[PRCo] Re: 1976

[Fred Schneider]

Los Angeles has had a 40 percent increase in unemployment from May  
2007 to May 2008.   San Diego has had a 34 percent increase in the  
same period.   Conditions are not good either place.

On Jul 28, 2008, at 11:30 AM, John Swindler wrote:

>
> Interesting, thanks, Fred.  Didn't see this chart on prior visits  
> to their website.
>
> So it looks like the Pasadena light rail line has almost the same  
> ridership as the Orange busway (bus rapid transit) in the San  
> Franando Valley.
>
> As for Green Line, it is not people going to LAX.  It is used as a  
> connector between north-south bus lines.
>
> The bus ridership might also be an indicator of the California job  
> market.
>
> John
>
>> From: fwschneider at comcast.net> Subject: [PRCo] Re: 1976> Date:  
>> Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:22:06 -0400> To: pittsburgh- 
>> railways at dementia.org> > Will this do? It comes from their own web  
>> site. Not sure why the > Green Line is down unless the aviation  
>> factories and other industries > near Redondo and El Segundo are  
>> also having a lot of people on > layoffs. Could also be that a  
>> good number of airlines have cut back > on service to LAX and that  
>> means fewer baggage handlers and counter > personnel at the  
>> airport who were using the line. Remember, it > isn't travelers  
>> who generally use airport mass transit but it's the > people who  
>> work at the airports who use it.> > But I have no clue at all why  
>> the bus service has collapsed so much > in opposition to the  
>> national trend. Must be something in the water.> > As much as I  
>> don't like Wendell Cox, you will find he has a web site > also  
>> claiming that LACMTA doesn't know how to count and he presents >  
>> preliminary, adjusted and final figures sh!
>  owing a difference of > 300%. It may be that they have simply  
> become the INEPTA of the > west? We do know that they aroused a  
> fire storm of monumental > proportions when they proposed  
> installing fare gates or turnstiles in > the subway because of one  
> of the highest fare evasion rates in the > industry. If you read  
> some of the newspaper accounts, you would have > gotten the feeling  
> that the public believed it was their right to be > trusted even if  
> they had no intention of paying a fare. Perhaps we > are comparing  
> riders in one year with cash customers in another????> > But then  
> the problems with fare evasion are not restricted to the > USA. I  
> remember coming to the conclusion that it must have been a >  
> national sport in Holland. I must have been correct because a few >  
> years later the Dutch dropped the policy of the honor system and  
> went > back to paying fares to the drivers and motormen. I suspect  
> the most > honest numbers might have come from Grenoble, France,  
> where I wat!
>  ched > five or six uniformed fare officers board an LRV I was  
> riding .
> ... the > gestapo entered at every door. There was no escaping  
> them. It > wasn't a case of the officer getting on one door and all  
> the unpaid > riders rushing off the other doors. Within a minute or  
> two they had > collared a man without a fare card. But only one.  
> They kept their > people honest by not letting them escape.> > At  
> any rate, here are the Los Angeles numbers you wanted John. I >  
> think they are suspect.> > http://www.metro.net/news_info/ 
> ridership_avg.htm> > On Jul 28, 2008, at 9:41 AM, John Swindler  
> wrote:> > >> >> > I'd seen a comment that Pasadena light rail now  
> exceeded Orange > > line busway, but would like to get some good  
> numbers. This would > > not be a popular comparison, if true. Also,  
> time to visit MTA site > > for update on Santa Monica via Air  
> line.> >> >>
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