Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Los Angeles County transportation officials Thursday delayed for two months a decision on whether to extend the contract options of AnsaldoBreda, an Italian rail-car maker that has pledged to build a plant in downtown Los Angeles if it gets the $300-million deal.

Citing poor on-time performance, overcrowding and a shortage of service, several thousand transit riders gave low marks to the bus system run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, according to a survey released Friday. "The MTA got a D for the overall quality of its bus service," said Esperanza Martinez, an organizer for the Bus Riders Union, an advocacy group that conducted the survey. "People are paying way too much and waiting way too long for a bus that will likely pass them by."

In a change of course on a key safety initiative, Metrolink board members Friday voted to begin negotiations on a sole-source contract with Amtrak to provide train crews for the five-county commuter rail service starting next summer. The action represents a change from June, when the board approved a plan to hire train engineers and conductors directly. Given the safety improvements straining the rail agency's resources and Amtrak's experience and interest in providing train crews, board members unanimously agreed that negotiating a sole-source contract was the best option for maintaining operations.

With more than 100 light-rail cars needed to expand lines around Los Angeles County, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's chief executive has recommended -- for the third time -- that the agency's board seek new competitive bids to build the cars and refurbish others in the fleet. In a memo this week, Art Leahy advised board members to reject contract options with Italian rail firm AnsaldoBreda, which is manufacturing 50 cars for the MTA under its base contract and has options to build 100 more cars.

For years, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has wanted a seamless fare system that would allow transit riders to use the same pass to board buses and trains from different lines across Los Angeles County. But a decade after the MTA began its effort to replace paper tickets with smart cards, the project has almost doubled in price and is still not finished. A new audit done for the agency by KPMG reveals that the cost of the Transit Access Pass program has risen from $78.5 million to $154 million since 1998 and that the deadline for completing the system has been extended from an initial estimate of three years to more than 10. The KPMG report, released late last week, also concluded that the project lacks oversight, is understaffed by the MTA and has no plan detailing when the project will be finished or how much it will cost.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board awarded a contract Thursday to the Italian firm AnsaldoBreda for 100 additional light-rail cars, clearing the way for a new rail manufacturing plant that the company has promised to build with union labor in downtown Los Angeles. The decision was a victory for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who said the manufacturing plant would be a catalyst for his plan to attract clean technology companies to a four-mile industrial corridor along the Los Angeles River.

The Westside L.A. subway expansion and a plan to build a light-rail link through downtown L.A. took a small step closer to reality this week when the MTA board agreed to submit the projects for federal funding. Officials for years have been planning a subway that would run from Koreatown to Santa Monica, probably along Wilshire Boulevard. The project, with an estimated price tag of $5 billion or more, is considered a top priority of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The "regional connector" in downtown L.A. would link the Blue and Gold rail lines and offer rail service through the city center.

With a new rail line set to open on the Eastside next month, one of the project's most vocal and enthusiastic backers has few good things to say about it. L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina calls the Eastside Gold Line extension "substandard" and potentially dangerous and says she worries that children leaving school are in danger of being hit by oncoming trains. "I don't know that it's safe. They're telling me that it's safe. . . . Everything has been an excuse. Everything," Molina said.

South Los Angeles has a won a significant victory as transportation officials recommended this week that a proposed transit corridor along Crenshaw Boulevard be a light-rail line rather than a less expensive dedicated busway. The recommendation, made by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority staff, gives a boost to the proposed project estimated at $1.7 billion, which would run from the Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw area to just outside Los Angeles International Airport. Officials want to build the project with revenues from Measure R, the transportation sales tax that county voters approved last year.

Even after Baltimore had punished Brady Quinn, Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis got in one more vicious hit on Cleveland's quarterback. Angered over Quinn's questionable chop block on Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs following an interception, Lewis accused Quinn of a dirty play. "Heck, yeah, it was a cheap shot," Lewis snapped after Baltimore rocked Cleveland, 16-0, on Monday. "I want to see if he gets the same fine I got or even higher. Now this man is out four or five weeks because of some baloney like that."