RTD Delays Decision on Cuts in Service for 3 Bay Bus Routes

Three local bus lines scheduled for service curtailments Jan. 26 because of expected cuts in federal transit money have been granted reprieves by the Southern California Rapid Transit District.

The amount of the federal subsidy will not be known until February, the RTD board will not consider cuts until Feb. 27, and none are expected before March 30, an RTD spokesman said.

The bus lines are No. 130, serving Artesia Boulevard, which was to lose Saturday and Sunday service, and lines 225 and 226, serving Aviation Boulevard and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Those two lines were to have lost Saturday service. They do not operate on Sundays.

The three South Bay routes are among heavily subsidized bus lines on the so-called “short list” of service cuts designed to save the RTD $2 million. There also is a “long list” that adds up to $10 million in cuts.

Nikolas Patsaouras, president of the RTD board, said he is not optimistic that the district will get the federal money it needs because of pressure in Congress to achieve a balanced budget by 1991.

He said “any cut of consequence would necessitate some service adjustments” unless money is provided by the county Transportation Commission and local cities through their share of the county transportation tax. The RTD’s federal operating subsidy last year was $47 million.