Metro suddenly changes stop locations with no warning or signage!
Santa Monica Blvd. got a relatively new — and much needed — rapid Metro bus service, the 704. So for a couple times during the first few weeks, I caught the bus on 14th — the stop noted on the schedule (PDF). Then one day, I got to 14th and noticed that the lil 704 bus stop sign’d gone missing.
Chalkiing it up to vandalism, I waited — until a 704 bus blazed by without stopping.
Luckily, I’m familiar with the Big Blue Bus lines, whose #1 runs down Santa Monica. So I got on one of those, keeping an eye out for the 704 stops. Turns out, this stop moved to 20th with no warning.
I had a lil time that day, and just got a transfer from the BBB to the Metro — which actually costs exactly the same as just getting on the Metro directly (Metro fare: $1.25. BBB fare: $.75, plus $.50 for a transfer).
Clearly, I’m not the only person having these strange 704 probs. Don of L.A. Stories, who lives a few blocks east of me, notes that “The MTA ride planner claims that the downtown SM stop is at 4th street, the timetable says 2nd street and the bus actually stops at 3rd street.”
This basically means that for the length of its Santa Monica stretch, the 704 stops are near-impossible to pin down, even for those who plan ahead by visiting metro.net. WTF! I mean, the Big Blue Bus changes routes at times, but usually there’s announcements followed by clear signage –
It’s been a couple weeks since I took the 704 — so for all I know the stop’s moved from 20th back to 14th or moved farther west to 26th or something. Is there a page where recent Metro stop changes are listed? And are there any policies in place to require that Metro, say, let its riders know ’bout changes?
Actually, after a week or two, they moved the downtown stop to 4th street. Also with no warning.
I’m thinking that I might give the 920-to-Red line option a try to see if that’s better to get to my writer’s group (near Santa Monica/Vermont) and see that’ll get me there with time to eat before we meet up.
Comment by don hosek — September 5, 2007 @ 12:39 pm
I don’t know where to find out about changes, but I can tell you where the stops are. 4th/Santa Monica, Lincoln, 20th, 26th, Bundy going east. I heard a driver say that the new stops were voted at some meeting, but I don’t know what. These are actually better stops for the route than the originals, however, it would be nice if they were posted.
Comment by tracy — September 5, 2007 @ 12:41 pm
I just wish they’d publish machine-readable routes… Off to write some letters, I think
Comment by Robert 'Groby' Blum — September 5, 2007 @ 12:53 pm
A point to remember:
Metro has to have permission from the city of Santa Monica to establish stops. And they also have to acquiesce if Santa Monica wants a stop moved.
The Metro board of directors didn’t vote on this, so based on the comment above, my guess is that the Santa Monica City Council may have voted to ask Metro to change the stops.
And no, there is no “policy” to “require” Metro to advise when changes occur, although we do generally put up a “stop changed” notice (on a big 14×17″ piece of cardboard) when these things happen. Of course, I cannot guarantee that some clueless person tore the notice off the pole, thinking that would magically make the bus stop there again (I kid you not, I have seen people do that), or that Santa Monica objected to our big cardboard notice being taped to the pole in their city …
I will see what I can find out, though.
Comment by Kymberleigh Richards — September 5, 2007 @ 2:25 pm
Thanks tracy :) Now at least I know where the stops are. It sounds like just the Santa Monica stops were changed?
Comment by Siel — September 6, 2007 @ 9:14 am
Okay, I have answers now.
There was no “vote” by anyone to change the stop, so the driver was probably repeating something he heard in error.
The stop at 14th was the only one that was changed, and that was done for a variety of reasons, including several passenger requests to have that stop farther east. (Is there more residential near 20th than at 14th? I don’t know Santa Monica well enough.)
I am told by Metro’s Stops & Zones manager that there was a cardboard sign put at the 14th stop when it was abandoned, advising of the new stop at 20th, but as I said before, that is no guarantee that the sign stayed there.
I am now trying to get the Metro Trip Planner database updated to match the stop change. Wish me luck.
Comment by Kymberleigh Richards — September 6, 2007 @ 11:41 am
St. John’s Hospital is at 20th Street. Medical centers tend to be large trip generators. It’s also a transfer point for Santa Monica Line 11/Crosstown Mini Ride.
Comment by Wad — September 6, 2007 @ 4:42 pm
Kymberleigh — Thanks for looking into this! It’d be great to get the Trip Planner updated.
Just to be clear, I’m not at all opposed to Metro assessing neighborhood needs and relocating stops accordingly. My main concern’s with notifying people of these changes. It really would suck to have recovering people from 20th struggle down to 14th, only to discover the stops moved 6 blocks up, ostensibly to serve them better –
Comment by Siel — September 7, 2007 @ 12:26 am