Transit Systems Los Angeles

Joining the Cherokee Nation has been worth millions of dollars in construction work to Jon McGrath. The blue-eyed, fair-skinned contractor from Tulsa, Okla., who is 1/64 American Indian, has obtained $19 million in minority subcontracts on the rapid transit system in Los Angeles--more than any other "disadvantaged" firm. McGrath's Cherokee ancestry is the equivalent of having a great-great-great-great-grandparent who was a full-blooded Indian.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board moved a step closer to a universal fare system Thursday by deciding to develop a plastic "smart card" to replace traditional paper bus passes. At the same meeting, the board announced the appointment of John Catoe, head of Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus line, to the No. 2 post within the MTA. The decision allows the MTA to solicit contract proposals over the next several months from companies to create the system.

Despite pleas from some Hollywood residents and business owners, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will shut down a famed stretch of Hollywood Boulevard around the clock for the next 24 days starting this morning to rebuild the street after years of subway construction.

Construction giant Tutor-Saliba Corp. was ordered Wednesday to pay more than $29.5 million for assorted acts of business misconduct related to Los Angeles' long-troubled subway system, a damage award that could hamper the firm's ability to land future public works jobs.

The Southside Smart Shuttle, the first-of-a-kind neighborhood shuttle designed to provide convenient transportation to the residents of South-Central Los Angeles, is proving to be a major success, MTA officials said Thursday. More then 500 people a day are riding the shuttle service, which consists of four 15-passenger mini-buses and operates along Vermont Avenue between the Green Line (at the Century Freeway) and Slauson Avenue, an MTA spokesman said.

Flushed with the success of the Los Angeles-Long Beach Light Rail Line opening, county transit officials Thursday called for the resumption of formal negotiations with the Southern Pacific Transportation Co. for the purchase of 173 miles of additional right of way for commuter rail lines. "I'm asking Southern Pacific to come back to the bargaining table," said county Supervisor Ed Edelman, who chairs the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission. "The public wants light rail . . .

The worker injury rate for Los Angeles Metro Rail construction is far worse than the national average, and project records show that dozens of injuries on a tunnel that burned in July have not been properly reported. After the devastating tunnel fire, state and local officials praised the safety record on the downtown portion of the $3-billion subway that is to stretch to the San Fernando Valley.

Determined to halt the loss of their power to set the county's transportation priorities, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board of directors on Monday voted to appeal a court-appointed special master's order to buy 481 new buses to relieve overcrowding. Reached behind closed doors, the 10-1 decision to go to Chief U.S. District Judge Terry Hatter Jr.

"Does this bus go to Hollywood and Highland?" asks an eager passenger. "Oh yes," the driver replies, and with a surprised smile adds, "That's a long way." But that is only the half of it. The final destination on this foggy fall morning is Universal Studios and the point of departure is a bus stop in Torrance. A long way, indeed. But with a few hours to spare and $1.60 in pocket change or an MTA bus pass, you can get there from there.

City Councilman Marvin Braude has reached an agreement with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation that will allow the new Smart Shuttle service to stop at Van Nuys Civic Center. "When I saw the final version of the Smart Shuttle routes, I was shocked that such a high-traffic area as the Civic Center was not considered relevant to the success of this study," Braude said this week.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board approved a $285-million, 14-mile rapid busway between Woodland Hills and North Hollywood on Thursday, handing a major victory to proponents who have worked for more than two decades to bring large-scale mass transit to the San Fernando Valley.

Hoping to ease the crunch brought by an increase in rush-hour commuters, MTA officials Monday announced the start of work on a crucial leg of the Metro Blue Line expansion project. The downtown Julian Dixon Metro Rail Station, where the Blue Line ends, will undergo a $1.2-million renovation to allow the light rail to accommodate three-car trains. Officials expect the project will take 13 weeks. "What we're suffering from is success of the Blue Line," said Jess Diaz, MTA rail superintendent.

In a spirited first debate between the two finalists for mayor of Los Angeles, former legislator Antonio Villaraigosa turned the tables on City Atty. James K. Hahn Tuesday, accusing him of "jeopardizing public safety" by backing a compacted three-day-a-week work schedule for some police officers. Hahn, in turn, argued that it was Villaraigosa whose plans would put the public at risk.

A dozen new Metro Rapid bus stops with umbrella canopies and computerized 19-foot billboards were unveiled Tuesday along Ventura Boulevard. Mayor Richard Riordan cut the ribbon as a red-and-white 50-passenger bus, designed for speed and efficiency, pulled up to the curb at Ventura and Sepulveda boulevards. Computerized red letters announced "Next Bus Arriving--Metro Rapid Bus." "It's an important day," said Rex Gephart, project manager for Metro Rapid.

It is, it turns out, a Pavlovian response. At the heaving sigh of a subway pulling into the station, my feet take over, widening their stride, breaking into a run, rattling down the staircase, never mind the baby bobbing on my back, never mind the people wandering down the stairs, admiring the architecture. Pardon me, excuse me, sorry. But as the last step surrenders, the doors slide shut, and the train, which is our train, pulls away, leaving feet to stomp a bit in frustration.

Taking another step toward spinning off a separate San Fernando Valley bus district, an alliance of cities approved contracts for $250,000 in planning Monday. Those fees may not be enough to complete the work for an application to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority seeking to break away a new Valley bus district. Consultants had anticipated a larger budget of $340,000, which includes a 10% contingency fee.

The Los Angeles subway, panned by some as a 3.2-mile pastrami express because it ends at a deli, becomes more like a real urban transit system with the opening Saturday of a 2.1-mile extension from downtown to the Wilshire corridor. After spending $578 million over five years, transit officials are cheering an important milestone in the West's largest public works project. MTA officials will dedicate the extension today and open it to the public Saturday for a weekend of free rides.

Citing evidence of "a series of abuses . . . that threatens the appropriate use of billions of taxpayer dollars," the chairman of a powerful U.S. Senate subcommittee announced Thursday that his panel will launch an investigation into the construction of Los Angeles' Metro Rail subway system. Sen. William V. Roth Jr. (R.-Del.

It was the culmination of a dream. A decade and a half after construction began, the $4.7-billion Metro Rail subway system to the San Fernando Valley was finished. The last three stations--North Hollywood, Universal City and Hollywood/Highland--opened in late June, and the service proved popular with passengers right off the bat. A shortage of parking to accommodate commuters' cars immediately became a problem at the two Valley stations.

The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to grant a one-year extension to a joint-powers authority that is considering the creation of a separate bus system for the San Fernando Valley. The council action also seeks approval of $300,000 from the Southern California Assn. of Governments and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for consultants and attorneys who will help the joint-powers group negotiate with the MTA for transfer of its bus operations to a new Valley Transit Zone.