Gov. Pete Wilson has signed a bill to create the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, made up of the former Southern California Rapid Transit District and the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission. Both agencies had been criticized for their inability to cooperate on transit projects and their travel and entertainment expenses.

"The creation of the new authority will provide a more efficient and cost-effective agency to better serve the people who use public transportation in Los Angeles," the governor said in a statement Tuesday.

The authority will be governed by a 13-member board of directors, including the five members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the mayor of Los Angeles and three other city representatives, plus four members appointed from other cities in the county.