How the Gold Line has changed the San Gabriel Valley’s system of transportation for good

Lauren Duran | Contributing Writer

Welcome to Los Angeles, a city filled with diverse cultures, wide ranging social classes, abundant food options, famous attractions and traffic …. a lot of traffic. Once inside the heart of the city, the amount of cars and road rage of LA drivers can’t be missed. Drivers weaving in and out trying to rush from one location to another, accidents backing up the freeway and bumper-to-bumper traffic can almost always be expected. Over the years, city officials have taken it upon themselves to clear up the congested streets by participating in many different forms of public transportation such as: taxis, private car services, bikes, public buses and even light rails.

Among these light rails, is the Gold Line, built in 2003, stretching 19.7 miles from Pasadena to East LA and currently serving 21 different stations. The original Gold Line ran between Union Station and Pasadena and in 2009 it was extended to Atlantic Boulevard. Today it also serves Little Tokyo, Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles.

Now, five years later, it is being extended even farther from the existing Pasadena terminus to Azusa and eventually to Montclair. The first phase of the extension, known as Phase 2A, will extend the light rail 11.5-miles. It will be completed in September 2015 and will include stations in Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale and Azusa. Following Phase 2A is Phase 2B, which will continue building East through Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona, Claremont and Montclair.

The new Metro Rail extension offers speedy transportation, environmental benefits, employment opportunities and economic development all throughout the San Gabriel Valley.

Currently, the Gold Line serves nearly 42,000 passengers a week through its 43 rail cars and more than 1 million passengers per month. The majority of passengers are middle-class men and women who travel on the light rail up to five times each week. Many of these passengers are commuting to or from work, and rely on public transportation to avoid free- way traffic or because they simply do not own a car.

Although a lot of time and effort has been put into this billion dollar project, there have been complications for the residents of Los Angeles and the Gold Line’s most active users. In January 2011, Metro attempted to make its bus system better by proposing several bus service changes in LA. This meant cutting back on service hours for multiple routes in Westside cities, San Fernando Valley, Gateway cities, South Bay, San Gabriel Valley and the Expo Bus-Rail. These changes were to be implemented in June 2011.

“The proposed service changes under consideration will help to optimize service levels to demand and will result in reducing wasteful and underutilized service,” said Metro officials.

According to Metro, the previous bus system was problematic, as there were too many bus lines with excessive services, neglected maintenance issues and deprived attention to schedules. They also wanted to make sure the agency’s other buses or rails were being utilized to their full extent, as they were currently operating with some buses at only 42 percent of capacity.

In June 2011, the changes were implemented and many low-income down- town LA residents expressed their displeasure because they were de- pendent on public buses to get them to work, or any other destination, on time. After many negative responses from active users, Metro assured loyal customers that they would be striving for better quality of service, less duplication of services, coordination with other transit operations and more efficient integration of the rail and bus services.

In 2011, LA Weekly explained “The replacement of the 30 and 31 bus lines with the Gold Line subway has meant many more blocks of walk time, which doesn’t work well for the elderly and disabled (or anyone with time constraints).”

Those who disagreed with the service cuts did not hold back from expressing their opinions and frustrations with Metro’s decision.

A protester shared concern with CBS2, stating: “The vast majority of these cuts are going to affect the profoundly poor in this city and the working-class people. We will never see economic recovery in South LA or anywhere else without access to quick, efficient transportation.”

Today, nearly three years later, Los Angeles residents had time to recover from past frustrations, even though some active Gold Line users still experience minor complications.

The Gold Line is currently the slowest of Metro Rail’s lines, averaging just 21 mph, whereas other light rails in LA reach speeds up to 38 mph. This has caused a problem for riders since many take advantage of this system to avoid the time it takes to get through heavy LA traffic. Currently, travel from East Los Angeles to Pasadena via Gold Line takes about 40-50 minutes (not including the wait time to board the light rail), whereas driving takes an average of 20-30 minutes, depending on traffic.

Matthew M., a Redondo Beach resident, took to Yelp to express his feeling about the speed of the Gold Line stating, “It seems to move far too slow.”

For others, the limited amount of stops is an inconvenience. First-time rider Matthew Tammaro shared, “[It is] a nice change to driving everywhere, but come on LA…worst public transit ever.” When asked why he felt this way, Tammaro shared that the light rail is “so limited in [the] area it covers.”

Aside from those minor problems, oftentimes the buses are crowded and force passengers to stand in congested aisles or wait for a car with enough space. Although seating arrangements are not always ideal, this remains the bestmode of transportation for some.

For those who live outside LA, the light rail is convenient. Krista Brennan, a Pasadena resident, responded in an online questionnaire saying, “I don’t use Gold Line for [my] daily commute, but rather periodic trips to Downtown L.A. … It’s clean, easy to use, and gets me to where I need to go.”

Like Brennan, many residents outside Los Angeles enjoy using the light rail to get into the city quickly, and for a low price.

With gas prices hitting nearly $4 a gallon, the Gold Line is a practical way for riders to save money traveling in and out of LA. A single ride fare costs $1.50 and a day pass costs $5. Riders can buy a ticket before boarding the light rail, or avoid lines by loading funds on to a TAP card which is a durable reusable card with an electronic chip that holds funds for Metro buses and light rails.

Nic W., an Arcadia resident, shared his appreciation for the Gold Line in a Yelp review stating, “Quick, easy and CHEAP. For $1.25 you get all the way down to Union Station from Pasadena. Unbelievable!”

In anticipation of the riders’ needs, Albert Ho, a member of the extensions Media Relations team, shared that the new light rail and the current bus systems will compliment each other. Although there are a limited amount of stops (as Tammaro shared) the extensions team is working alongside cities and bus providers, “to review their current system to make adjustments and improve the bus routes once the Gold Line opens.” With the light rail and bus system in sync, riders will be able to reach their destinations quicker.

Not only does the light rail benefit its riders, it is also beneficial to the environment. The light rail helps to reduce pollution and our carbon footprint. According to the American Public Transportation Association when public transportation is utilized, “over four billion gallons of gasoline are saved and 37 million metric tons of carbon monoxide emissions are avoided.” Riders are able to get where they need to go, and help save the planet all at the same time.

APU art and design professor, David McGill, shared his previous experiences with the Gold Line.

“I was a commuter for four years commuting to LA. What I liked is the idea that when you’re sitting on the free- way, you’re sitting in traffic and as you look around you see one person in each car. I thought to myself, why don’t we just all get in one car and travel together? That’s what you can do with a bus, or in this case, the Metro Link.”

Although McGill is no longer com- muting to LA for work, the new extension will allow him and many other residents of nearby cities the opportunity to utilize the Gold Line’s updated services.

With plans for the extension on schedule and on budget, the extension is now over 50 percent completed and expected to be ready by September 2015. Residents of Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale and Azusa now have something to look forward to as they will have a convenient, inexpensive, environmentally friendly mode of transportation to Pasadena or Downtown LA any day of the week.