Mass Transit

After weeks of bickering over how to cut the deficit-ridden budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers agreed Monday to trim $1.1 billion from mass transit but give new tax breaks to home buyers and green-technology companies. The governor, who signed part of the package into law Monday evening, said the tax incentives -- which could add to the budget woes -- are crucial to the state's economic recovery. "The package of bills as written will provide significant benefit to the state's general fund and will help put Californians back to work," he said in a statement.

President Obama is expected to sign into law Thursday the first significant job-creation measure passed by Congress since Democrats vowed this year to attack the nation's high unemployment rate. The bill, passed by the Senate on a 68-29 vote Wednesday, is a $17.6-billion package intended to spur hiring by, among other things, granting employers a payroll tax holiday for the rest of the year for hiring new workers. Obama will sign the bill in a Rose Garden ceremony. "It is the first of what I hope will be a series of jobs packages that help to continue to put people back to work all across America," the president said Wednesday.

Los Angeles' public transit agency is facing the biggest operating deficit in its history -- roughly $250 million. The results won't only hurt bus riders. If the Metropolitan Transportation Authority cuts back on service, it will drive more people to drive, jamming Southern California's roads and polluting its air even more than usual. The economic downturn gets most of the blame. High joblessness means less ridership, cutting receipts at the fare box. A drop in sales taxes hits the agency particularly hard, and continual borrowing of transit funds by Sacramento worsens the pain.

The plan to build a network of high-speed bullet trains across California is facing opposition from the heart of Los Angeles, where community leaders fear the line will hurt efforts for another grand project: revitalizing the L.A. River. The rail plan, which has picked up considerable steam since voters approved the nearly $10-billion bond measure in 2008, would use Union Station as a major hub, and the line probably would run along the Los Angeles River. But some elected officials and residents believe the proposed rail alignment would seriously clash with their vision for the area, which involves replacing the dilapidated industrial proprieties along the river with green space, recreation areas and community facilities.

Dubai, a Persian Gulf boomtown where Porsches share the road with truckloads of South Asian laborers, launches a mass transit rail system tonight in an effort to ease crippling traffic that costs the city-state an estimated $1.4 billion a year. Despite recent economic hardships, the railway in this city of superlatives -- home to palm-shaped artificial islands and the world's tallest building -- will retain a showy attitude. The system will include VIP cars with fares equivalent to $3.50 U.S., more than seven times the lowest cost ticket.

Tom Bates stands in his pantry, grinning like a boy on Christmas morning with his loot spread out in front of him. There's a vase half full of used rubber bands destined for return to the newspaper carrier. A pile of hangers will go back to the cleaners. A bin of scraped and dried coffee filters awaits the artist down the street, who incorporates them into her work. Used coffee grounds fill a plastic bag on the kitchen counter. Bates collects them for the compost-making worms in his garage.

In a year in which gasoline prices hit record levels, mass transit use in the United States also reached its highest mark since 1957, according to industry figures released Monday. About 10.7 billion rides were taken on mass transit in 2008, up about 4% from the previous year, according to the American Public Transportation Assn., a Washington-based group that represents transit agencies and manufacturers. It was also a record or very good year for many transit agencies in Southern California.

Demetrius McClain's late-morning commuter train sped smoothly past strip malls and palm trees, heading north to his job in Ft. Lauderdale, about 30 miles away. McClain, a Web designer, started riding the train in May. The choice between the train and his car was a no-brainer: Gas prices were more than $3.60 a gallon and climbing. His commute on the Tri-Rail -- which connects Miami to Ft. Lauderdale and points north -- cost him $4 per day.

When it comes to improving the ways we get around the Southland, change usually occurs at a glacial pace. In one sense, that remains true at the end of 2008. There is little statistical evidence to suggest that any commuting patterns were seriously altered. Nor did any new roads or mass transit projects debut. Yet, 2008 was very eventful. The groundwork was laid for some dramatic developments that could come in future years, and transportation was often big news.