BLUE FOLDER ITEM
Blue folder items are additional back up material to administrative reports and/or public comments received after the printing and distribution of the agenda packet for receive and file.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MARCH 10, 2026
N.2. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING AN ANALYSIS OF BEACH CITIES
TRANSIT YOUTH RIDERSHIP AND PLANNED IMPROVEMENTS
CONTACT: Elizabeth Hause, Community Services Director
• Public Communications
From: Grace Peng
To: CityClerk
Subject: BCT service changes OPPOSE
Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2026 2:54:53 PM
CAUTION: Email is from an external source; Stop, Look, and Think before opening attachments or links.
I categorically oppose the idea of replacing buses with shorter ones. When we assumed local control of the school run from Metro, we were promised better service.
Instead, 40 foot Metro buses were replaced with 36 and 32 foot buses. Replacing them with even shorter 25 foot buses will further degrade peak capacity for the school tripper runs. The school tripper bus capacities are so insufficient that students must wait for up to an hour to board after school.
Service hours are determined by the number of buses and drivers. Shorter buses mean that fewer students will be served. This will force people to drive to school, causing further traffic congestion.
Our streets are 28 feet wide. If we just enforce state daylighting laws about parking at intersections, and consider bans on street parking of wide vehicles as Manhattan Beach does, we need not punish our kids with smaller buses and bus pass-ups. We should paint curbs red at every intersection where the buses turn before we discuss going to ever shorter buses.
I support, if amended, route changes BCT 102.If BCT 109 trip time will be shortened by 10 minutes by not doing the segment between the Pier and RV, then BCT 102 will be lengthened by this segment. BCT 102 is already lengthened by 20 minutes each way to detour to and around the Galleria.
BCT is already a Frankenstein kluge of a bus route trying to do the work of two bus routes: a North-South route and an East-West route along the dense Artesia Corridor.
We support the southern expansion of BCT 102 to RV only if the Artesia and Galleria portion is separated out into another route.
Straightening out routes will move passengers more efficiently, encourage ridership and need not require more service hours. The roundtrip time for BCT 102 will be shortened by (2*20 - 10) 30 minutes while the roundtrip time for the 109 will be shortened by 10 minutes. This frees up service hours for a direct line that serves all of the Artesia Blvd corridor, including parts west of Rindge that are not currently served by BCT.
Also note that Artesia Blvd is served by Torrance Transit 8 between Hawthorne and Aviation Blvds and Torrance 13 between the A line and PCH. Deploying a few buses along a new BCT route to cover schedule gaps in TT8 and TT13 need not be expensive and will give riders a more direct and convenient ride and facilitate efficient transfers.
I highly recommend that the council and staff read Human Transit, by Jarrett Walker. He put together best practices for transit planning in accessible language, specifically for decision makers such as yourself.
Grace Peng, PhD
North Redondo Beach mom