Transit District

Service for first quarter of fiscal year 1989-'90 (July 1-Sept. 30, 1989) COMPARISON TO ADOPTED BUDGET +** Budget/Goal Actual Percent FY 1989-90 FY 1989-90 Difference Vehicle Service Hours (VSH) 359,668 355,896 -1.05 Vehicle Service Miles (VSM) 4,884,698 4,708,985 -3.60 Total Ridership 10,481,735 11,255,619 +7.38 Passengers/VSH 29.14 31.63 +8.54 Passengers/VSM 2.15 2.39 +11.16 Total Operating Cost $22,675,826 $20,945,117 -7.63 Cost/VSH $57.82 $54.83 -5.17 Cost/VSM $4.26 $4.14 -2.

A group pushing for a separate San Fernando Valley transit district has canceled its next meeting Monday--as well as all future meetings--until Gov. Gray Davis acts on pending legislation, which if he signs, could kill the breakaway plan. "We are not confident about what will happen with the bill," said Zev Yaroslavsky, a county supervisor and chairman of the Valley's interim joint powers authority. "If the governor vetoes this, no harm, no foul.

Long Beach City Councilwoman Jan Hall, on Monday announced she is resigning from her position as a member of the Southern California Rapid Transit District's Board of Directors to take a job with a private consulting firm that contracts with the transit district. A past president of the transit board, Hall also announced that she will not run for reelection in this spring's City Council races. Hall ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Long Beach in 1988 and has been a council member since 1978.

A labor-backed bill that could cripple plans for a Valley transit district is on the home stretch to a possible showdown with Gov. Gray Davis, who vetoed a similar bill last year. The bill passed the state Assembly late Tuesday and could return today to the Senate, where it originated, for a final vote.

A Long Beach company that nearly won a lucrative computer services contract even though it submitted a higher bid than a rival firm lost its appeal Monday to the Orange County Transit District. District board members voted 5 to 0 to reject the appeal of Lorien Systems, which was bidding on the first phase of what is envisioned as a $1.65-million project to develop the district's computerized maintenance, accounting and purchasing management system.

On the 10th day of the Orange County bus strike, negotiators for drivers and management met face to face Wednesday for the first time since the beginning of the strike. Orange County Transit District spokeswoman Joann Curran said the meeting was merely for "clarification of the district's final offer," which was rejected by the union in the same vote that launched the strike, but she added that the meeting was "a good sign." "The district isn't prepared to negotiate as such. . . .

Union bus drivers, hoping to end a bitter six-month dispute with the Orange County Transit District, voted by a 3-1 margin to approve a new contract with management late Sunday. Drivers voted 171 to 57 to approve the tentative contract, union officials said. The turnout was less than one-third of the union's 732 members. Juliene Smith, chairwoman of Tustin-based United Transportation Union Local 19, had predicted the overwhelming approval of the new agreement.

It was an unlikely place to find an empty wheelchair: on a county bus. "We were really stunned and couldn't imagine what had happened to the poor owner," said Joanne Curran, spokeswoman for the Orange County Transit District. "We still have it. . . . No one has come to pick it up. And we weren't sure how they would come get it."

With the ceremonial removal of a crossing gate, the Orange County Transit District on Wednesday took ownership of railroad tracks and the right of way next to the Santa Ana Freeway from Anaheim to Santa Ana. The district plans to build a transit way reserved for buses and car pools in that strip of land. But closing the tracks to rail traffic is expected to ease rush-hour automobile congestion at the Main Street and 17th Street rail crossings in Santa Ana.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday inched uneasily toward taking control of Los Angeles County's child support system in the wake of new legislation signed by the governor last week removing the operation from the district attorney's office. Supervisors instructed county staff to study how best to shift the 1,600-person child support unit from the district attorney's office to a new county department, as mandated by the new law.

In a move that could divorce the San Fernando Valley from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a coalition of seven Los Angeles City Council members Tuesday took the first step toward creating a separate transit district for the Valley. To be modeled after Foothill Transit, which serves the San Gabriel Valley, the new agency would be funded through sales taxes collected by MTA but operate independently of it.

Orange County Transportation Authority officials announced a major staff shake-up Monday, including the early retirement of veteran transit chief James P. Reichert and the hiring of a new rail and bus czar, Nancy Michali. The staff changes include the promotion of planning and development director Lisa Mills, who is also a Santa Ana City Council member, to assistant executive officer. Mills thus becomes one of the county's highest-ranking women in government administration.

James Parton awakes before dawn each Tuesday, hurriedly dresses and heads out the front door. Tapping a white cane to the ground, the legally blind Fillmore resident navigates his way to a street corner near his home. The city bus ride he awaits--which he has not missed since the new route began in November--departs at 5 a.m. for Moorpark's Metrolink station. The groggy bus driver who picks Parton up might just as well be his personal chauffeur.

Seeking to close a $65-million budget gap without penalizing its poorest customers, the Southern California Rapid Transit District board Thursday agreed to consider such options as cutting base fares or eliminating monthly passes or transfers. The RTD board also expressed an interest in reintroducing metal tokens to replace the paper tickets used for its discounted-fare program. RTD Controller-Treasurer Thomas A.

Los Angeles' new subway trains are on a collision course with its workhorse buses. Facing a $117.4-million deficit this year--the second massive shortfall in as many years--the Southern California Rapid Transit District warns that it will have to raise bus fares and cut service unless it can tap into a new voter-approved half-cent sales tax surcharge.

Six years after a quest for self-government led Encinitas to become a city, local residents are again hearing the rallying cry of independence as the young city grapples with one of the most emotional issues of its short history. At the core of the debate is a North County Transit District proposal to build a combination bus and commuter train station in the heart of the coastal community's downtown.

County transit officials Wednesday hammered out a four-point plan to make up some, but not all, of the Southern California Rapid Transit District's $65-million budget shortfall, easing immediate pressure for service cuts or fare increases. RTD officials welcomed the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission's help, but said significant parts of the plan may be unfeasible. And, they added, the transit district still faces a projected deficit of more than $100 million next year.