I sent a letter to Metrolink a while ago begging for (what else?) increased (any) service past 6:30 PM on the Orange County line.
I’m going to post the letter I wrote because it’s funny in part because I wrote this before LA Metro was on Google Transit and rant about that, among other things.
Hello! I’m a huge fan of commuter rail and public transit, and so when I
got a job in Culver City, I managed to complete the near-insane task of
figuring out how to get from Orange County to Culver City every day for
work via Metrolink and city transit.After literally hours of examining the LA metro coverage map, scouring
timetables, and fumbling with the barely-usable Metro Trip Planner (please
tell LA Metro to put the timetables on Google Maps already!) I have
hammered out a route to and from work that involves the Metrolink, Norwalk
City Bus 4, the Metro Green Line, Culver City Bus 6, and sometimes Culver
City Bus 4.Getting to work is great; even this morning when the Metrolink was late I
was only slightly (and not severely) late for work. If something happens I
tend to end up to work close to on time and it’s no big deal. The problem
arises when I go home.Currently, when I go home, I have to leave work RIGHT at 5 and make a
brisk walk or outright run for Fox Hills Mall in case Culver City 6
decided to depart early that day, which it often does, often as early as
5:16, because if I don’t I might not make it to the green line early
enough to arrive at Norwalk in time for the Norwalk 4 that leaves at
around 6:30 and usually (for me so far, though my fellow commuters say
this isn’t a guarantee) makes it to the Metrolink station with roughly 4
minutes before the 6:51 southbound OC line.This doesn’t leave much margin for error, evidenced by the fact that I’ve
only made it roughly half the times I’ve tried, especially since there’s
some construction going on a road and Norwalk 4 has made a habit of not
showing up at all. Norwalk City Transit was not willing to entertain the
idea of a Metrolink van for those of us who, well, can’t get home if that
bus doesn’t show up.My apologies for the long story, but I just wanted to throw my voice in
for expanding service to run between 7:00 and 9:00 at Norwalk, waiting for
the Amtrak at 9 is a long time, and my girlfriend is very tired of coming
to rescue me! Even a Metrolink Van that runs down route in the evening for
those of us who can’t make it would be very helpful. Also if you have any
ideas for how to make my commute a bit more fail-safe that I’m missing I
would LOVE to hear them!Thank you for (hopefully) listening, and I hope to be on more Southbound
trains in the future
And their response:
Thank you for contacting us through our web site.
We are pleased that hear that our service is an integral part of your epic
commute to work, but are sorry that we have no trains available on the
Orange county Line between 7-8pm.The number of trains operating on the Orange County Line is determined by
the amount of funds given to Metrolink by the Orange County Transportation
Authority (OCTA) and Los Angeles County thru METRO. Also, trains on this
line operate on tracks owned by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad
(BNSF). Current plans do not call for more train services to be added
between Orange County and Los Angeles until the year 2010. It will be
necessary to amend our agreement with the BNSF to make this service
possible.Metrolink recommends that; commuters who wish to have additional service
or lines added should contact their county department of transportation as
well as attend board meetings to voice their proposal.Additionally, it sounds as though you have researched your commute
extensively; however, we recommend contacting Metro at www.metro.net or
call 1-800-COMMUTE (266-6883) if you have further inquiries concerning bus
scheduling and light rail service. Also, after having a quick look at the
Metro system; perhaps you may be able to take the Metro Green Line to the
LAX area where you could transfer to a bus to Culver City.Should you have additional Metrolink questions or comments, please do not
hesitate to contact us via our website at www.metrolinktrains.com or
telephone our Customer Service Center at (800) 371-LINK (5465).Sincerely,
Metrolink Passenger Services
So apparently I need to write an angry letter to (who else?) OCTA. And maybe some representatives or something. I really need to hang out with those Metrolink MAX guys more.
