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That's right, in only two months since it was first proposed, Metro, at the behest of the city and community, will dabble into extended late-night subway service. Trains will operate every 20 minutes until 3:00 a.m. for a total of thirteen Friday and Saturday nights--November 21st to the end of the year--during the holiday season. "Backers hope that ridership during the holiday trial will convince Metro that late-night service is an ongoing need," reports blogdowntown who has been following the issue closely.
It's Official: Late-Night Red Line Service to 3 a.m.
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Any ideas why the 110 off/on ramps will be shut down for 1 year starting tomorrow from the hours of
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Zach, that is freaking awesome. If you had any part in getting this passed, I applaud you. Hopefully it will have an impact on DUIs and general traffic en route to / from hollywood on weekends. I know this now makes it possible for me to go out and party hardy from North Hollywood to the heart of it all with no worries.
We should get the word out as much as possible to increase ridership during the trial period, they need to keep this!
Hi Mark, other than following the progress of the idea, mainly via blogdowntown, that was my "part" in all of this, if that was really a "part" at all.
But yes, you are correct, the word must be spread so people know to use it.
Whoo hooo!! Let's have a red line party! Party train!!
I really hope the trail is a success.
woot woot! i hope this sticks! :)
Could we hold off on the champagne for a few more days?
The proposal has only gotten through Metro's Operations committee at this point and must still be approved by the full Board. Plus the committee report said this was based on the business community coming through on their promise to fund the extra hours, and that has not been confirmed by Metro staff yet.
Even if it does happen, there is one major flaw in the concept. None of the usual connecting Metro Rail services will be likewise extended. No Blue Line connection to Long Beach during the extended period. No Gold Line connection to Pasadena. Not even additional Orange Line busway service in the Valley.
The only connections that can be made past midnight are "owl" bus service, designed as a lifeline (most of the owl lines run only once an hour) and there is no money forthcoming from the business owners that want the Red Line extension to happen to operate those lines more often, or expand the abovementioned rail connections.
Of course, this is what happens when people other than transit professionals propose solutions ... you get a half-assed concept that has an increased likelihood of failure because it wasn't thought out completely before being pushed forward.
Note the difference between this concept and what Metro does on New Year's Eve, the one night that Metro Rail service runs all through the night into morning (because of the need to transport passengers to Pasadena for the Rose Parade). Not only do all four rail lines operate all night, the Red and Blue Lines operate with the longer trains usually reserved for weekday rush hour, and the Gold Line runs the same frequency of service as rush hour.
Do you see what's missing from this well-intentioned "run the Red Line later" plan?
If you do, then you see why I am skeptical that this will be anything near the resounding success that it could have been.
I need to clarify something from my post yesterday.
The proposal was approved by the Metro Board in September, conditioned upon a binding agreement for funding by the proponents by October 17. That was this past Friday, one day after the Operations committee, where a staff presentation indicated that agreement had not yet been executed.
If that deadline passed without the agreement (and I have no way of finding out at this moment in time whether the agreement was signed or not), this will come back before the full Board on Thursday.
Even if the funding is indeed in place, what worries me is that, without the connectivity, this will be far less successful than the proponents hope for ... and that will set back efforts to expand the hours of rail service on all lines, because "the experiment on the Red Line in 2008 failed".
Be careful what you ask for, else you actually get it.