Easily my favorite series of yours! LA's future is via transit, but the NIMBYs there are a very weird breed of rich Conservatives and environmental lefties so it remains to be seen how that will articulate itself over the next 10 years. Unfortunately, LA isn't built for success because of the way the surbubs sprawl, geography, and how many darn mini cities there are with a fake downtown area! Thanks again
I've thought a lot about many things you brought up, and I think it's everything combined plus the presence of Chevron/auto interest in LA. Every mini-city here likes to act like they are completely independent of each other (which is extremely laughable), but that separation of the 100+ cities causes the purposeful disarray. A lot of snobs with money are to blame for stopping (or continuing) many types of development too, but especially public transit as it's not just one "powerful" group that doesn't want transit development in LA. The buses here are atrocious, even the most popular lines running once an hour immediately outside of rush hours with literally a handful of bus lanes. The G Line taking TWO HOURS from end to end is insane, when it could be more than cut in half with light rail/grade separations. It costing tens of billions to construct a pretty short rail extension with a few stations (and that being expected) is all part of the process. I don't have much hope for transit development here, unless _drastic_ action takes place at LACTMA/higher vocal public interest.
@@milazinnia But LA already had massive trnasit development in the last 20-30 years and will have even more of it in the next 10 years... And it's planned to convert the G line to light rail in the future right? As a new additional M or N light rail line is going to be built there anyway
@@BetaD_your talking about 2040-2050 time tables. My home city in China just built a metro system bigger than LA in under 15 years and for a fraction of the cost as well as 2 HSR lines running through the city.
Ngl. The way the narrator said Van Nuys startled me lmao (Van nice) is a close pronunciation But I talk the silver line to school from work most days unless I have to drive.
Pronouncing "Van Nuys" is a great way to tell if someone lives in the area or not lol. You would never know it's pronounced "van-eyes" unless you live here or know someone who does
The G Line follows the right of way of the former Southern Pacific Burbank Branch Line, which provided passenger rail service from 1904 to 1920, but yes it was then used by Pacific Electric streetcars between 1911 and 1952! The El Monte Busway on the other hand was built in a right of way located north of and in the median of the freeway that was owned by the Southern Pacific who purchased it from Pacific Electric (formerly the Pacific Electric's Upland-San Bernardino Line). For giving up a part of their property, Southern Pacific would get new tracks capable of handling heavier freight loads compared to the streetcar tracks (now Metrolink's San Bernardino Line). The project also included a viaduct in El Monte to elevate Southern Pacific trains as they moved between the area near the east end of the busway to the mainline tracks near what's now the El Monte Metrolink station. What's now the LA neighborhood of Van Nuys was first founded as a town in 1911 and named for Isaac Newton Van Nuys, a rancher and entrepreneur who was originally from Upstate New York! Their surname originates from a carpenter who came to the former Dutch colony of New Netherland in the 1650s from Nuis in western Groningen in the northern part of the Netherlands. Isaac owned the entire southern portion of the San Fernando Valley, and several LA speculators joined together through the Suburban Homes Company to buy out his portion in 1909. They laid out plans for roads and the towns of Van Nuys, Reseda (now Marian) and Canoga Park (now Owensmouth), and this was helped with extending the Pacific Electric through the valley to Owensmouth. Van Nuys was annexed by LA in 1915 after the LA Aqueduct was completed, providing it with the water required for further growth.
149 sq miles of the San Fernando Valley was annex by the City of Los Angeles, along with Van Nuys. Porter Ranch, the highest income neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles San Fernando Valley section was the last to be annexed in 1965.
I've taken both :) once each. I mostly needed them to get around during the times when metrolink and amtrak weren't running any trains during midday and late at night. Both were extremely convenient. I don't think I have ever appreciated enough how cheap transit is here, it beats the cost of driving by a LOT it just takes so darn long sometimes..
I would love to see a G Line extension to Pasadena via Burbank, Glendale, and Eagle Rock. This would be an important connection because it saves time for commuting between Pasadena and the San Fernando Valley without having to take the B Line downtown and the A Line to Azusa. This would also expand accessibility to the Glendale Galleria which is a busy shopping center on Brand.
Great video! I've lived in Wilmington for 6 years now and have taken the J line (as it's now called) all this time to get to Downtown LA/Universal City and as part of my journey to Anaheim. I've fallen asleep on the bus many many times only to have ended up in San Pedro, then had to take it back to Wilmington. I'd hate to have that section cancelled just for electric buses (the public needs that section to get anywhere), on the flip side, I've been inside the electric buses a few times and they aren't bad at all, better than using gas. One complaint I have about the Metro in general is the drivers. You see, Metro is a service that requires money from its passengers in order to survive; it is NOT a charity organization. Yet the drivers aren't enforcing the fare payment when they are supposed to as part of their job, and this is happening in a couple of ways: 1. They let anyone & everyone just walk onto the bus, bypassing the fare payment options like cash/change & TAP cards, they do this with all-door boarding, which is the biggest flaw in the public transit system. Metro drivers don't call out those passengers who don't pay, nor do they kick them out or deny them a ride. This is a major fail in enforcing Metro policy and is probably why Metro relies on government handouts to survive as a service. 2. Drivers often rush people through the doors to the seat of their choosing, forcing good passengers to forgo paying the fare, because the drivers are either late or trying to follow strict schedules, none of these reasons are the fault of the passenger, nor their problem. Why should those passengers be rushed like that when they're merely trying to do the right thing and contribute to society? I've NEVER experienced this in the small City of Sandy, Oregon I grew up in. And that place has a public transit system, too. Just wanted to give my point of view based on what I see on the J line every day. I just found your channel on recommendation from UA-cam, keep up the great work!
From my experience being born & raised in LA and riding metro bus & rail throughout the years the drivers tend to prefer not to get involved when it comes to dealing with any situation that could possibly escalate into the unpredictable… I’ve literally been in a situation where me and another guy prevented some punk from robbing a teenage kids skateboard on the bus, and what did the driver do the whole time? He minded his business and looked the other way… They know things can get crazy in an instant and want no part of it. In a way I can see why, but geez it also seems pretty heartless knowing most people including someone on the clock couldn’t careless if someone gets robbed or worse on the bus they’re driving. Smh. Plus they don’t want these type of people coming back with a vengeance for them because they “snitched” on them since they have to drive that same bus everyday of the week… It sucks. Btw I live in Wilmington too.👋🏼
The main metro line I use is the G Line and it is AWESOME! It’s a savvy attempt at pushing back against the backward NIMBYS and I never knew it was fully electric. Wish it was a light rail system but I love to hear that the eventual plan is to convert it!
I live in LA and I definitely wish the busways were light rail. It's better than the normal bus routes which are awful and take so long so as to never be worth it over just driving, but the J line for instance runs in a lot of mixed traffic in DTLA so it's not much better there. The LA buses are also some of the least comfortable buses I've ever ridden on, which further decentivizes me from using them. Of course if you're on a smooth busway it's better, but still not as comfortable as light rail would be. The ideal solution is fully grade-separated light rail, but that's obviously expensive so I'm not holding out hope for that. I love this city and I would really love to see its public transit flourish and become frequent, convenient, and safe for all Angelenos. The busways are better than nothing, but there is so much more potential.
Completely agree. LA Metro has already approved two new light rail lines. The SFV and Southeast Gateway lines. As well as the 2nd phase of the East LA E line. The A line is currently being extended. And the C and K line will connect to the LAX People Mover. Hopefully, the C line gets extended to the Torrance Transit Center, too but there has been some NIMBY pushback. There is the Inglewood People Mover, too.
Okay, as a transit enthusiast who lives in LA I'm going to have to point out the flaws here. First off, the J line never had signal priority; that was done by the G Line. And even then, the signal priority doesn't activate until the bus is mere inches from the light. This would cause the bus to sit at incredibly long light sequences, especially on Chandler between Coldwater Canyon and Whitsett. Second, the G Line did used to operate service using compressed natural gas BRT buses from NABI, the same way the Silver Streak from Foothill Transit did. Third, you are correct that the J Line fares used to be $2.50, but even before COVID, it was practically made $1.75 before the actual change was announced. Fourth, and this is personal opinion: It's entirely possible to build a transit center in San Pedro near 7th & Harbor to make the entire line battery electric. Instead of going to Pacific and 21st, it can go up Harbor from the Harbor/Beacon P&R to meet with LADOT Commuter Express 142 and Metro 205, as well as make OWL trips on Metro 246 and service on DASH San Pedro also serve the stop. And even if that does or doesn't happen, the J Line has K11Ms from BYD they can use for the service. (Or they could just order more XE60s... the K11Ms are kinda weird on the inside...) Overall, a really good video nonetheless. Good work.
I used to really like it alot more when they used colors to name these lines. I still remember when the Blue line 1st opened up [I was around 13yrs. old] and also the green line. Now it’s all “J line” and “K line” or whatever and it’s sort of confusing… What do you think? Did they improve switching to letters or was it a step backwards?
I love how in the b-roll shot at 9:55 you can see the station artwork at Tampa so clearly. Fun fact: that is the ENITRE manuscript of Tarzan Of The Apes, reproduced across both platforms so you can technically read the whole story (with enough visits lol)
Growing up in the San Gabriel Valley, I rode buses on the El Monte Busway on a daily basis since I was attending Los Angeles Trade-Technical College in the southern part of Downtown LA. I loved the fact that it was quick, convenient & reliable. I'd love to see the busway transformed into a light rail line to the heart of the San Gabriel Valley with stops at various points along that route.
@@climateandtransit LA is a weird place indeed, even native Spanish speakers use the butchered versions when referring to the landmarks. For example, Pedro is from San Pedro would be said "Pay-Dro is from San Pee-Dro"....all in one sentence.
@@TransitAndTeslas I think it's similar to me saying "karaoke" as "carry-Okie" instead of "KAh-rah-oh-keh". I use the former when speaking in English and the latter in Japanese. Similarly I noticed Spanish speakers here using Anglicized pronunciations for Spanish names unless speaking in Spanish. It just flows better that way when speaking. Exceptions always exist, of course. (Also isn't it more like peh-dro? not pay-dro or pee-dro? I wish more people understood IPA pronunciation, it would make everything clearer)
My hometown! My most notable memory with the J/Silver line was taking it from Carson to DTLA when Kobe died. So happy to see LA’s (still limited but still) transit getting some love!
@@StillAnotherStudentI’ve been riding the J line recently and it’s been $1.75 My guess is that information on the site hasn’t been updated with the new information
I frequently use the G line. And i love it. It gets me to where i need to go, like college, visit friends, DTLA and more. Because of the G line and surrounding bus routes I don't need a car so money well saved on top of it.
I rode MTA buses to middle school and high school. Those buses were often late and filthy. One of the best days of my life was getting a car. I will never use the MTA public transportation again!
I take the G Line very often because I live in Van Nuys (Van N-eyez btw) on Sherman Way so late at night when I'm getting off work after i arrive at North Hollywood Station i can either take the 162 bus directly to my house or take the G Line and connect to 233 owl service and then walk the extra mile or two to my house. It just depends on what's faster.
Fantastic video! I live in LA and have used both bus lines. The J Line is especially helpful in getting back to the city from LAX due to it stopping at the Harbor Gateway station where the C Line is as well. I'm on that one much more often, and while I question if it'll ever be converted into a light rail line, I hope they keep the San Pedro section. That line is so helpful for a lot of folks down there. I rode the G Line to get a better understanding of how it and, as you said in the video, it absolutely was packed starting at NoHo Station. If this line hasn't been converted into light rail over the next 5-15 years, I would be shocked; it's the perfect candidate for that.
Metro needs to keep the San Pedro portion of the J Line. Quite frankly, its disgusting how the City of Los Angeles treats the neighborhoods of San Pedro and Wilmington just because they are far from the rest of the city.
I live and work right by the G line. I get off at Balboa and it was good to see you included the greenery of the park thats right next door. I hope they do increase service as it's always packed during work/school hours.
Have you ever taken the G OR J line? NO. I didn’t know serious busways like this existed! I live on the east coast. Good cities skylines inspiration this is. Might make a dedicated busway next time I get on.
The G is worth riding. Service is frequent. It's lined by mature trees and the bikeway, it passes by several parks and even some farms (Did you know we still have a couple orange orchards within city limits?). The J, on the other hand... When it's not street running it's in a freeway median. It's loud and the air quality sucks, and if you're going south of Harbor Gateway Transit Center the buses only come every 20 minutes. And they stop running at 9pm! The J is usually the fastest way to get from DTLA to San Pedro (often faster than driving) but it can be a real bitch and a half sometimes. The bus racks are often full... One time I got stuck in Wilmington with my bike for 3 hours waiting for a bus to come that had room for me...
I used to take the Silver line everyday to work in El Segundo before the Commuter Express opened a line going to El Segundo in the mornings from DTLA ( they used to only have in coming to DTLA before. ) I still take the line to visit my parents in Gardena. It’s one of the best busses to take in Los Angeles.
The G Line is actually the former "Burbank Branch" of the Southern Pacific R.R. It didn't receive Pacific Electric service until it was transferred to PE to bring in workers at the many defense plants during WWII. This helps explain why the historic station at North Hollywood carries both SP and PE signage. The San Fernando Line of the Pacific Electric ran along Chandler Boulevard until it made a broad curve north up Van Nuys Blvd. The old curve is still visible at the intersection of Chandler and Van Nuys.
Good overall history of the BRTs in LA. However we need more BRTs like these in other parts of the County to supplement the light rail and subway lines. We need one in the East Hollywood/Echo Park/Los Feliz region. Not sure what route it would take. Maybe down Sunset? Another N/S BRT that could go from the Foothill A line area to the C line and connect to the future expansion of the E line and the proposed Southeast Gateway light rail. It could use the Rosemead Blvd/Lakewood Blvd corridor. And, in the future, convert it to a full light rail line. That line could be as important as the Sepulveda Pass line being proposed.
I’ve taken the Silver/J line several times from downtown LA to visit relatives in San Pedro when I visit Los Angeles. It’s a better option than city/neighborhood bus routes but the ride isn’t as comfortable as a coach for suburban lines despite the distance & times. I’d love an LRT that did the route. Making a line that connects San Pedro, Torrance & the south beach cities with LAX & the C line would be awesome. As well as with Long Beach & SE LA communities of course. Maybe those two lines could be one & meet the J!
The pricing thing was because before, the J Line used to cost more for whatever reason but after July of 2023, it got changed so every service was 1.50 with 2 hours of transfers included and students get it for 75cents.
I ride the J every so often. It's quite speedy, except during rush hour at the Adams exit (northbound). Takes about 10-20 minutes to exit because there's no dedicated bus lane; have to sit with other traffic exiting.
Ultimate pipe dream would be heavy rail down Vermont to San Pedro to replace that J line section (currently the plan is BRT down to almost the 105). The feasibility study for this is pretty bleak, with ~$10 billion capital investment for ~10k ridership. But it doesn't seem like the study takes potential TOD into account.
I've taken the J line once or twice and it's definitely a great easy-built solution before rail is built but as a stopgap it's got issues. I get the idea of having it go through DTLA for an easy one-seat ride but I feel like one seat rides are mostly useful when the frequency is low. Also it being a bus it's not exactly as noise proof as a train and traveling through the freeway makes the bus loud as hell, and I don't think buses are usually meant to go that fast so it's pretty bumpy and uncomfortable. But it's better than a freeway median rail line like the C line. The C line can also be uncomfortable since trains aren't meant to twist and turn as much as a freeway can so that also rocks around a lot. And obviously there's no effective immediate area around a station to take advantage of. The Metro would do well to make more freeway express buses IMO. The 460 is convenient to go to Downtown vs the C->A line, and I wish the El Monte to CSULB line ran on the weekends because it would make going to the Inland Empire viable by connecting through Metrolink, rather than going all the way to Downtown then back out. LA needs more radial routes to connect the cities and I think freeway expresses buses could help a lot in the short term.
I use the j line regularly and I always tell my family that it would be a lot better if it was a train!! Still love it tho helped me so much in not having to pay 200 a month in gas
Just read this week that LA Metro is currently eyeballing the entire Vermont Avenue corridor between Hollywood (right in front of the Red/D Line subway) & just south of Century Freeway (in front of the Green/C Line LRT) for legit rapid transit investment. Hopefully they don’t pull the plug on the Silver/J line after whatever improvements on Vermont ever get realized… because as things stand, the entire I-10 direction between East LA & El Monte seems to be a good ways away from other rapid transit corridors (particularly LRT). They have MetroLink regional service, but nothing that’s more frequent running. As the A/Blue Line is along the Foothill/210 Freeway direction & the Expo/Gold Line appears to be getting extended towards the Whittier direction. Both LRT lines are around an equal distance AWAY FROM the immediate I-10 corridor.
The G and J lines are fast and frequent. However, they should have been light rail lines from the beginning. Yes, they should be converted to light rail!
I’ve taken the J, the stations are filthy, the elevators are moving toilets, the buses are mobile unhoused crisis shelters, the wait for the bus is harrowing. Fun stuff.
In my hometown (Rio de Janeiro) we have a bus service operated by the metro company that serves a part of the south zone without subway stations. It's called Metrô na Superfície (subway on the surface), which has made it a joke among the city's residents.
I've never heard Van Nuys pronounced the way you pronounced it at 5:00. 😅 lol. Usually, it is pronounced as Van-nah-ees. The orange line needs to be become a rail line honestly. I loved taking it back in the day when I had to ride it but it is so slow compared to other lines even if it is faster than regular buses.
I‘d always wondered why the J line wasn‘t a light rail since it looks like it was meant to be, the way it cuts through the center of the 110. If they converted these routes to rail, it‘d be so much more comfortable and i know ridership would increase even more than it is now
Convert G Line to Light Rail and the J as Line into Rail from Gardena to El Monte, with the Gardena leg being a branch of the E Line and the El Monte section being an eastern extension of the B and D Lines or a new service running from Union Station to El Monte.
I doubt the J will get converted to rail since Metro is eyeing the nearby Vermont corridor for future rail. While they are only studying Wilshire to 120th, a continuation to Harbor Gateway seems like a slam dunk, and going to San Pedro would be a dream.
Other than a one or perhaps two stop extension on the east side of the line past Union Station to the Arts District, there are zero plans to extend the B Line anywhere. Of course, the D Line is currently being extended to Beverly Hills and Westwood, ending at the VA Hospital. Note that extending it further to the ocean is also not planned. If either of these things would happen, they would happen sometime past 2060 at the earliest, as Metro has a full plate of other things to do until then.
Wish they would plan to connect the B-Line and the Sepulveda subway with a subway/light rail under Ventura Blvd. Probably never happen, but one can dream. . . .
The G line will never be a subway. The community had their chance, and they blew it. Besides the SFV light rail has already been approved, so it would make more sense to convert the G line to a light rail. I believe the SFV line will also connect to the proposed Sepulveda line.
@Geotpf Agreed. Though I read recently, they might extend the B line into East LA as was originally proposed in the 1990s. It would be great to finally get the subway to East LA. After the station in the Arts District it can cross the river and go underneath Whittier Blvd to Atlantic where it could connect to the proposed underground station of the E line 2nd phase. This subway would service the busiest corridor in East LA and it would give East LA a direct connection to Union Station again.
I would like to see both G and J convert to light rail. And I think the J line need to extend more east to Pomona and add more stops east of Union Station.
I am always confused by the existence of the el Monte busway and the san Bernardino Metrolink line in the same right of way. It seems like an odd duplication of effort that cripples both services (Metrolink is mostly single track on the segment from el Monte to la union).
@@climateandtransit what I don't understand is why is the busway still there? If that section was double tracked you could replace all the busses that use the busway from la Union to el Monte.
The El Monte Bus way is currently a multi use freeway lane, it’s used for Buses, but also act as the Carpool and Expressway Tollways. Although metrolink is faster they don’t provide 10/8 min headways like the J line/SilveStreak combo.
@@Mauidog1 one reason why they can't provide better that 30 minute headways on the route is because of the single track section form downtown to El Monte. The right of way should probably be redistributed to better reflect the relative density of travelers each can carry. It might necessary to have small sections of single track but there are definitely portions where you could repurpose normal lanes to move the express lanes apart and allow for significant double track in the median.
Try San Francisco, (The old 49 Mission Van Ness) line was running with vehicles, now they have their own Bus lanes conversation to BRT both for the Geary Blvd lines too conversion to an BRT instead of an Light rail systems on those corridors, and the bus companies rather get there fair share of the transit fares as well as light rail
As someone who uses the south SIlver Line (fine, fine, J line...) I really don't want them to get rid of it. It is still the only Metro Transit the South Bay has, and San Pedro IS part of the city of Los Angeles. So abandoning it and the people down here would be a dick move. I know that the Vermont line would be much better, but until it is actually built, (Or the Green Line/C Line gets down here in 2100) we will need it.
love BRT - hate battery electric busses tho. The city of Austin (my hometown) just pushed their two new metrorapid bus lines back 3 years because they now require twice as many busses as they expected (to operate the same service frequencies) because battery electric busses have performed so poorly. I'd much rather see CNG or better yet overhead catenary busses (one can dream). Such a bummer to see the city waste so much more money just to operate the same service level
Tonight, on the E line hearing drivers week az voice announcing somebody is on the track so our train was delayed, we were there stuck for an hour, by the time get to a station that has restrooms the store already closed.
I think conversion to light rail is going to be an important step to making the San Fernando Valley from not feel like Metro Rails Red Headed step child. It Should have been done years ago. The Busway for a brilliant idea that it was still a stigma to the overall concept of the LA transit system.
lol you can always count on the 'foreigner mispronounces an la neighborhood' comments but yes the nimbys have literally put off projects by DECADES. its so infuriating
The Nuys in Van Nuys is pronounced nyes lke eyes just replace the e with a n or omit the N in Nuys altogether and merge the uys with the n at fhe end of Van.
The C and K line should run concurrent from Aviation/LAX, with the C line splitting to serve Manhattan Beach, with the K line continuing to Torrance and potentially Harbor Hills, the 910 should be redirected to Redondo Beach TC whenever that's done and then the 950 runs between San Pedro and Union roughly how it is now with peak only service on the El Monte busway
The C is going to run from Norwalk to LAX, but I think there will be a third platform there... So it should be theoretically able to change directions there and head back south to Manhattan Beach, although I imagine this would complicate signalling.
Interesting about the Valley line's growing popularity. It's a shame light rail in LA's San Fernando Valley was actually banned by law in 1991 (since overturned in 2014), but glad the busway will finally be upgraded to rail. Parts of LA were very anti-rail back in the 90s. Re San Pedro, don't forget to say "Pidro" not "Pedro" among the locals down in LA's South Bay. For some reason the pronunciation of San Pedro is Portuguese (or perhaps just a strange Anglicized version of the Spanish), but the spelling is Spanish. Siri actually gets the pronunciation right: "San Pidro".
It wasn't originally San Pidro just like people didn't originally pronounce Los Angeles the way many English speaking people do today. The city was founded by the Spanish so they were meant to be pronounced as a Spanish speaker would say it.
@@mrxman581 I won't dare claim that I am the authority on pronunciations. Hope I didn't offend. But LA pronunciations--incorrect or not--are indeed strange. A popular neighborhood, Los Feliz, is pronounced "Los Feelus". Older folks still say "Los Angle-les". El Segundo is "El Se-gun-doe".
@@climateandtransitSorry for being like a month late… can you do the Link T Line in Tacoma Washington? It is a streetcar that is advertised as a part of the greater Link Light Rail system. I don’t know if it has a whole lot to talk about, you know enough to make a video but I feel it could be good as a video or short.
The "El Monte Busway" is actually the former Pacific Electric San Bernardino line. Being built primarily for freight, the San Bernardino line was 1200 volts DC instead of the usual 600 volts.
Standard light rail in L.A. seems to be limited to 3-car trains since the system was built on the cheap and that's the platform size on current LR lines. I don't believe that there's any reason why platform size should continue to be that limited in future construction except building cheap looks good if you're a politician---that is, "quantity" of expansion looks better to the public than quality. Also if you build future LR to better standards that could potentially cause problems in future service alignment consolidations or integration where 3+ car trains might cross over to older routes or vice versa. Anyway, the point being that on bus lines that are already running at capacity on dedicated right of ways, LR may not be the ticket to much expansion in capacity.
@@mrxman581 They're also very expensive, are fixed in place regardless of local demand changes and commuting patterns over time, and again--as noted--substantive, expensive station revamping would be necessary to accomodate anything more than 3 car trains on any local LR line..
The G line ends across five-lane Lankershim Boulevard from the last B line metro station. To transfer between the two, users must cross Lankershim on one of two crosswalks that aren't even on the most direct route between the metro entrance and the busway station. I find it impossible to understand why an underground walkway between the two stations wasn't built initially. It should be built ASAP.
After the regional connector, the next priority should be solar-powered railroad crossing signals across all lines, followed by the installation of at least two throne restrooms at all stations and transitioning from human-driven trains to automated-operating systems. Then we can discuss the possibility of building new lines. but they get all their priorities messed up.
The G Line BRT is a mere place-holder for LRT, which will effectively revive the Pacific Electric San Fernando Line. The J Line express bus is a sad joke, because it runs through downtown in mixed traffic.
however this makes the J a far better use care for a BRT (a tram would easily get stuck downtown, a bus can drive around assholes parking in it's right-of-way), while the G only isn't light rail due to some NIMBYs.
@@kailahmann1823- I've ridden the J and I disagree. I wasn't even aware the Silver Line had signal preemption or separate lanes. The one time I had to ride it across downtown to Union Station, it seemed to stop at every signal light. Perhaps you live in Europe, where trams are different. In Los Angeles and San Diego, LRT is never built where parked cars are an issue. Moreover, traffic signals are set to keep left turning cars crossing the tracks from interfering with the trains.
Easily my favorite series of yours! LA's future is via transit, but the NIMBYs there are a very weird breed of rich Conservatives and environmental lefties so it remains to be seen how that will articulate itself over the next 10 years. Unfortunately, LA isn't built for success because of the way the surbubs sprawl, geography, and how many darn mini cities there are with a fake downtown area! Thanks again
I've thought a lot about many things you brought up, and I think it's everything combined plus the presence of Chevron/auto interest in LA. Every mini-city here likes to act like they are completely independent of each other (which is extremely laughable), but that separation of the 100+ cities causes the purposeful disarray. A lot of snobs with money are to blame for stopping (or continuing) many types of development too, but especially public transit as it's not just one "powerful" group that doesn't want transit development in LA. The buses here are atrocious, even the most popular lines running once an hour immediately outside of rush hours with literally a handful of bus lanes. The G Line taking TWO HOURS from end to end is insane, when it could be more than cut in half with light rail/grade separations. It costing tens of billions to construct a pretty short rail extension with a few stations (and that being expected) is all part of the process. I don't have much hope for transit development here, unless _drastic_ action takes place at LACTMA/higher vocal public interest.
@@milazinnia But LA already had massive trnasit development in the last 20-30 years and will have even more of it in the next 10 years...
And it's planned to convert the G line to light rail in the future right? As a new additional M or N light rail line is going to be built there anyway
@@BetaD_your talking about 2040-2050 time tables. My home city in China just built a metro system bigger than LA in under 15 years and for a fraction of the cost as well as 2 HSR lines running through the city.
Ngl. The way the narrator said Van Nuys startled me lmao (Van nice) is a close pronunciation
But I talk the silver line to school from work most days unless I have to drive.
Pronouncing "Van Nuys" is a great way to tell if someone lives in the area or not lol. You would never know it's pronounced "van-eyes" unless you live here or know someone who does
@Finetales He screwed up Reseda (Ra-see-da not Ra-Say-da) and San Pedro (San Peedro not San Pay-dro) Definitely not from here, lol!😂
@@dijitul3 I've heard it both pronounced San Peedro and San Pay-dro. Depends on how much you want to butcher the Spanish pronunciation.
@@MrNgMichaelunless you’re saying it in Spanish, it’s San Peedro or just “Peedro” if you know what’s up haha
I was just about to comment this
I take the G line. It's dope, but really needs signal priority, like all surface running transit in LA.
I’m from NYC so riding transit in LA is fascinating especially the J line a bus service in between a highway is awesome
I used to find it alot less confusing when they used colors instead of letters to name these lines.
The G Line follows the right of way of the former Southern Pacific Burbank Branch Line, which provided passenger rail service from 1904 to 1920, but yes it was then used by Pacific Electric streetcars between 1911 and 1952! The El Monte Busway on the other hand was built in a right of way located north of and in the median of the freeway that was owned by the Southern Pacific who purchased it from Pacific Electric (formerly the Pacific Electric's Upland-San Bernardino Line). For giving up a part of their property, Southern Pacific would get new tracks capable of handling heavier freight loads compared to the streetcar tracks (now Metrolink's San Bernardino Line). The project also included a viaduct in El Monte to elevate Southern Pacific trains as they moved between the area near the east end of the busway to the mainline tracks near what's now the El Monte Metrolink station.
What's now the LA neighborhood of Van Nuys was first founded as a town in 1911 and named for Isaac Newton Van Nuys, a rancher and entrepreneur who was originally from Upstate New York! Their surname originates from a carpenter who came to the former Dutch colony of New Netherland in the 1650s from Nuis in western Groningen in the northern part of the Netherlands. Isaac owned the entire southern portion of the San Fernando Valley, and several LA speculators joined together through the Suburban Homes Company to buy out his portion in 1909. They laid out plans for roads and the towns of Van Nuys, Reseda (now Marian) and Canoga Park (now Owensmouth), and this was helped with extending the Pacific Electric through the valley to Owensmouth. Van Nuys was annexed by LA in 1915 after the LA Aqueduct was completed, providing it with the water required for further growth.
149 sq miles of the San Fernando Valley was annex by the City of Los Angeles, along with Van Nuys. Porter Ranch, the highest income neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles San Fernando Valley section was the last to be annexed in 1965.
I've taken both :) once each. I mostly needed them to get around during the times when metrolink and amtrak weren't running any trains during midday and late at night. Both were extremely convenient. I don't think I have ever appreciated enough how cheap transit is here, it beats the cost of driving by a LOT it just takes so darn long sometimes..
I would love to see a G Line extension to Pasadena via Burbank, Glendale, and Eagle Rock. This would be an important connection because it saves time for commuting between Pasadena and the San Fernando Valley without having to take the B Line downtown and the A Line to Azusa. This would also expand accessibility to the Glendale Galleria which is a busy shopping center on Brand.
In a way, that is going to happen with the NoHo-Pasadena BRT line, but it will be a 2 seat ride instead of 1 seat.
There is bus 501 and commuter bus 549 that run from North Hollywood station to Pasadena at Fair Oaks and Walnut. You just have to transfer.
Great video! I've lived in Wilmington for 6 years now and have taken the J line (as it's now called) all this time to get to Downtown LA/Universal City and as part of my journey to Anaheim. I've fallen asleep on the bus many many times only to have ended up in San Pedro, then had to take it back to Wilmington. I'd hate to have that section cancelled just for electric buses (the public needs that section to get anywhere), on the flip side, I've been inside the electric buses a few times and they aren't bad at all, better than using gas.
One complaint I have about the Metro in general is the drivers. You see, Metro is a service that requires money from its passengers in order to survive; it is NOT a charity organization. Yet the drivers aren't enforcing the fare payment when they are supposed to as part of their job, and this is happening in a couple of ways:
1. They let anyone & everyone just walk onto the bus, bypassing the fare payment options like cash/change & TAP cards, they do this with all-door boarding, which is the biggest flaw in the public transit system. Metro drivers don't call out those passengers who don't pay, nor do they kick them out or deny them a ride. This is a major fail in enforcing Metro policy and is probably why Metro relies on government handouts to survive as a service.
2. Drivers often rush people through the doors to the seat of their choosing, forcing good passengers to forgo paying the fare, because the drivers are either late or trying to follow strict schedules, none of these reasons are the fault of the passenger, nor their problem. Why should those passengers be rushed like that when they're merely trying to do the right thing and contribute to society?
I've NEVER experienced this in the small City of Sandy, Oregon I grew up in. And that place has a public transit system, too.
Just wanted to give my point of view based on what I see on the J line every day. I just found your channel on recommendation from UA-cam, keep up the great work!
From my experience being born & raised in LA and riding metro bus & rail throughout the years the drivers tend to prefer not to get involved when it comes to dealing with any situation that could possibly escalate into the unpredictable… I’ve literally been in a situation where me and another guy prevented some punk from robbing a teenage kids skateboard on the bus, and what did the driver do the whole time? He minded his business and looked the other way… They know things can get crazy in an instant and want no part of it.
In a way I can see why, but geez it also seems pretty heartless knowing most people including someone on the clock couldn’t careless if someone gets robbed or worse on the bus they’re driving. Smh.
Plus they don’t want these type of people coming back with a vengeance for them because they “snitched” on them since they have to drive that same bus everyday of the week… It sucks.
Btw I live in Wilmington too.👋🏼
The main metro line I use is the G Line and it is AWESOME! It’s a savvy attempt at pushing back against the backward NIMBYS and I never knew it was fully electric. Wish it was a light rail system but I love to hear that the eventual plan is to convert it!
And it will connect to the already approved SFV light rail line.
What’s NIMBYS?
@@Samuelfish2k It stand for “Not In My Back Yard” aka people who don’t want construction of public buildings near their homes.
@@Potato-so6zr gotcha.
I love the G and J line! Definitely more convenient than a normal bus route but doesn’t beat a train for sure!
I live in LA and I definitely wish the busways were light rail. It's better than the normal bus routes which are awful and take so long so as to never be worth it over just driving, but the J line for instance runs in a lot of mixed traffic in DTLA so it's not much better there. The LA buses are also some of the least comfortable buses I've ever ridden on, which further decentivizes me from using them. Of course if you're on a smooth busway it's better, but still not as comfortable as light rail would be. The ideal solution is fully grade-separated light rail, but that's obviously expensive so I'm not holding out hope for that.
I love this city and I would really love to see its public transit flourish and become frequent, convenient, and safe for all Angelenos. The busways are better than nothing, but there is so much more potential.
Completely agree. LA Metro has already approved two new light rail lines. The SFV and Southeast Gateway lines. As well as the 2nd phase of the East LA E line. The A line is currently being extended. And the C and K line will connect to the LAX People Mover. Hopefully, the C line gets extended to the Torrance Transit Center, too but there has been some NIMBY pushback. There is the Inglewood People Mover, too.
This bus way will be light rail by 2047 when I will be in my late 70's
Okay, as a transit enthusiast who lives in LA I'm going to have to point out the flaws here. First off, the J line never had signal priority; that was done by the G Line. And even then, the signal priority doesn't activate until the bus is mere inches from the light. This would cause the bus to sit at incredibly long light sequences, especially on Chandler between Coldwater Canyon and Whitsett. Second, the G Line did used to operate service using compressed natural gas BRT buses from NABI, the same way the Silver Streak from Foothill Transit did. Third, you are correct that the J Line fares used to be $2.50, but even before COVID, it was practically made $1.75 before the actual change was announced. Fourth, and this is personal opinion: It's entirely possible to build a transit center in San Pedro near 7th & Harbor to make the entire line battery electric. Instead of going to Pacific and 21st, it can go up Harbor from the Harbor/Beacon P&R to meet with LADOT Commuter Express 142 and Metro 205, as well as make OWL trips on Metro 246 and service on DASH San Pedro also serve the stop. And even if that does or doesn't happen, the J Line has K11Ms from BYD they can use for the service. (Or they could just order more XE60s... the K11Ms are kinda weird on the inside...)
Overall, a really good video nonetheless. Good work.
I used to really like it alot more when they used colors to name these lines. I still remember when the Blue line 1st opened up [I was around 13yrs. old] and also the green line. Now it’s all “J line” and “K line” or whatever and it’s sort of confusing…
What do you think? Did they improve switching to letters or was it a step backwards?
I love how in the b-roll shot at 9:55 you can see the station artwork at Tampa so clearly. Fun fact: that is the ENITRE manuscript of Tarzan Of The Apes, reproduced across both platforms so you can technically read the whole story (with enough visits lol)
Growing up in the San Gabriel Valley, I rode buses on the El Monte Busway on a daily basis since I was attending Los Angeles Trade-Technical College in the southern part of Downtown LA. I loved the fact that it was quick, convenient & reliable. I'd love to see the busway transformed into a light rail line to the heart of the San Gabriel Valley with stops at various points along that route.
A double-articulated bus would be a cool thing to ride! I've never even seen one.
Pronunciation: Van Nuys=Van Neyes, San Pedro=San Peedro
Noted 🫡
@@climateandtransit LA is a weird place indeed, even native Spanish speakers use the butchered versions when referring to the landmarks. For example, Pedro is from San Pedro would be said "Pay-Dro is from San Pee-Dro"....all in one sentence.
There are plenty of native southern californians who say "San Pay-dro"
@@TransitAndTeslas I think it's similar to me saying "karaoke" as "carry-Okie" instead of "KAh-rah-oh-keh". I use the former when speaking in English and the latter in Japanese. Similarly I noticed Spanish speakers here using Anglicized pronunciations for Spanish names unless speaking in Spanish. It just flows better that way when speaking. Exceptions always exist, of course. (Also isn't it more like peh-dro? not pay-dro or pee-dro? I wish more people understood IPA pronunciation, it would make everything clearer)
@@jaye909yes but they are considered non angelinos
My hometown! My most notable memory with the J/Silver line was taking it from Carson to DTLA when Kobe died. So happy to see LA’s (still limited but still) transit getting some love!
Great video. I’ve taken the G line (formerly the Orange line). Hopefully it gets converted to light rail someday. The ridership numbers support it.
To clear up the fares metro made them all 1 .75 with fare capping in june of 2023, but before express busses and BRT was 2.50
It’s weird because their website still says 2.50 for the J line
@@climateandtransit that's weird, rode it a week ago and it was 1.75
@@StillAnotherStudentI’ve been riding the J line recently and it’s been $1.75
My guess is that information on the site hasn’t been updated with the new information
I frequently use the G line. And i love it. It gets me to where i need to go, like college, visit friends, DTLA and more. Because of the G line and surrounding bus routes I don't need a car so money well saved on top of it.
Love the evolution of LA transit!
I rode MTA buses to middle school and high school. Those buses were often late and filthy. One of the best days of my life was getting a car. I will never use the MTA public transportation again!
I take the G Line very often because I live in Van Nuys (Van N-eyez btw) on Sherman Way so late at night when I'm getting off work after i arrive at North Hollywood Station i can either take the 162 bus directly to my house or take the G Line and connect to 233 owl service and then walk the extra mile or two to my house. It just depends on what's faster.
Fantastic video! I live in LA and have used both bus lines. The J Line is especially helpful in getting back to the city from LAX due to it stopping at the Harbor Gateway station where the C Line is as well. I'm on that one much more often, and while I question if it'll ever be converted into a light rail line, I hope they keep the San Pedro section. That line is so helpful for a lot of folks down there. I rode the G Line to get a better understanding of how it and, as you said in the video, it absolutely was packed starting at NoHo Station. If this line hasn't been converted into light rail over the next 5-15 years, I would be shocked; it's the perfect candidate for that.
Metro needs to keep the San Pedro portion of the J Line. Quite frankly, its disgusting how the City of Los Angeles treats the neighborhoods of San Pedro and Wilmington just because they are far from the rest of the city.
I agree, and I live in Wilmington, have done so for 6 years now and have been using the Silver/J Line this whole time.
I live and work right by the G line. I get off at Balboa and it was good to see you included the greenery of the park thats right next door. I hope they do increase service as it's always packed during work/school hours.
Have you ever taken the G OR J line? NO. I didn’t know serious busways like this existed! I live on the east coast. Good cities skylines inspiration this is. Might make a dedicated busway next time I get on.
The G is worth riding. Service is frequent. It's lined by mature trees and the bikeway, it passes by several parks and even some farms (Did you know we still have a couple orange orchards within city limits?). The J, on the other hand... When it's not street running it's in a freeway median. It's loud and the air quality sucks, and if you're going south of Harbor Gateway Transit Center the buses only come every 20 minutes. And they stop running at 9pm! The J is usually the fastest way to get from DTLA to San Pedro (often faster than driving) but it can be a real bitch and a half sometimes. The bus racks are often full... One time I got stuck in Wilmington with my bike for 3 hours waiting for a bus to come that had room for me...
I used to take the Silver line everyday to work in El Segundo before the Commuter Express opened a line going to El Segundo in the mornings from DTLA ( they used to only have in coming to DTLA before. ) I still take the line to visit my parents in Gardena. It’s one of the best busses to take in Los Angeles.
The G Line is actually the former "Burbank Branch" of the Southern Pacific R.R. It didn't receive Pacific Electric service until it was transferred to PE to bring in workers at the many defense plants during WWII. This helps explain why the historic station at North Hollywood carries both SP and PE signage.
The San Fernando Line of the Pacific Electric ran along Chandler Boulevard until it made a broad curve north up Van Nuys Blvd. The old curve is still visible at the intersection of Chandler and Van Nuys.
Good overall history of the BRTs in LA. However we need more BRTs like these in other parts of the County to supplement the light rail and subway lines.
We need one in the East Hollywood/Echo Park/Los Feliz region. Not sure what route it would take. Maybe down Sunset?
Another N/S BRT that could go from the Foothill A line area to the C line and connect to the future expansion of the E line and the proposed Southeast Gateway light rail. It could use the Rosemead Blvd/Lakewood Blvd corridor. And, in the future, convert it to a full light rail line. That line could be as important as the Sepulveda Pass line being proposed.
I’ve taken the Silver/J line several times from downtown LA to visit relatives in San Pedro when I visit Los Angeles. It’s a better option than city/neighborhood bus routes but the ride isn’t as comfortable as a coach for suburban lines despite the distance & times. I’d love an LRT that did the route. Making a line that connects San Pedro, Torrance & the south beach cities with LAX & the C line would be awesome. As well as with Long Beach & SE LA communities of course. Maybe those two lines could be one & meet the J!
The pricing thing was because before, the J Line used to cost more for whatever reason but after July of 2023, it got changed so every service was 1.50 with 2 hours of transfers included and students get it for 75cents.
I ride the J every so often. It's quite speedy, except during rush hour at the Adams exit (northbound). Takes about 10-20 minutes to exit because there's no dedicated bus lane; have to sit with other traffic exiting.
I am a all-time support of la Metro bus route j and c
cool you made one of these considering i gotta ride the G bus everyday, thanks
With the new elevated LAX people mover. Do u think LA would be more inclined for more elevated tracks throughout LA to bypass traffic?
The J line is very useful, that would be neat to see it converted to rail.
I have taken both. I'd like the G converted to Light rail and expanded to Burbank & Glendale
Ultimate pipe dream would be heavy rail down Vermont to San Pedro to replace that J line section (currently the plan is BRT down to almost the 105). The feasibility study for this is pretty bleak, with ~$10 billion capital investment for ~10k ridership. But it doesn't seem like the study takes potential TOD into account.
I've taken the J line once or twice and it's definitely a great easy-built solution before rail is built but as a stopgap it's got issues. I get the idea of having it go through DTLA for an easy one-seat ride but I feel like one seat rides are mostly useful when the frequency is low. Also it being a bus it's not exactly as noise proof as a train and traveling through the freeway makes the bus loud as hell, and I don't think buses are usually meant to go that fast so it's pretty bumpy and uncomfortable.
But it's better than a freeway median rail line like the C line. The C line can also be uncomfortable since trains aren't meant to twist and turn as much as a freeway can so that also rocks around a lot. And obviously there's no effective immediate area around a station to take advantage of. The Metro would do well to make more freeway express buses IMO. The 460 is convenient to go to Downtown vs the C->A line, and I wish the El Monte to CSULB line ran on the weekends because it would make going to the Inland Empire viable by connecting through Metrolink, rather than going all the way to Downtown then back out. LA needs more radial routes to connect the cities and I think freeway expresses buses could help a lot in the short term.
I use the j line regularly and I always tell my family that it would be a lot better if it was a train!! Still love it tho helped me so much in not having to pay 200 a month in gas
"though"
Just read this week that LA Metro is currently eyeballing the entire Vermont Avenue corridor between Hollywood (right in front of the Red/D Line subway) & just south of Century Freeway (in front of the Green/C Line LRT) for legit rapid transit investment.
Hopefully they don’t pull the plug on the Silver/J line after whatever improvements on Vermont ever get realized… because as things stand, the entire I-10 direction between East LA & El Monte seems to be a good ways away from other rapid transit corridors (particularly LRT). They have MetroLink regional service, but nothing that’s more frequent running.
As the A/Blue Line is along the Foothill/210 Freeway direction & the Expo/Gold Line appears to be getting extended towards the Whittier direction. Both LRT lines are around an equal distance AWAY FROM the immediate I-10 corridor.
When we get express lines, this transit system will be incredibly good. I love Metro. Wish safety was better though
The G and J lines are fast and frequent. However, they should have been light rail lines from the beginning. Yes, they should be converted to light rail!
I’ve taken the J, the stations are filthy, the elevators are moving toilets, the buses are mobile unhoused crisis shelters, the wait for the bus is harrowing. Fun stuff.
🚅 don't you all enjoy railroad
🚈 trams, trains etc are just so cool
🚞 take a ride in my ''transportation'' folder, (folder 2) :)
Long live Measure HLA!!!
In my hometown (Rio de Janeiro) we have a bus service operated by the metro company that serves a part of the south zone without subway stations. It's called Metrô na Superfície (subway on the surface), which has made it a joke among the city's residents.
I've never heard Van Nuys pronounced the way you pronounced it at 5:00. 😅 lol. Usually, it is pronounced as Van-nah-ees. The orange line needs to be become a rail line honestly. I loved taking it back in the day when I had to ride it but it is so slow compared to other lines even if it is faster than regular buses.
I‘d always wondered why the J line wasn‘t a light rail since it looks like it was meant to be, the way it cuts through the center of the 110. If they converted these routes to rail, it‘d be so much more comfortable and i know ridership would increase even more than it is now
Convert G Line to Light Rail and the J as Line into Rail from Gardena to El Monte, with the Gardena leg being a branch of the E Line and the El Monte section being an eastern extension of the B and D Lines or a new service running from Union Station to El Monte.
I doubt the J will get converted to rail since Metro is eyeing the nearby Vermont corridor for future rail. While they are only studying Wilshire to 120th, a continuation to Harbor Gateway seems like a slam dunk, and going to San Pedro would be a dream.
The Red Car was a beautiful piece of equipment. What a crime it was to have gotten rid of it, thanks to GM, Harvey Firestone and Standard Oil...
the gunshots at 6:39 is wild 💀
"Van-eyes" is the proper pronunciation for Van Nuys.
Almost forgetting about the K line is so accurate.
Funny thing is that is actually a reference to one of my older videos where I did mistakenly forget about the K line 💀
Another option would be to use trolley busses - which removes the ridiculous discussion about reducing the service to have all electric busses.
LA Metro has a plan to move all their 2300+ buses to electric.
I want the B line extended still. Makes the most sense to connect it to the rest of the valley and the Sepulveda subway. (Knock on wood)
Other than a one or perhaps two stop extension on the east side of the line past Union Station to the Arts District, there are zero plans to extend the B Line anywhere. Of course, the D Line is currently being extended to Beverly Hills and Westwood, ending at the VA Hospital. Note that extending it further to the ocean is also not planned.
If either of these things would happen, they would happen sometime past 2060 at the earliest, as Metro has a full plate of other things to do until then.
Wish they would plan to connect the B-Line and the Sepulveda subway with a subway/light rail under Ventura Blvd. Probably never happen, but one can dream. . . .
The G line will never be a subway. The community had their chance, and they blew it. Besides the SFV light rail has already been approved, so it would make more sense to convert the G line to a light rail. I believe the SFV line will also connect to the proposed Sepulveda line.
@Geotpf Agreed. Though I read recently, they might extend the B line into East LA as was originally proposed in the 1990s. It would be great to finally get the subway to East LA. After the station in the Arts District it can cross the river and go underneath Whittier Blvd to Atlantic where it could connect to the proposed underground station of the E line 2nd phase. This subway would service the busiest corridor in East LA and it would give East LA a direct connection to Union Station again.
@@Geotpf, Even though it is not official, but Metro has quietly been studying to extend the B Line to the Burbank Airport.
I would like to see both G and J convert to light rail. And I think the J line need to extend more east to Pomona and add more stops east of Union Station.
I am always confused by the existence of the el Monte busway and the san Bernardino Metrolink line in the same right of way. It seems like an odd duplication of effort that cripples both services (Metrolink is mostly single track on the segment from el Monte to la union).
The El Monte busway predates metrolink by about 20 years and the SB line goes much further in the IE
@@climateandtransit what I don't understand is why is the busway still there? If that section was double tracked you could replace all the busses that use the busway from la Union to el Monte.
The El Monte Bus way is currently a multi use freeway lane, it’s used for Buses, but also act as the Carpool and Expressway Tollways. Although metrolink is faster they don’t provide 10/8 min headways like the J line/SilveStreak combo.
@@Mauidog1 one reason why they can't provide better that 30 minute headways on the route is because of the single track section form downtown to El Monte. The right of way should probably be redistributed to better reflect the relative density of travelers each can carry. It might necessary to have small sections of single track but there are definitely portions where you could repurpose normal lanes to move the express lanes apart and allow for significant double track in the median.
@ 5:00 Van Noooys 🤣🤣 sorry it’s called Van “nice” great video tho
Try San Francisco, (The old 49 Mission Van Ness) line was running with vehicles, now they have their own Bus lanes conversation to BRT both for the Geary Blvd lines too conversion to an BRT instead of an Light rail systems on those corridors, and the bus companies rather get there fair share of the transit fares as well as light rail
As someone who uses the south SIlver Line (fine, fine, J line...) I really don't want them to get rid of it. It is still the only Metro Transit the South Bay has, and San Pedro IS part of the city of Los Angeles. So abandoning it and the people down here would be a dick move. I know that the Vermont line would be much better, but until it is actually built, (Or the Green Line/C Line gets down here in 2100) we will need it.
love BRT - hate battery electric busses tho. The city of Austin (my hometown) just pushed their two new metrorapid bus lines back 3 years because they now require twice as many busses as they expected (to operate the same service frequencies) because battery electric busses have performed so poorly. I'd much rather see CNG or better yet overhead catenary busses (one can dream). Such a bummer to see the city waste so much more money just to operate the same service level
Squares and Circles? I'm still coping with the fact that they went away from Colors and changed the names to Letters!
0:52 IMPOSTER!😡
Damn… this really is the West Coast’s equivalent to the MBTA Silver Line 😂 absolute travesty these lines aren’t urban rail lines, very sad
They’re definitely better than the MBTA silver line trust me
Nah they actually run alright service and don't have shit rides. G should be rail but J is honestly solid as is (with some extensions)
Tonight, on the E line hearing drivers week az voice announcing somebody is on the track so our train was delayed, we were there stuck for an hour, by the time get to a station that has restrooms the store already closed.
We love “road diets” ! Anything to try to get rid of those Evil Cars
I think conversion to light rail is going to be an important step to making the San Fernando Valley from not feel like Metro Rails Red Headed step child. It Should have been done years ago. The Busway for a brilliant idea that it was still a stigma to the overall concept of the LA transit system.
They are also gertthe SFV light rail line. Construction should start in a year or two. It will connect to the G line.
Mon-teh not mon-teeee, triggered me multiple times
"THIS IS A LOS ANGELES BOUND G LOCAL TRIAN, THE NEXT STOP IS CHURCH AVE!" "STAND CLEAR OF THE CLOSING DOORS PLEASE!"
lol you can always count on the 'foreigner mispronounces an la neighborhood' comments
but yes the nimbys have literally put off projects by DECADES. its so infuriating
The Nuys in Van Nuys is pronounced nyes lke eyes just replace the e with a n or omit the N in Nuys altogether and merge the uys with the n at fhe end of Van.
The C and K line should run concurrent from Aviation/LAX, with the C line splitting to serve Manhattan Beach, with the K line continuing to Torrance and potentially Harbor Hills, the 910 should be redirected to Redondo Beach TC whenever that's done and then the 950 runs between San Pedro and Union roughly how it is now with peak only service on the El Monte busway
The C is going to run from Norwalk to LAX, but I think there will be a third platform there... So it should be theoretically able to change directions there and head back south to Manhattan Beach, although I imagine this would complicate signalling.
RAAA J LINE MENTIONED WHAT THE FUCK IS A LIGHT RAIL!!!!
I really hope instead of light rail, they just extend the red line.
Interesting about the Valley line's growing popularity. It's a shame light rail in LA's San Fernando Valley was actually banned by law in 1991 (since overturned in 2014), but glad the busway will finally be upgraded to rail. Parts of LA were very anti-rail back in the 90s. Re San Pedro, don't forget to say "Pidro" not "Pedro" among the locals down in LA's South Bay. For some reason the pronunciation of San Pedro is Portuguese (or perhaps just a strange Anglicized version of the Spanish), but the spelling is Spanish. Siri actually gets the pronunciation right: "San Pidro".
It wasn't originally San Pidro just like people didn't originally pronounce Los Angeles the way many English speaking people do today. The city was founded by the Spanish so they were meant to be pronounced as a Spanish speaker would say it.
The SFV is getting the SFV light rail line. Preliminary construction should start in a year or two.
@@mrxman581 I won't dare claim that I am the authority on pronunciations. Hope I didn't offend. But LA pronunciations--incorrect or not--are indeed strange. A popular neighborhood, Los Feliz, is pronounced "Los Feelus". Older folks still say "Los Angle-les". El Segundo is "El Se-gun-doe".
“Immensely”
😂😂😂
Much better to have bike paths going to stations rather than parallel to a public transport corridor. Just saying.
I miss the Orange Line
Google Maps transit doesn't show either line on it's map.
Can I make a suggestion for obscure transit?
Go for it!
@@climateandtransitSorry for being like a month late… can you do the Link T Line in Tacoma Washington? It is a streetcar that is advertised as a part of the greater Link Light Rail system. I don’t know if it has a whole lot to talk about, you know enough to make a video but I feel it could be good as a video or short.
Van Nuys sounds like "Van Mys", not nooys. ;)
La metro 😩
It’s pronounced “Van N’eyes” and “San ‘Pee-dro”
Gotta say I have always heard it pronounced “van eyes”, never once heard it as “van noise”. Good video otherwise
VAN NOOEES 😂😂😂
Van Nuys - rhymes with "size", it's not Van Noise!
The "El Monte Busway" is actually the former Pacific Electric San Bernardino line. Being built primarily for freight, the San Bernardino line was 1200 volts DC instead of the usual 600 volts.
Standard light rail in L.A. seems to be limited to 3-car trains since the system was built on the cheap and that's the platform size on current LR lines. I don't believe that there's any reason why platform size should continue to be that limited in future construction except building cheap looks good if you're a politician---that is, "quantity" of expansion looks better to the public than quality. Also if you build future LR to better standards that could potentially cause problems in future service alignment consolidations or integration where 3+ car trains might cross over to older routes or vice versa.
Anyway, the point being that on bus lines that are already running at capacity on dedicated right of ways, LR may not be the ticket to much expansion in capacity.
False. Light rail trains carry many more passengers than buses, and you can run them more frequently, too.
@@mrxman581 They're also very expensive, are fixed in place regardless of local demand changes and commuting patterns over time, and again--as noted--substantive, expensive station revamping would be necessary to accomodate anything more than 3 car trains on any local LR line..
The G line ends across five-lane Lankershim Boulevard from the last B line metro station. To transfer between the two, users must cross Lankershim on one of two crosswalks that aren't even on the most direct route between the metro entrance and the busway station. I find it impossible to understand why an underground walkway between the two stations wasn't built initially. It should be built ASAP.
Underground will be a lot more expensive than a bridge over the road would be better and somewhat cheaper
I think.
After the regional connector, the next priority should be solar-powered railroad crossing signals across all lines, followed by the installation of at least two throne restrooms at all stations and transitioning from human-driven trains to automated-operating systems. Then we can discuss the possibility of building new lines. but they get all their priorities messed up.
Nah it should be to get more reliable fast transit, amenities can come second and automation is overrated.
@@climateandtransit people who gonna pee on the train in 2028?
@@climateandtransitAgreed. Expanding the system ASAP is way more important
The G Line BRT is a mere place-holder for LRT, which will effectively revive the Pacific Electric San Fernando Line. The J Line express bus is a sad joke, because it runs through downtown in mixed traffic.
however this makes the J a far better use care for a BRT (a tram would easily get stuck downtown, a bus can drive around assholes parking in it's right-of-way), while the G only isn't light rail due to some NIMBYs.
@@kailahmann1823- I've ridden the J and I disagree. I wasn't even aware the Silver Line had signal preemption or separate lanes. The one time I had to ride it across downtown to Union Station, it seemed to stop at every signal light.
Perhaps you live in Europe, where trams are different. In Los Angeles and San Diego, LRT is never built where parked cars are an issue. Moreover, traffic signals are set to keep left turning cars crossing the tracks from interfering with the trains.
We can tell you're not a LA native on how you say Van Nuys. It's pronounced Van Nie-ss
van "nighs"
van noys
DO NOT CALL THE ORANGE LINE THE "G" LINE OR LINES 910 AND 950 THE "J" LINE!!!! Los Angeles IS NOT NEW YORK!!!
5:00 Van 'Noise'. 𝚕𝚘𝚕
May I ask, where are you from? Your pronunciations on some of the names are exotic! Good video btw :)
Illinois 😎
I used to live there for a very long time and I miss it.