RTD Faces New Challenge: Plan to Form Smaller, Private Systems

The troubled Southern California Rapid Transit District, already the target of Sacramento lawmakers demanding a top-level reorganization, is now trying to fend off a grass-roots revolt aimed at breaking up the huge bus system and turning much of its service over to lower-cost private bus companies.

A final round of public hearings began Monday on a pioneering proposal calling for 26 cities and Los Angeles County to take over much of the San Gabriel Valley area--forming a public transit system that would offer service provided by several private contractors. A final decision by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission is expected Aug. 26.

If the commission approves, the transfer of services within the new transit zone would be phased in over the next two years.

Supporters of the secession effort, notably county Supervisor Pete Schabarum and Reagan Administration officials, say breaking up the nation’s largest all-bus transit system and encouraging competitive bidding by private firms is the best solution to RTD’s problems.

Trend to Transit Change

While not new, proposals to break up the RTD have gained momentum following a series of disclosures of alleged mismanagement, high driver absenteeism, complaints about service and safety problems. In addition, the federal government is encouraging such efforts through a series of new grants to cities to study private transit alternatives.

Critics of the secession movement, including RTD officials and union leaders, dispute that there would be savings and argue that workers would suffer forced reassignment and lower wages. They also say that what would remain of RTD service would be more costly to provide, possibly necessitating fare increases and service cutbacks.

They also note that the reason the RTD was formed years ago was that scattered, privately operated bus systems were failing and service was poorly coordinated.

If the San Gabriel Valley secession effort is approved, cities in other areas of the county may also be tempted to break away from the RTD, officials say. Several cities in the South Bay region also are studying creation of their own bus system.

The secession movement is a more fundamental--and in some respects more controversial--reform of Los Angeles County transportation policy making than the campaign in the state capital to consolidate decision-making under a new larger, super transit agency.

The two reform efforts are different but could work together and have common aims, officials agree. Both seek to address complaints about inefficiency, poor service and lack of accountability.

Varying Solutions

Creation of a single Los Angeles County transit super agency would be a change from the top down, a shuffling of the leadership overseeing RTD and proposed commuter rail projects.

The drive to break up the RTD--and form what are called “transportation zones” in various areas--would be a change from the bottom up, with more local control.

By biting off chunks of RTD service and forming new local transit agencies, the county’s smaller cities--long frustrated by what many see as inattention from the massive RTD--would assume a greater control over how service is provided in their areas. Under the Legislature’s reorganization plan, on the other hand, the new super agency board would continue to be dominated by Los Angeles city and county politicians.

Also, under secession ground rules approved by the county Transportation Commission last year, private bus companies could cut costs by using non-union drivers--a direct challenge to the influence that Los Angeles’ transit unions have enjoyed at the RTD. By contrast, the Democratic-controlled Legislature’s reorganization plan includes a number of provisions to ensure the unions’ standing is not diminished.

Pressure From Labor

Just how far the secession movement will go is unclear. Some county Transportation Commissioners, notably Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, the current chairman, are likely to come under intense pressure to reject what labor leaders see as a union-busting campaign.

Over the objections of his labor backers, Bradley two years ago supported turning RTD’s downtown shuttle service over to a private contractor using non-union drivers. But an aide said Monday that Bradley has not taken a position on the much larger San Gabriel Valley proposal.

Los Angeles City Councilman Michael Woo, a Transportation Commission member who is also feeling pressure from labor, said the secession issues are more difficult to resolve than those contained in the transit reorganization bill authored by state Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Van Nuys) and Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sepulveda).

“In some ways the Katz-Robbins bill sidesteps the issues of management-labor relations and built-in costs which are directly attacked by (the San Gabriel Valley) proposal,” he said. “This is something you would never get through the Legislature.”

A study prepared by proponents of the San Gabriel Valley secession effort shows the new transit agency could save about $11 million--more than 30%--annually by taking over 27 local and express bus routes in an area stretching from Pomona to South Pasadena. The savings, proponents said, could be used to expand service or reduce fares.

Logos Would Change

The new system would carry about 140,000 boarders a day--about 10% of the RTD’s current riders. While the logos on the buses would change, proponents say riders would not see any immediate change in routes, fares or schedules.

William Forsythe, a transit consultant hired by the proponents of the new system, said much of the savings would come from reduced administrative costs. The Long Beach and Santa Monica municipal bus systems were used to develop cost projections, he said. Those agencies pay about the same wages as the RTD, he said, but have substantially lower overall operating costs. Generally, small systems have more productive employees and support smaller “pyramids” of management and office staffs than large systems like the RTD, he said.

Forsythe told commissioners Monday that no workers would be laid off at the RTD as a result of the changes, because the takeover of service would be paced to coincide with normal employee attrition.

But Earl Clark, general chairman of the RTD bus driver’s union, strongly disputed Forsythe’s assessment, saying RTD would be forced to close a San Gabriel Valley division and many workers would be reassigned long distances from their homes. With all of the recent public attention focused on RTD safety and bus maintenance, Clark predicted the public would be riding with poorly trained and inadequately supervised drivers.