In response to complaints from several citizens that Paul Revere Middle School students were riding in unsafe conditions due to overcrowding on city buses, I received an interesting assignment last Tuesday afternoon: take my notebook and ride the bus home from Revere. ”Three Metro buses line up in front of Revere, on Allenford Avenue, after school. Upon leaving the parking lot, one bus goes east on Sunset towards Brentwood while the other two head west on Sunset towards the Palisades. Now there are three westbound buses and, based on my personal experience, I am grateful. ”I arrived on campus shortly before the final bell. As school let out, a long line of students stood in front of the first “Palisades” bus. An assistant principal kept order as the bus filled to over capacity. I counted close to 80 students boarding. By the time the doors were closed, not only was every seat occupied but the aisles were jam-packed with standing children. ”I walked over to the second bus and got in line, then paid $1.25 for the one-way ride. Although parked in front of the school, these MTA buses welcome any paying passengers, including adults. They will also stop for passengers along Sunset. ”After boarding the bus I noticed that all of the seats were taken. Some of them had three or four kids squeezed together. As I pressed my way down the aisle, I stumbled over several large backpacks that had been placed on the floor, and bumped against others still attached to kids. I stopped counting passengers at 80 when I reached the rear of the bus, next to the exit door. I couldn’t find anything to hold on to. ”I noticed two kids standing on the steps by the rear door because of the crowded conditions. Although it was hard to make an accurate count of the people standing in the aisle because I couldn’t move, there were easily 30 within my obstructed view. ”It was also hot and extremely uncomfortable because the bus wasn’t running and there was no air circulating until some students managed to open several windows. Although I boarded the bus at 3:05, it didn’t pull away from the curb until 3:19. ”The bus had difficulty merging into traffic along Allenford due to double parking by carpooling parents and LAUSD buses. ”Once the bus turned onto Sunset, the breeze through the windows helped make the ride tolerable. But as we rounded corners, I started to worry about the students standing in the stairwell. If the door had suddenly flown open, they would have fallen into the street. ”At 3:23 the bus reached the corner of Sunset and Almalfi, at which point it stopped and the motor went off. The bus driver, a short young woman, stood up and shouted something. In the rear seats, we couldn’t hear what she was saying, but word filtered back that the bus was broken and we were supposed to get off. ”Outside, I asked the driver what happened. “I can’t start the bus,” she said. “I think it’s the transmission.” ”The students all milled around the corner of Almalfi and Sunset. Several pulled out cell phones and called for a parent or friend to come get them. Others ran across Sunset. Still others started walking on the north side of Sunset towards the Palisades. They hadn’t gotten very far before realizing there are no sidewalks along that side of the street’just a steep hillside right next to a sharp, blind curve. ”Cars going west on Sunset started piling up behind the bus, unable to get around it. Then a police car pulled up. Officer Ward stepped out and talked with the bus driver. As he started to get back in his car, I asked him what he was going to do. “Nothing I can do,” he said. “The driver is getting another bus and a tow.” He drove off. ”Before long, cars began arriving from the Palisades, making the left turn onto Almalfi. Each driver took as many kids as safely possible. ”At 3:45, another bus regularly assigned to this route stopped to pick up the 30 or so students left. I got on the bus with them. ””I take this bus every day and it’s already had two problems this year,” student Lache Pelle said. Eighth-grader Jonathon Dobson, who also rides it every day, added: “Friday’s the worst. That’s usually the day it’s the most crowded.” ”I contacted the MTA the next day, September 28, to inquire about the situation. ” “On a regular bus, no one should be standing beyond the yellow limit lines,” said David Armijo, general manager for the Westside Central Service Factor. “Buses should also have a working intercom system.” ””Now that I’m aware of the problem,” he continued, “I’ll take a look at all the options.” ”Two days later, on Friday, Armijo had a third westbound bus added at Revere. He said that since school had just started, MTA had kept everything the same as it had been last year. This year, service demand and ridership were suddenly higher (though the school’s enrollment is down by nearly 100 students). “It seemed prudent to add another bus,” Armijo said. “Whether it will be become permanent, we will have to monitor.” ”Armijo also said he would communicate to the school that a third bus had been added so that students will know it exists and not try to squeeze into one of the first two buses. ”Yesterday morning, I contacted Ken Haker, assistant principal in charge of transportation at Paul Revere, about the additional bus. “I’m happy there’s a third bus coming,” he said. “But I haven’t been informed of it yet.”
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