Proposition A
| Company type | Public transit agency |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Predecessor | Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Founder | California State Senator Thomas M. Rees |
| Defunct | 1993 |
| Fate | Merged into Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles , United States |
Area served | Greater Los Angeles metropolitan region, including parts of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, and Riverside counties |
| Products | Bus transit services, heavy rail transit system development |
The Southern California Rapid Transit District (commonly referred to as RTD or SCRTD) was a public transit organization founded in 1964 to serve the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan region. It was the successor to the original Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). Initiated under the sponsorship of California State Senator Thomas M. Rees (D-Beverly Hills), RTD was formed to remedy the shortcomings of the LAMTA and assumed control of all bus operations previously managed by MTA on November 5, 1964. The agency continued its operations until it merged into the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) in 1993.
Formation
On August 18, 1964, RTD was created to provide transit services across the urbanized areas of Southern California, encompassing Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, and Riverside counties. It took over from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority and consolidated eleven struggling bus operators within the region. The agency was charged with expanding a heavy rail transit system and enhancing bus service quality. In 1974, RTD inaugurated the El Monte Busway, originally designated exclusively for buses before being converted into a high-occupancy vehicle lane. By 1973, operations beyond Los Angeles County were transferred to regional agencies such as the Orange County Transit District (now Orange County Transportation Authority), Omnitrans, and Riverside Transit Agency, although RTD continued providing inter-county routes to Riverside and San Bernardino until the establishment of LACMTA.
Downtown terminal
Between 1967 and 1982, RTD's primary downtown terminal was located in the basement level of the Greyhound bus station at 6th and Los Angeles Streets. Due to mirror placement on buses, vehicles entered via a ramp on the left side and navigated clockwise around a central staging area featuring 15 designated stops. This layout was designed to reduce collision risks by directing buses against conventional American traffic flow patterns.
A no-cash fare policy was enforced for buses departing from this terminal; passengers were required to use monthly passes or purchase paper tickets priced between 10¢ and $1.00 at ground-level or other authorized locations. Although RTD accepted cash fares on buses elsewhere, this restriction applied solely within the downtown terminal premises.
By the late 1980s, RTD discontinued use of the Greyhound terminal and rerouted bus connections onto various downtown streets.
A comparable fare policy existed in Long Beach for routes leaving downtown. RTD maintained an office on Ocean Boulevard where tickets had to be bought in advance, prohibiting cash payments aboard buses departing from that terminal. Following Long Beach’s introduction of a centralized transit mall, RTD ceased operating its own terminal there and permitted cash fares on buses serving the Long Beach Transit Mall.
Rivalries
As Southern California’s primary public transit provider, RTD claimed in a 1983 promotional video that its service area exceeded in size those of Miami, Buffalo, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., combined.
RTD managed all transit services within Los Angeles and portions of adjacent cities. Numerous local bus agencies—often municipally owned or operated—maintained either cooperative or adversarial relationships with RTD. A significant rivalry existed with Long Beach Transit, which RTD aimed to partially or fully integrate into its system. Concerns about RTD engaging in "cream skimming" by prioritizing profitable routes raised fears that less affluent neighborhoods such as Watts would experience service reductions. This tension led to petty disputes; for instance, whereas most agencies allowed employees from other systems to deadhead free when in uniform or properly identified, RTD and Long Beach Transit withheld this courtesy from one another.
Extensive employee benefits
RTD distinguished itself by offering an exceptional employee perk: not only were RTD buses free for employees—a standard benefit—but their spouses and children under 18 also enjoyed complimentary passes. This level of benefit was unparalleled among other transit providers in the region.
Limitations and network growth
Two significant limitations shaped Southern California’s transit landscape: the local travel restriction and the Long Beach South of Willow rule.
The local travel restriction prevented private carriers such as Greyhound and Continental Trailways from selling tickets for trips confined entirely within RTD’s service boundaries. For instance, Greyhound could issue a ticket from Long Beach to Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, but it was prohibited from selling direct tickets between Long Beach and Los Angeles unless the journey extended beyond RTD’s jurisdiction.
The South of Willow rule originated from a conflict between RTD and Long Beach Transit. Only Long Beach Transit was authorized to pick up passengers traveling strictly within Long Beach south of Willow Street. RTD and other operators were barred from both boarding and dropping off passengers solely within this zone. While buses entering south of Willow could let passengers disembark, they were not permitted to board new riders until reaching areas north of Willow or outside the city limits.
In terms of strategic growth, RTD expanded through acquisitions and route exchanges. The Long Beach–Santa Monica route, initially run by Western Greyhound Lines since 1923, was acquired by RTD in 1974. RTD divided this route: it kept control of the segment from Long Beach to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and transferred the LAX to Santa Monica section to the City of Santa Monica Municipal Bus line. This arrangement gave RTD the rights to operate buses from Downtown Los Angeles into Santa Monica. As a result, passengers traveling from Long Beach to Santa Monica transferred at LAX between RTD and Santa Monica Municipal services.
Transfer policies
County transit agencies provided local transfers enabling passengers to change between their routes. Most agencies utilized a generic transfer form where drivers marked the route number, direction, and date to prevent fare fraud. Long Beach Transit issued transfers that were preprinted with specific route information, whereas RTD supplied daily transfers featuring the exact date.
Interagency transfers facilitated travel between different bus companies, such as transferring from Torrance Transit to Orange County Transit. RTD issued a single transfer valid across all its routes and accepted by other systems as fare credit. Other agencies produced their own interagency transfers, which reportedly were printed and distributed by RTD. In the early 1980s, Long Beach Transit equipped all buses with ticket printers capable of issuing both local and interagency transfers, supplemented by manual transfers when printers malfunctioned.
During the mid-1970s, RTD and possibly other agencies benefited from a subsidy that lowered fares countywide—from 60¢–$1.25 down to 25¢ on weekdays and Saturdays, and 10¢ on Sundays. Throughout this subsidized period, all agencies temporarily halted issuing transfers. Once the subsidy concluded, fares returned to previous levels and RTD reinstated transfer issuance.
Renumbering
Initially, bus route numbers reflected the various systems that had been integrated, resulting in a somewhat inconsistent numbering scheme. For instance, routes in the Pasadena area were designated 107–110, whereas routes such as 106 and 111 served different regions. By the mid-1970s, RTD reorganized routes by geographic zones: the 400 series covered the San Gabriel Valley, while the 800 series operated in southern Los Angeles County. Additionally, routes were restructured into a grid aligned with major streets to enhance transfer efficiency and ensure that most homes were located within a quarter-mile radius of a bus line.
In 1983, RTD carried out a comprehensive renumbering effort that preserved the grid layout:
- Numbers 1–99: Local routes serving downtown Los Angeles
- Numbers 100–199: East-west routes avoiding downtown
- Numbers 200–299: North-south routes bypassing downtown
- Numbers 300–399: Limited service routes
- Numbers 400–499: Express buses traveling to downtown Los Angeles
- Numbers 500–599: Express buses not serving downtown
- Numbers 600–699: Special services excluding downtown
For example, the previous 36F Freeway Flyer was redesignated as route 456; the Long Beach-to-downtown local bus changed from route 60; and the Long Beach-to-LAX line shifted from 66 to 232. The Pasadena-to-Pomona route formerly numbered 440 became route 187, while its parallel route 434 was renumbered to 177.
Following RTD’s success in streamlining route identification through this renumbering, Long Beach Transit adopted a similar system revision. Meanwhile, Foothill Transit maintained the numbering inherited from RTD and later from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Los Angeles County Transportation Commission
Established in 1976, the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (LACTC) assumed responsibility for all transportation funding within Los Angeles County, encompassing both transit and highway projects. This development curtailed RTD’s previous authority. The LACTC board consisted of eleven members: the mayor of Los Angeles; two city council members appointed by the mayor; five county supervisors; one representative from Long Beach’s city council; and two representatives from other municipalities selected by the Los Angeles division of the California League of Cities, each accompanied by an alternate member.
Metro Rail
In 1980, voters approved Proposition A, instituting a half-cent sales tax dedicated to financing a regional transit network after earlier attempts had failed. The plan identified ten transit corridors, with the Wilshire subway line designated as its "cornerstone," strongly supported by Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn. The LACTC’s inaugural light rail project followed the former Long Beach Red Car corridor, resulting in what became known as the Metro Blue Line. In 1982, Caltrans conducted surveys of former Pacific Electric rail lines to evaluate their suitability for transit use.
In 1985, U.S. Representative Henry Waxman withdrew federal funding for subway construction due to safety concerns related to methane explosions—concerns unrelated to transit operations. By 1986, a compromise permitted funding for subway projects except those along the Wilshire corridor; consequently, the Metro Red Line was rerouted northward via Vermont Avenue to Hollywood, leaving a one-mile section of Wilshire Avenue uncompleted until the D Line Extension planned for 2025.
An independent expert assessment in 2005 found no substantial methane hazard in the area, prompting Waxman to advocate lifting the federal prohibition on Wilshire subway construction—a measure that passed by 2007. This development, combined with escalating traffic congestion and increased environmental consciousness, renewed momentum for expanding what became known as the Metro Purple Line.
Despite this progress, a local ordinance restricts using Metro’s sales tax funds for new subway construction projects underground. However, the Metro E Line Eastside Extension includes an underground segment spanning approximately 1.8 miles.
Further expansions include the opening of the Metro Blue Line light rail in 1990 and the initial segment of the heavy rail Metro Red Line launching in 1993 from Union Station to MacArthur Park, later extended to Wilshire/Western in Koreatown by 1996.
RTD also explored alternative fuel technologies early on by operating buses powered by ethanol, methanol, various diesel blends, and compressed natural gas (CNG). Although battery-electric buses and trolleybuses were proposed at times, they never entered routine service.
Merger
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) emerged as the successor to RTD following the consolidation of RTD and the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (LACTC) on April 1, 1993. At first, LACMTA operated out of the former offices of its predecessor agencies in Downtown Los Angeles. In 1995, the agency moved to the 25-story Gateway Plaza Building, located adjacent to the historic Union Station. Renowned for its expensive Italian marble finishes, this structure earned the nickname the Taj Mahal. It also contains the Dorothy Gray Transportation Library, which is recognized as one of the largest public transportation research collections in the country.