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![_Bye, Bye Hollywood Sign... at Least Temporarily [Updated]](http://laist.com/assets_c/2009/12/view_behind_hwdsign-thumb-110x110-464762.jpg)
Bye, Bye Hollywood Sign... at Least Temporarily [Updated]
One Way to Take Care of Business
Despite a recommendation from a city council committee (.pdf) to once again run trains into the wee hours of night, late-night subway service this holiday season will not happen. The culprit? The economy, of course.
According to Councilmember Jose Huizar's office, the economic atmosphere was just to rough to raise the capital needed to run the program. Last year, the $85,000 needed was mainly funded by community organizations and businesses, which enabled subway service until 3 a.m. along the Red Line on Friday and Saturday nights for six weekends. Downtown DASH buses also ran late into the night.
Huizar called the program a "great success," citing a study published by Metro. "[It] illustrates great demand and interest in late night transit for our City," he wrote in a letter to fellow councilmembers. Staying optimistic, he hopes to bring it back in 2010, perhaps approaching it with a 50/50 model--government agencies paying half with the community paying the rest.
Cedd Moses of 213, which operates a handful of bars downtown like Seven Grand, and who helped spearhead last year's effort, says he not only looks forward and is committed to making the program happen again, but to see the transit system be a 24/7 operation.
Currently, the last Red Line train leaves North Hollywood at 12:54 a.m., arriving at Union Station at 1:23 a.m. Leaving Union Station, the last train leaves at 12:17 a.m., arriving in North Hollywood at 12:47 a.m.
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That's definitely a disappointment that it won't be running this year. I think that if LA had better late night public transportation, it would help encourage folks to leave the cars at home - meaning less drunk drivers on the road, less pollution, more parking, etc.
And as a car-free member of LA, it's definitely a headache to get home late.
Seconded. My boyfriend and I had a lovely time using the late night service during his transit-oriented bar crawl last winter (see pictures here: http://bit.ly/3BTMvo), which, naturally, included locations along the Red Line. We got about 15-20 people to join us. Hopefully next year it'll come together!
sing with me! "I love L.A.!! We love it!!"
sigh.
"two steps forward,
two steps back..."
Super bummed by this. A red line train that ran every hour over night would be better than the current system. Being drunk and stranded in a train station is no fun.
It's nice to party in Hollywood and take the train back to North Hollywood. It's better than driving drunk. It's way cheaper than paying for parking.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out this is the number one--let me repeat--NUMBER ONE-complaint people cite for not using Metro. It simply does not run late enough for people to enjoy their evening in the city. This goes not only for in-bound visitors to L.A., but also includes those who live in the city itself!
The fact that 3am or 4am service/365 days per yr is not fast-tracked into the 2010 budget and beyond is a tragic mistake, and is a no-brainer.
Sadly, apparently there are a lot of people out there with no brains to find a solution to a must-solve problem like this.
Even if you have to hike fares $.25 or more, think of all the other users you'll bring online. Yes, lower income folks will revolt if it's implemented on ALL fares, so this is why there should be a pilot program whereby people pay higher fares from, say, MIDNIGHT ONWARDS, ending before the morning commute.
Maybe Cedd Moses can help facilitate this one.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out this is the number one--let me repeat--NUMBER ONE-complaint people cite for not using Metro. It simply does not run late enough for people to enjoy their evening in the city. This goes not only for in-bound visitors to L.A., but also includes those who live in the city itself!
The fact that 3am or 4am service/365 days per yr is not fast-tracked into the 2010 budget and beyond is a tragic mistake, and is a no-brainer.
Sadly, apparently there are a lot of people out there with no brains to find a solution to a must-solve problem like this.
Even if you have to hike fares $.25 or more, think of all the other users you'll bring online. Yes, lower income folks will revolt if it's implemented on ALL fares, so this is why there should be a pilot program whereby people pay higher fares from, say, MIDNIGHT ONWARDS, ending before the morning commute.
Maybe Cedd Moses can help facilitate this one.
"The fact that 3am or 4am service/365 days per yr is not fast-tracked into the 2010 budget and beyond is a tragic mistake, and is a no-brainer."
It would be nice to have, but it's nowhere near tragic. Subways do best during rush hour when they can move thousands of people more efficiently than city streets can.
However, there isn't much traffic at 4AM and running subways at that time is sort of a waste of money. A better, cheaper option would be to run a bus route that makes all Red Line stops. Unfortunately, there is a stigma associated with riding a bus, but it would get you to the bar and back.
Bad bad bad. L.A.I guess the city will make more money with DUI tickets?
Lack of late night subway service is no excuse to drive drunk.
"It would be nice to have, but it's nowhere near tragic. Subways do best during rush hour when they can move thousands of people more efficiently than city streets can.
However, there isn't much traffic at 4AM and running subways at that time is sort of a waste of money."
SPOKKER, apparently you haven't traveled in Tokyo, New York, Paris, Chicago, Hong Kong, or virtually any other (non-American) world city, where the trains run much much later than midnight. Yes ridership is always going to be highest at rush hour, that is a no-brainer.
Still no excuse or rationale for stopping trains before bar/event/late nite restaurant time.