Latest Metro Expo Line A Sluggish Disappointment For L.A. Commuters
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An Expo light-rail train stops and waits as cars turn left. (Rosa Trieu)
“I wish it were faster,” said Kyle Scanlan, a UCLA doctoral student studying mechanical engineering. “If it was below or above grade, you know, not at street level where there are certain intersections where you have to wait for cars, it would be a lot faster.”
But even street-level trains aren’t supposed to be stopped at traffic lights as if they were buses on rails. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s office acknowledged the problem and issued a statement saying it’s working with the state Department of Transportation and Metropolitan Transit Authority to keep the lights green for both the Expo Line and the Gold Line Eastside extension, which opened on Nov. 15, 2009 but continues to be dogged by signal issues.
“Upon hearing complaints after the Expo Line opened, the Mayor’s Office, Metro and DOT began working on a path forward to better signal timing,” the statement said. “The agencies are piloting new signal phasing on the Expo Line and the Gold Line Eastside to develop a fully implementable plan that will provide faster and more reliable train service. This testing is happening outside of regular service hours so as to not inconvenience riders.”
It’s unclear how long it will take for the signals to be fully synchronized and allow the trains to reach full speed on its journey. The Expo Line is scheduled to go between Los Angeles to Culver City in 29 minutes, but arrives at stations a few minutes earlier or later because of the several stops that occur in between. Train operators also slow down at their own discretion at certain intersections and sections of the rail. Meanwhile, riders like Scanlan know the train can go a lot faster.
“It’s possible for [the trains] to never have to stop, unless there’s someone on the tracks that shouldn’t be, if they make it a priority,” said Scanlan, who called himself a technophile.
According to a LADOT engineer who worked on the signal timing for the Expo Light Rail, the train uses both signal priority and signal preemption. Signal priority is a type of operation that attempts to hold a green light longer or give a green early, but is limited to field conditions at that time and is not guaranteed. Signal preemption guarantees the train will not have to stop but it is limited to intersections with crossing gates.
Roberto Orozco takes the Expo Line regularly to work and said the only things remotely consistent about the train are the slowdowns for traffic lights.
“Sometimes the train stops or slows down from USC to downtown. Like right now, it’s like a cruise,” Orozco said. “From Vermont to Culver City, it’s very fast. But from Pico to Jefferson it’s slow.”
Metro spokesman Marc Littman said it could be months before the ride becomes as fast as possible.
“We don’t control traffic lights. Safety’s first,” Littman said. “We are working on giving trains a little more priority but don’t want to create a situation where cars are backing up at intersections.”
Similar delays caused by traffic signals kept the Gold Line from reaching its top speeds when the L.A.-Pasadena line opened in 2003.
“For the Gold Line, we eventually shaved six to seven minutes off but it didn’t happen overnight,” said Littman, who could not give an estimate for when the issue with the traffic lights and Expo operation would be better synchronized. “It’s complicated. We’re working with LADOT so our trains aren’t stopped at so many lights but, at the same time, we must make sure we don’t delay cross traffic at the intersections.”
Dan Rosenfeld, senior deputy to L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, said of the Expo Line's issues, "The supervisor believes the community outreach process within the [MTA] was not as thorough and inclusive as it should've been. Greater public participation might have prevented some of the controversies that later ensued."
Although the changes have yet to be seen, riders with more open-ended schedules like Bryant Garth, a law professor at Southwestern Law School, said the inconsistent timing isn’t an issue.
“One of the reasons why I moved to Culver City was because I knew this line was coming, and it’s worked out fine. I have a flexible schedule so I don’t have to look at the timetable,” Garth said.
“My experience has been positive,” James Conroy said. “Generally around the freeway corridor, the trains don’t have the right of way there. I’m fine with that for now. I just have to time myself accordingly.”
The opening of the Expo Line added 10 stations to L.A.’s existing 70-station Metro Rail system and over 87 miles of rail destinations across the county. According to the latest American Public Transportation Association report from the fourth quarter of 2011, L.A. ranked as the third busiest rapid transit system in the U.S.
Generating stronger interest in public transportation could give voters more incentives to push for the necessary funding to complete other projects.
Editor's note: The original version of this article stated L.A. had the ninth busiest transit system in the U.S. In fact, it is the third busiest when public transit buses are included.
Comments
Expo line is now up to over 20,000 riders a day and the line is looking very successful. It looks like those numbers will rise as time passes. So in a nut shell this line is looking good.
My question is why "upon hearing complaints" the various offices are working hard to rectify the slow speed? You'd think that the coordination of street signals with train movements would be included in the ORIGINAL design and planning. The frustration of riders is primarily caused by knowing "it doesn't need to be this way and why didn't some one think of it before the lined opened?" Heck, this is not rocket science, people: train leaves station, trips street signal, signal goes from yellow to red for cross traffic, train moves through intersection without stopping, light turns green, traffic moves.
This is an old problem which was inherited from the original design of the Blue Line, back when LA had no rail service at all and people didn't know much about it. The section from Pico to Washington doesn't have gates because that's how it was originally designed for the Blue Line. It should have gates, or be trenched. The section from Washington to Jefferson was extended using the same design, probably because it was figured that it wouldn't be any worse than the Pico to Washington section.... the mess of freeway ramps and parking ramp access points, however, probably does make it worse.
I took public transportation everywhere until I got my first car when I was in my late twenties. Later in my mid thirties I took public transportation around Los Angeles for a year when I first moved to Culver CIty.
I've got a car now and I'll never set foot on this train. Personal transportation is so liberating. I can be alone. I can listen to whatever music I choose. I can go where ever I want, stop for coffee, pick up something on the way home. If I need to get away for a bit I can drive to another town. I never have to put up with smelly people wanting to sit with me, or freaks starting trouble on the bus. I can choose who I associate with instead of having everyone in LA invade my personal space. I know I won't have to stand for an hour. I won't have to sit in a sticky seat.
My decision to never take public transportation again has little to do with time in traffic or dependability. It has to do with basic human freedom that personal transportation provides and that public transportation can never have. I can go where I want, when I want and with whom I want and travel in conditions that I like.
Yes, having a car is certainly more convenient, direct, and in many ways cleaner than public transportation in many parts of LA now, but this mentality is what brings people to get behind their wheels and drive to wherever they want, whenever they want, usually by themselves, which as a driver myself, I know is very selfish, not economical, and it leads to rush hour and all the traffic jams LA is notorious for. There are a lot of good reasons to encourage improvement in LA's public transportation system.
I am very disappointed of the section between 7th metro and USC/Vermont. I think it is slower than a slow bus. Several times it took almost 25 minutes to go this length. Some times it is lucky and goes through many green lights. The problem is that is isnt consistent. The Gold line through Highland Park is slow but at least it moves. The Expo line in this section is already slow in addition it stops frequently. When the Expo phase II, Foothill extension, and the regional connector are finished, there needs to be a consistent flow especially during rush hour when trains will come every 3-4 minutes under downtown. Every minute counts, or else its gonna be like when you wait for a bus and it is late and 3 buses come at the same time. I hope they can fix any issues from DTLA to eventually Santa Monica and make it as fast as it can. It would be great if it can get to the beach in under 40 minutes but I think the projected journey is 51 minutes (I doubt that).
You're not alone in your frustrations with those particular intersections! Agreed, hopefully they can fix issues before the lines open.
The problem is you can never give up [the] cars and bikes. Do all the destinations near the trains. You don't need any reading proficiency to say No. For some reason, the rail supporters think so.
Back in the late 90's, I had an interview at at company in marina Del Rey. The company is a subcontractor of MTA (Red Line). I honestly told the hiring manager that I do not drive. The hiring manager asked me how I would get to the work. The only answer I could say was I would relocate
I eventually got that job. No, it was the other manager. The project was at oversea where you don't need cars to get to rail stations.
That is the fact rail supporters, MTA, and Antonio Villaraigosa’ don't want to admit
The real reason is how to get around at rail stations.
There are plenty of jobs/life that are more than 2 miles of walking distance from Culver City Station.
I left that company (and relocated couple times). That manager also left.
Even Expo goes to Santa Monica, hiring managers of companies (including the subcontractors of MTA) in WLA will ask the same questions "How do you get to work without cars"
“'We don’t control traffic lights. Safety’s first,' Littman said."
But the train shouldn't be subject to traffic lights. It has the ability to have been built with "Crossbucks", flashing red lights and arms that block the intersections when trains pass, but the Build Expo contractor was apparently too cheap too install this?
Phungtri (Rosa?): No, what you're saying is simply false. Expo Line is _not_ a streetcar, which shares railroad tracks embedded in traffic lanes with the automobile traffic. If it were so, yes, it would be like a bus and be affected by the traffic congestion. Expo Line right-of-way (tracks) are always secluded from the traffic lanes, even in the traffic-light-controlled sections east of Western Avenue. Therefore, unlike a bus or a car, Expo Line is never subject to traffic congestion and is always guaranteed to make its schedule within a few minutes, unless there is a breakdown or an incident. Your article entirely missed this point.