rapid Bus Network Alternative would be up to $10 million more each year than the cost to operate the Metro Orange Line

[edit] Operations

[edit] Parking lots

The large North Hollywood parking lot is completely filled by early mornings by inward-bound Red Line users. Parking lots at various Orange Line stops along the route will provide more passenger traffic for both Orange and Red Metro lines. This will also take many cars off of the freeways and surface streets. At present, the parking lots along the Orange line are being utilized at below 10% capacity. There is no signage on most busy arteries directing car-using, potential Orange/Red Line customers to the huge free parking lots. However, studies show that an increasing number of Simi Valley, Northridge, and Sylmar auto commuters are beginning to use these parking lots. If a reduction of Freeway and cross-valley arterial auto traffic results from using the parking lots, a major public convenience will be achieved.

[edit] Vehicles

The unusually large, high-tech looking buses, which have been dubbed "Metro Liners" by the LACMTA, are twenty feet longer than the standard forty-foot bus, which enables them to carry up to 50% more passengers. The buses are articulated in the center due to this longer length. They have three doors for faster boarding and alighting. Like most other Los Angeles Metro buses, the Metro Liners are made by North American Bus Industries and run on compressed natural gas.

[edit] Ridership

The ridership average for the first five full months of operation, from November 2005 to March 2006, was 16,766 boardings per weekday. A strong upward trend, from January 2006 on, suggests that ridership for the first full year of operation might fall between 5.5 and six million annual boardings. In May 2006, the average reached 21,828 boardings per weekday, a ridership high the Orange Line was not expected to reach until 2020 .^[1]

However, annual passenger traffic density is a more useful indicator than crude boarding counts for comparison between modes, lines, and systems. This is calculated by dividing annual passenger-miles (or km) by the line length. The result, expressed as "passenger-miles per mile of route" (or "passenger-km per km of route"), is simply a measure of the number of passengers who are on a line at any one time. (Although seldom used in the U.S., annual traffic density is an important measure of line capacity and is a major determinant of operating expense.)

The estimated number of boardings for the first full year of operation( based on actual results for the first four months of operation) is 5.25 million. The reported average travel distance per boarding is 6.5 mi (10.5 km) on the busway. (It should be noted that the majority of passengers arrived at the North Hollywood terminal by Red Line trains or regular bus and are using joint route fares in many cases.) The Orange Line is 14 miles (23 km) long. These statistics imply an (annual) traffic density of 2.4 million pass-mi (km) per mi (km) of route per year.

The accompanying (weekday) traffic density figure, based on results for March 2006, is 8,500 pass-mi (km) per mi (km) of route per weekday.

Comparative figures for the Metro rail lines, based on ridership carried between July 2005 and March 2006, are:

• Red Line: 11.7 million pass-mi (km) per mi (km) of route per year; 41,000 pass-mi (km) per mi (km) of route per weekday.
• Blue Line: 8.6 million pass-mi (km) per mi (km) of route per year; 28,000 pass-mi (km) per mi (km) of route per weekday.
• Green Line: 3.8 million pass-mi (km) per mi (km) of route per year; 13,000 pass-mi (km) per mi (km) of route per weekday.
• Gold Line: 3.0 million pass-mi (km) per mi (km) of route per year; 8,600 pass-mi (km) per mi (km) of route per weekday.

In May 2006, the Orange Line averaged 21,828 weekday boardings. The loading factor has continued to grow in the interval such that, in many peak periods, coaches depart the North Hollywood station completely full with little standing room for riders wanting to board at points west. Studies of its use suggest that most riders are long haul and in fact travel east to or travel west from the Red Line subway service. This "extension" effect of Red Line service is more "traffic productive" than the more typical boarding and dropping off of a passenger along the bus line. Creating better service with higher frequency or longer coaches on the Orange Line, will further stimulate traffic on the subway.

[edit] Collisions

An Orange Line bus heading toward North Hollywood crosses Burbank Boulevard and Fulton Ave. Notice the yellow LED BUS sign on the right traffic light pole.

Another bus at the same intersection, heading toward Warner Center

During the first few months of operations on the Orange Line, there were several collisions, approximately one per week. In each case, the driver of the vehicle other than the MetroLiner was determined to be at fault. There were several injuries but no fatalities. The collision issue is reminiscent of a similar issue with the Blue Line, which currently has the highest fatality rate in North America.^[2] Like the Orange Line, this is because most of the line runs at grade and is thus open to driver mistakes.

The LACMTA has noted that the Orange Line had about the same accident rate as other bus lines in the city on a per-mile basis,^[3][4] and has stated more recently that the line's accident rate is "less than half" of the MTA's entire fleet of buses.^[5]

Some residents have protested aspects of the Orange Line, saying that the buses should have been painted orange to be more noticeable (instead of the silver scheme they currently have). Others have concerns that the busway does not employ railroad crossing-style arms or lights (or grade separations) to prevent motorists from crossing that roadway while a bus approaches, relying instead on traffic lights and warning signs. Perhaps more importantly is people observing traffic signals and stopping at red lights, as red-light runners have caused most of the accidents.

On October 27, 2005, two days before the line's official opening, a motorist driving with a suspended license ran a red light and collided with an eastbound bus at Vesper Avenue. There were no injuries.^[6]

Two collisions involving Orange Line buses occurred on November 2, 2005:

• A 65-year-old female driver illegally made a right turn against a red light and struck an Orange Line bus near the crossing at Corbin Avenue^[7] in Reseda, at about 11:15 a.m.. A fare inspector on the bus was taken to a hospital for minor injuries.

• At about 2:00 p.m., at the crossing near Woodman Avenue and Oxnard Street^[7][8] in Valley Glen, a 78-year old woman driving a Toyota Camry ran a red light and slammed into a bus that had nearly cleared the intersection. The Camry spun around and hit the bus a second time. Officials say that 37 people were aboard the bus, and at least 15 passengers were injured; the driver of the Camry was critically injured. This accident remains the most serious accident on the Line to date.^[5]

After the second accident, the MTA issued a "slow order" for every driver of every Orange Line bus; until further notice, all buses had to slow down to 10 miles per hour (15 km/h) while going through every intersection along the busway, as opposed to the 25-30 mph (40-50 km/h) speed limit originally put on line intersections.^[9] MTA officials pledged that they would review any and all ideas to improve safety on the line and report back to the public in a timely manner. They also installed white strobe lights on the sides of the buses to improve visibility.^[10] The Orange Line continued operations.

At 6:30 a.m. on December 1, 2005, a pickup truck and an Orange Line bus collided at the intersection of the busway and Kester Avenue^[7] in Van Nuys. There were no injuries in the pickup truck, but one passenger on the bus was seen being loaded onto a gurney by paramedics and two other passengers were moderately injured.^[11][12]

On December 3, 2005, a driver made a right turn from Victory Boulevard onto Mason Avenue and crashed into the bus. The car's driver and one passenger said they felt some discomfort after the collision, but they declined medical treatment.^[13][14]

At 11 a.m. on December 7, 2005, an SUV ran a red light, crashing to the side of an Orange Line bus. The driver of the SUV said that her brakes failed. Six people were injured on the bus, including the bus operator and a passenger. Both complained of neck pain. Four of the injured passengers denied medical help.^[4][15]

At 5:07 p.m. on February 13, 2006, a driver skidded into an Orange Line bus as a result of brake failure. The collision occurred between Corbin Avenue and Winnetka Boulevard near Warner Center. One passenger complained of leg pain and declined treatment; no other injuries were reported.^[16]

At 4:30 p.m. on February 18, 2006, a car ran a red light and crashed into the side of an Orange Line bus at the intersection of the busway and Woodman. Several people were seen being loaded onto ambulances by paramedics and the driver of the car was visibly upset.

At approx. 10:30 a.m. on April 12, 2006, a car ran a red light and was struck by an Orange Line Bus at the intersection of the Busway and Van Nuys Boulevard. No one was hurt, and the driver got out of his badly damaged new Lexus after several minutes. All airbags were deployed in the car.

On June 5, 2006, a motorist ran a red light on DeSoto Avenue in Winnetka, hitting an Orange Line bus.^[17]

On August 17, 2006, at approximately 1:40 PM the driver of a white van passed a red light and slammed against the side of a Orange Line bus on the intersection at the Balboa Station. The bus received a dent while the front of the van was crushed. One passenger complained of neck injuries before boarding the next bus without completing paperwork.

In December 2005, MTA called for the installation of red-light cameras at many of the Orange Line's intersections, specifically, Burbank Boulevard and Fulton Avenue; Woodman Avenue and Oxnard Street; Woodley Avenue; Balboa Boulevard; White Oak Avenue; Lindley Avenue; Reseda Boulevard; and Wilbur, Tampa, Corbin, Mason and De Soto avenues.^[18] As of May 2006, installation is still continuing,^[19] and the cameras are supposed to be operational by August 2006.^[17]

On October 23, 2006, a delivery truck side swiped an Orange Line bus, causing 17 injuries, one of which was serious but not life-threatening. The accident occurred at the same intersection of Woodman Ave & Oxnard Street as the line's most serious accident to date almost a year earlier.^[5]

[edit] Future expansion

A future station at Canoga Ave. is currently under construction. This would be the second station, after Warner Center, going east toward the Red Line station. On September 28th, 2006, the LACMTA board approved a plan to extend the Orange Line to the district of Chatsworth, terminating at the Chatsworth Metrolink station. The expansion will cost $135 Million and should be completed in 2012.^[20]

In addition, another possible extension of the Orange Line often proposed by transit advocates is an extension from North Hollywood station to Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, which would approximately go up Vineland Avenue and Vanowen Street to the airport, to connect with the Metrolink station.

[edit] Conversion

Many opponents of the Orange Line call the collisions unacceptable and call for the conversion of the busway to light rail. They say that keeping it a busway is unacceptable after the collisions, and conversion to heavy rail is not feasible. They say that the conversion will not require much time or money. They believe it can be done in 2 years or less. However, they say that they will not oppose the expansion of the Orange Line to the Chatsworth Metrolink Station via Canoga Ave.

There is also concern that the Orange Line will soon reach its engineered capacity.^[21] During peak hours, the signaling system is designed to balance the Orange Line buses with vehicle cross traffic. Adding more buses would either cause bus bunching or shorter green times at cross streets. The other practical alternative would be purchasing bi-articulated (80 foot long) buses as used in Curitiba, Brazil. On December 12, 2006, Metro is scheduled to close the busway between Tujunga Avenue in North Hollywood and Fulton Avenue in Valley Glen (at the Valley College station) to repave the busway surface that is "showing signs of wear."^[22] The closure is expected to last approximately two weeks and could be required either as a result of the roadway surface already having reached its engineered capacity or the result of badly-programmed traffic light synchronization leading to excessive stopping and acceleration.

[edit] Stations

North Hollywood Orange Line Station.

A Metro Liner with a bicycle rack at North Hollywood Station.

From East to West,

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Orange Line official web site
• Orange Line schedule
• Orange Line history
• A Bus by Any Other Name Is Still ... a Train? - the problems of designing buses to resemble light rail trains. Mentions the problem of calling the "San Fernando Valley Busway" the "Metro Orange Line."