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D. J. Waldie rides the bus around Los Angeles by necessity but enjoys it less. The price of gas is pushing more people onto buses at the same time the MTA cuts back on service. So buses are brutally overcrowded, and there are still the drivers who don't call out stops and a lack of schedule info. Here's some of his Sunday Opinion commentary in the Times:
If you think congested freeways are punishment for the city's sins, you've not ridden the 720 Rapid line on Wilshire Boulevard. The 60-foot articulated buses slam over Wilshire's deteriorating pavement, tilting at 7 to 10 degrees because of the camber of the roadway, the bus' right wheels often locked in the trough of the gutter. The 30 or so standing riders buck with every pothole and do a little half-step at every abrupt stop until a grab bar or contact with another passenger steadies them. Nearly 100,000 riders endure this every weekday, followed by the dangers of the "Rapid Bus Shuffle."To get from the 720 bus to one of the local buses that will then take them closer to home, riders have to dart across Wilshire's major intersections, often blocking traffic or running against the light. That's because stops for local and Rapid buses were deliberately separated here and on other lines to keep local buses out of the way of the hard-charging Rapid ones. I've seen riders do the "Rapid Bus Shuffle" many times and wondered when a stumble at a changing light would be fatal.
Waldie calculates a trip from Chatsworth to Dodger Stadium would take about 2 1/2 hours and require three bus transfers — and the latest you could head back is 8:30 pm.