Villaraigosa Claims LA is on Track to Become the Cleanest and Greenest; LADOT's Lack of Oversight Might DASH those Lofty Goals
Thursday afternoon, there were two DASH buses and a DASH shuttle vehicle parked on Hollywood Boulevard, all of them idling. The 2nd DASH bus had an operator at the wheel and he pulled out into the street, passing the 1st DASH bus and stopping to chat for a moment with an operator on the street who then jumped into the shuttle vehicle and drove away, leaving an idling DASH bus on the street.
Idling. Empty. Open.
Earlier in the day I made several calls to the LADOT. Corine Ralph of the LADOT, the agency responsible for the Contractor that operates the DASH line. She said that any fuel waste was a cost absorbed by the Contractor and that the LADOT had no policy regarding idling on layover.
Kari Nazarian of the LADOT thought that there was a layover policy (not to exceed 5 minutes of idling) for the DASH line but that it only covered the propane burning vehicles and not the operator's shuttle vehicle. Kari agreed that the idling issue is not just a fuel cost issue but that it is also a pollution issue. He said he believed that there were supervisors in the field to ensure that the rules are followed.
LADOT's Public Information Director, Bruce Gillman, said that he thought that the idling might be because of the need for air conditioning and that it probably only happened on hot days. I asked about any internal LADOT policies regarding DASH line idling, fuel costs and pollution and he said he did not know.
I called LADOT's Assistant General Manager John Fisher who gave me contact info for Chief of Transit Services James Lefton. (not available but would be back on Monday) I thanked John for the contact info, expressed my concerns over the wasted fuel and unnecessary pollution and he assured me that Jim Lefton or Phil Aker, the Supervising Transportation Planner, would be able to address my concerns.
It was then than I went and rode down Hollywood Boulevard and came across the aforementioned scenario. I called John Fisher. He answered. I told him that an LADOT DASH bus was sitting on Hollywood Boulevard, between Argyle and El Centro.
Idling. Empty. Open.
I took a couple of pictures, looked at my watch (13 minutes have passed) and as I took off, I noticed a guy in a DASH uniform crossing the street and walking down the sidewalk toward the DASH bus. As I rode off, he stepped on to the Bus.
What a great company to work for. Waste is not an issue. Pollution is not an issue. Security is not an issue.