Think LA's relationship with underground rail transit began with the first tunnels blasted out to make way for the Red Line? Think again! LA's first subterranean transit system was a short stretch of tunneling dubbed the "Hollywood Subway," which moved its first passengers under the city in 1925 via electric interurban rail cars. Opening Day in Toluca Yard (end of the Hollywood Subway at 1st and Glendale); original source unkonwn, via California Trolleys The idea......

In the Venn diagram of "foodies" and "public transit users" all those who fall in the intersected areas, this one's for you. It comes from a post that went up today on the Chowhound LA boards, from someone who has noticed a bit of a gap in good eats that can be got to from the Orange Line. It's pretty simple; they're looking for "good chow walking distance or a short bus ride from the......

A crash involving a Metro bus and a car has resulted in 9 injuries, 7 of whom were transported to the hospital. It occurred shortly after 3:30 p.m. at the intersection of 5th St. and Vermont Ave. Earlier this morning a collision between a Blue Line train and a vehicle occurred at 219 W. Washington Blvd. near Grand Ave. According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the driver turned in front of the train, but......

Gold Line Photo by Fred Camino/MetroRiderLA and Metro Subway photo by Kwasi B. Next week, the Metro board will vote on two very important issues. One will put a half-cent sales tax increase, that would raise funds for public transit, on November's ballot. The other is the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), a document guiding public transit in Los Angeles County for years to come. Gold Line advocates, who wish to see the line......

Photo by Adan Garcia via Flickr As an assembly bill that would enable Metro to put a half-cent sales tax increase on November's ballot makes its way towards the state Senate this month, a report released from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) said that such an increase would only cost people $25 extra per year (if the sales tax rate goes up, it will go from 8.25% to 8.75%, "translating to......

Photo by Fred Camino via Flickr As gas prices rise, so does public transit ridership. It was announced today that the Orange Line had a small 1.3% increase in boardings from this time last year, but also that Metro staff has decided that the agency should extend the busway north towards Chatsworth. Legally, when looking for a solution to a transit corridor (in this case, Canoga Blvd.), Metro has to vet through all alternatives......

Riding Metro's light rail trains with a bike is not fun, especially when there's a crowd. Space is limited and bikes, unless foldable, are clunky. In Portland, where the train cars are a different model, bringing a bike is a little easier, especially since you can store them vertically on a hook. Cody Fogh's post on "Metroquette" yesterday led one commenter to say "I feel like I need some bicycle 'Metroquette' tips." To that, we......

Photo by alistairmcmillan via Flickr To connect the Metro Green Line light rail to LAX, simply put, it would take about two miles of track and some money. This week, the Senate Transportation Committee passed SB 1722 by Sen. Jenny Oropeza, a bill that would allow a separate construction authority the single-focused job of connecting rail to the airport. The bill will now make its way to the Senate floor. Metro opposes the idea,......

This morning an MTA bus crashed into an SUV, sending the car off the road and both drivers to the nearest hospital. The accident took place on the eastbound 134 Freeway near the Figueroa exit, which is in Eagle Rock. Cecil Manresa of the LAFD explains: The vehicle flipped off the freeway at the Figueroa exit and the passenger was reportedly ejected approximately 20 feet. The bus driver an approximately 35 year old female and......

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has been taking public transportation more often lately, including the bus down Wilshire Blvd. Now, amid concerns pointed out by constituents at yesterday's Metro Board meeting about service cuts that could happen this June, the Mayor said he wasn't ready to vote yet, point out the hypocrisy of the situation. "We are encouraging people to take the bus," he said in a Daily News quote. "There is some contradiction at the same......

Photo by tobo via Flickr Which side of the Gold Line tracks do you live on? Southsiders (below the 10) better be representing because Northsiders are fighting hard for their piece of the cake too. Metro's Gold Line currently goes from Union Station in downtown to Sierra Madre, east of Pasadena. Metro is currently extending the Gold Line from Union Station southeast through Little Tokyo into East LA and is slated to open in......

One politician won't give up on his mission to get the Green Line moving directly to LAX. And Metro won't give up on saying "no" to that idea. It's not that Metro is trying to destroy any hopes of public transportation in Los Angeles, it's just the conservative and realistic tones they put out there when it comes future projects and funding. They say they want a connection to LAX and that possibility comes via......

Photo by Tom Andrews via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr 45-year-old murder suspect Hovik "John" Mankyan, who engaged police in a lengthy standoff on Good Friday in Palmdale, is reportedly "clinging to life" in the hospital. Mankyan, who is wanted for a 2004 North Hollywood homicide "ingested poison and severed arteries" prior to surrendering. Honors on Ice: The Anaheim Ducks will honor SWAT officer Randal Simmons, who died in the line of duty,......

Students these days are so lazy...Instead of taking it to the streets like their parents' generation and brandishing signs and making noise they're opting to stay inside, chained to their computers. Except sometimes they discover that the medium is what makes the message, and in the SGV right now students who want the Gold Line extended to Montclair have found that their campaign is positively viral. Students have created a website called I Will Ride......

You might have to wait and be agonizingly teased for an additional three months until those LCD, screens telling you the arrival of the next train, start to work. Curbed LA reported it would be by May and now Streetsblog LA reports by the end of June the latest and tells us how they will work: Until the train is close to the station, the screens will update information based off the schedule. Once the......

It's a new record for Los Angeles -- $3.49 a gallon, as of this morning reports KFWB 980 AM. The price of the barrel, also at an all time high, is $105.10. This comes as Metro is looking to cut bus service across the Los Angeles area. Last night, 12 of the threatened lines were voted upon by the San Fernando Valley Governance Council. "Some schedules and routes will be modified but none will be......

The MTA says it's time to cut the lines--20 bus lines, that is. Because of low ridership and operating costs, the city's transit system is looking to trim the fat from their service. The current proposal being voted on consists of the elimination of 20 bus lines and reduced service on 24 other lines, for a total of 375,000 service hours cut altogether. The Bus Riders Union is vehemently opposing the proposed cuts, with spokesman......

A lawsuit filed yesterday by the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) against multiple contractors, including Kiewit, Washington Infrastructure Services, Inc., Parsons Corp., and more, who worked on the design and building of the Gold Line alleges that the work done was substandard and did not meet the obligations stipulated in their contracts. According to KNBC.com, the lawsuit asks for "at least $25 million in damages and a court order requiring the contractors to fix the......

In yesterday's LAist interview with Hillary Clinton, we had to ask about public transportation. Clinton said she would increase federal funding for public transit by $1.5 billion per year, link funding to local land use policies that encourage mixed-use and transit-oriented development (discouraging sprawl) and invest $1 billion into intercity passenger rail (think high speed rail from Los Angeles to San Francisco, or more locally, the MagLev concept from Orange County to Las Vegas). Speaking......

A Metro bus collided with two cars this afternoon, injuring twelve. "Four patients transported to area hospitals with minor injuries, eight were treated and released at the scene," Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman d'Lisa Davies said in a text alert. "Davies did not immediately know how the accident occurred, and whether the injured included anyone from the small cars." according to the AP via CBS2 News. The incident occurred at 5098 W. Rodeo Rd (map)......

'Santa Monica Subway: Alternative 4' is one of the 17 routes presented by Metro Last night, a packed room of community members at LACMA listened attentively to Metro present nineteen options to serve the Westside. This first in a series of three public input meetings (two more meetings next week) was exciting -- wheels are in motion to get Los Angeles moving, even if that reality be around ten years from now. One of......

An MTA bus smashed into a donut shop after colliding with another automobile this morning in West Adams. All of the injured were inside Donuts World, on Jefferson at Normandie, one mile west of the USC campus. One victim suffered serious but "non-critical" injuries in the crash, seven others were reported to have minor injuries, according to LAFD spokesman Ron Myers. There were no passengers inside the bus at the time of the incident. Screenshot......

After questioning 1200 Los Angeles County residents in a survey, Metro might be confident it could get the two-thirds stamp of approval from voters if such a measure went to the ballot. If passed, it could generate $4.5 billion within 6 1/2 years, according to an investigation by the Daily News. That amount is nearly enough to pay for the 'Subway to the Sea' Purple Line extension. But unless county residents as far as......

As reported earlier this week, on New Year's Eve, there will be all night Metro rail service. As one commenter pointed out, the news was actually broken in a press release where it was buried with not much detail given:“The Tournament of Roses parade and game is the biggest venue for Metro Gold Line service all year, with upwards of 60,000 train boardings on a single day,” said Pam O’Connor, Santa Monica City Council member......

A suspected drunk driver brough his Sunday to a crashing conclusion when he led officers on a chase from Santa Ana to Glendale late last night. The PIT maneuver was employed on the Colorado Street offramp of the 5 North to bring things to a halt. Kids, don't go spiking Santa's milk tonight with rum; we don't want the cops chasing any reindeer-led sleighs! The LA Times chimes in with their thoughts today on the......

So, you know how MTA is considering ridding our freeways of carpool lanes? One outraged blogger blames Bush because, "local officials in the MTA are being forced to take a more free-enterprise approach to freeway management in order to qualify for federal transportation dollars." In a move designed to empower local Iraqi municipalities, the US Army is planning on concentrating its forces in Baghdad as the army continues to draw down its forces after......

Late last week the MTA board announced plans to convert some of LA County's car-pool lanes on heavily traveled freeways to toll lanes. The Daily News reported thatUnder the plan, solo drivers could use the car-pool lanes if they pay a toll. Vehicles with two or more occupants - which currently use the lanes for free - would also pay a toll, although less than solo drivers. It's unclear how the plan would apply......

FARMERS MARKET: Downtown’s latest farmers market takes place in the Fashion District. So hit up some holiday shopping then treat yourself to some of the freshest foods around. 4-7 pm // Fashion District // 716 S. Los Angeles St., Downtown // Free. ART: Diego Cardoso is the Executive Officer of Transportation Development and Implementation for the MTA who headed the East Side Gold Line project. He's also on the city planning commission. But his......

The LA Times is reporting today that Metro may be seriously looking at an extremely different route for half of the proposed Purple Line subway extension that would take commuters from Downtown to Santa Monica. However, the idea discussed here would take underground riders from the Hollywood/Highland station to Wilshire Blvd. along Santa Monica Blvd., traveling through West Hollywood and Beverly Hills hitting near the Beverly Center mall and Cedars-Sinai:The new concept is still......

Those who believe we shouldn't be covering Orange County, cover your eyes for a few seconds: okay! O.C. Sheriff Mike Carona, his wife, and many others used the Sheriff's office as a cover to accept gifts, loans, and other compensation totalling $350,000. Carona has been indicted on ten separate federal counts of corruption. That big rig crash on the 405 at La Tijera was a real doozy -- the accident wasn't cleaned up until......