LADOT Invites Bids for 6 Shuttle Routes

The city’s transportation department is seeking bids from private companies to operate six new DASH shuttle service routes, including one in the Van Nuys-Panorama City area, an official said Wednesday.

The new circular route will run from Van Nuys Boulevard north to Parthenia Street, west to Langdon Avenue and then south along sections of Langdon, Sepulveda Boulevard and Kester Avenue before turning east on Sylvan Street. The shuttle will then travel north on sections of Sylmar and Hazeltine avenues, west on Sherman Way and north on Van Nuys Boulevard.

The route was designed to include the Van Nuys Civic Center at Erwin Street in Van Nuys and the Metrolink station near Keswick Street in Panorama City, said Jim Lefton, supervising transportation planner for LADOT.

On Tuesday, the City Council approved LADOT’s request to solicit bids for the Van Nuys-Panorama City route along with five other routes serving portions of Echo Park, Pico-Union, Lincoln Heights, Chinatown, Koreatown and El Sereno.

Lefton said the bidding process is expected to be completed in January, and the shuttle could be running by summer.

The new shuttle service is the result of a recommendation made in a 1994 San Fernando Valley transportation restructuring report, he said.

The report called for establishing more community-based service to give residents greater access to major centers within the Van Nuys-Panorama City area, he said.

DASH shuttle service supplements regional bus service provided by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

“MTA service is more regional in nature because those buses travel on major streets,” Lefton said. “DASH service is more community-based. It’s like connecting the dots within a smaller area.”