I don't particularly care who makes the bus... I just support the idea of a bi-articulated bus with more standing room.
There has been a lot of talk over the years about extending the Red Line to Burbank Airport. It's a natural traffic generator, they just finished building a new transportation center at the airport and there is access to Metrolink's Antelope Valley and Ventura County lines. Seems like a worthy plan to me, but it would have to be studied to make sure there would be sufficient traffic to support the expense.
Also it's worth mentioning that the Orange Line's total boardings in June 2014 was 675,901. Compare that to the Green Line (the train that goes "from nowhere to nowhere") that had a total of 1,037,992 boardings. Is that because buses are filled to capacity... or because there's not as much demand along the corridor? Both numbers include night and weekends when buses and trains aren't filled to capacity.
Another idea I've seen floated to improve capacity is running "bus platoons" (two buses operating back-to-back like a train). The platforms are long enough to accommodate this... but I'd rather see the buses just run on shorter frequencies.
I agree it would be a great idea to extend the Red Line to Bob Hope Airport then funnel passengers through the Metrolink commuter rail, or built BRT/LRT to Chatsworth along the UP ROW.
I think further BRT should be constructed from North Hollywood to San Fernando along Lankershim and Webb, while BRT or LRT should be constructed along San Fernando Road to help that corridor which currently has the too-slow 794 Rapid bus. I like to stay in San Fernando when coming into LA because it's so much cheaper than the rest of the city and still quite safe, but transit is the problem.
Caltrans has already looked at the 80' double articulated and basically said that is would not get an exemption.
[citation needed]
This is fair to the Valley. One third of LAs population is in the SFV and of the 90 stops in the MTA rail symmetry, it has exactly two. Now what is unfair?
I'm not saying that the Orange Line shouldn't have been built as light rail... but Metro did the best they could at the time. It's unfair to come back now and ask for it to be redone and make other neighborhoods wait longer for their projects (including the Valley's project in the Sepulveda Pass).
Can't find the reference about the length of the buses, but it was part on MTA investigation on increasing Orange Line capacity about 2009 or 2010. As far as fairness, as I said the SFV is about 1/3 of LA's population, about 1.75 million and has a single mass transit line (red and orange) running across the valley. It has two rail stops. It is vastly under served. The Sepulveda project isn't. It is an idea on a list ideas and no real consideration yet. The Orange line has real engineering parameters and costs and an MTA engineering study is underway for current costs.
Again, I believe it is better to split passengers and offer more options than to funnel everyone into the same corridor. Build LRT, sure, do that, but not directly along the Orange Line, build it along another route that will benefit more people in the long run.
How about this, extend Red Line to Burbank Airport, build a new LRT line along Roscoe and get to Chatsworth anyway? Hook around the airport on San Fernando Road. Then built LRT from Downtown LA to Burbank Airport along San Fernando Road, split off from the Gold Line, and BRT from Burbank to San Fernando followed by BRT from North Hollywood to San Fernando.
That way, the SFV would have a Red Line extension, two new LRT lines, and two new BRT lines, eventually crisscrossing the area.
BTW, you also extend the Orange Line to Burbank Downtown, and possible BRT along Sepulveda where LRT would be overkill. Hopefully, eventually there will also be BRT from Chatsworth to San Fernando.