PAD 520
Policy Identification and Analysis
PAD 520
Week 3
Introduction
As the owner of Metro, the city's public transportation system, I will be presenting the particulars of a newly proposed local policy during a town hall meeting that will be held in the Santa Monica district of Los Angeles.
During this presentation, we are going to talk about the topic of homelessness in our communities, as well as the possible solutions, dangers, and issues, and financial opportunities/challenges of the new policies that have been implemented by the local government.
Background
Los Angeles has been one of the richest cities in the world for decades, so it's hard to understand why it hasn't built a better public transit system. Despite this, it's listed among the worst by several sites. Several reasons have contributed to the U.S.'s notorious lack of public transit. Two of these elements are a cityscape intended to favor driving and billionaire investments to eliminate public transit. Los Angeles' poorly maintained bus and rail route is jam-packed with potential. People aren't maximizing its usage, however.
There has been a major decline in the use of public transportation in Southern California over the last decade, with ridership on the metro system falling by 10 percent and the number of bus trips falling by 25 percent between 2006 and 2015. It is common knowledge that residents of Los Angeles have easy access to public transit. Although we have seen the orange L.A. metrobuses and have driven through Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, we do not make use of any of these public transportation options. In spite of the fact that I've been living here for two years, the local public transit system has only seen me use it twice. The "transit death spiral" lies at the heart of this problem. This is a situation in which fewer passengers mean less money for transportation networks, which in turn leads to both a reduction in services and an increase in expenditures. As a direct result of this, using public transit will become less appealing, which will then create a vicious cycle that will never end.
3
Problem Statement
What we can do to enhance L.A.'s public transportation and why it's the worst in the country
The only method to travel about Los Angeles if you don't have a vehicle or a driver's license valid in the United States is to persuade friends or family members who do have cars to drive you around. This problem would not exist in any of the other large cities. The public rail system in Tokyo is used by 3.46 billion commuters, yet in Paris, a single track carries more people than all American commuter trains combined. The America's Infrastructure Report 2021 gives public transit a grade of D-, which means that roughly half of all Americans do not have access to this mode of transportation.Since Los Angeles has been ranked as one of the richest cities in the world, it is surprising that the city does not have a more dependable public transit system. It ranks up there with some of the worst in the world. The notorious absence of public transit in the United States may be ascribed to a number of different causes, such as the planning of communities that places an emphasis on driving and the attempts of billionaires who have assets in the car industry to abolish public transportation. In spite of its deficiencies, the bus and rail line in Los Angeles is adequately accessible and has potential to improve. People don't make nearly enough use of it.
4
Risks and Challenges
The citizens living in California are going through the following risks and challenges:
Intensity Ratio of Bulk Orders.
An Increase in the Price of Fuel.
Transport Delays That Were Not Prepared For.
Human Resources Shortage.
Miserable Storage Situations.
Overworked, understaffed delivery crews.
The unstable transportation infrastructure in our city, which is a burden on everyone, contributes to the widening divide that exists between the wealthy and the less fortunate in our city. If you live in Los Angeles and are unable to pay for a driver's license or a vehicle, you will have a difficult time going to your place of employment, school, or even the grocery store, which may have a significant influence on your ability to advance in your career. Because of the inefficiency of our current transportation system, the geographic mobility of low-income families is related to their economic mobility. It takes two, three, or even four times as long to reach the same place by public transit as it does by automobile. According to a number of studies, the quality of the public transportation system has a stronger bearing on social mobility than any other factor, including educational achievement and the incidence of crime.
5
Alternatives and Solutions
Increase in funding
measures to improve the quality of life
I feel that an improvement in safety, cleanliness, and comfort will drive more people to use public transportation in Los Angeles. This is particularly true if using public transit allows one to avoid traffic and get at their destination on time. Take for example those of us who are now enrolled in college. We would be able to run errands and visit Los Angeles if there was an efficient public transportation system, which is especially important for out-of-state and international students who do not have automobiles on campus. This would free us from the burden of feeling guilty for continuously disturbing our friends who own cars. When it comes to going out to bars and restaurants with friends, I feel that a lot of people who live in Los Angeles would welcome the opportunity to save $50 on an Uber trip by not having to be the designated driver.
6
Stakeholders and Key Roles
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation operates Dash and Commuter Express Buses, in addition to the CityRide Paratransit Service (LADOT). The Los Angeles Transportation Authority (TACLA) is responsible for these bus services (the Los Angeles Department of Transportation).
Funding
Identify your goals.
Find a way out that is in line with your objectives.
Identify the constitution of state control.
Initiate a Financing Plan
An increase in funding is the only definite remedy, but it is necessary to monitor where the monies are going once they have been allocated. On occasion, significant investments in capital projects, such as the California Bullet Trains, are made in order to bolster governmental power and attract the attention of the media. In most cases, this does more damage than good, costing the government a significant amount of money while resulting in the construction of infrastructure that is not used by anybody. Instead, more monies have to be put in maintaining and upgrading the existing systems, which are now in place. Bus stops and train stations need to be kept clean and equipped with the most recent technology so that passengers may have a pleasant experience when traveling by those means. The inconsistency in arrival times is a key issue that plagues the public transportation system in the city of Los Angeles. It's possible that increasing the number of people who are employed and the earnings they bring in, in addition to building additional bus routes all around the city, might be of aid.
8
Conclusion
In conclusion, it's possible that improving the city's public transportation system will have a considerable effect on the city's overall wellbeing. According to several studies, investing one dollar in public transportation results in the generation of around three more dollars in revenue. As a result, this industry is a significant contributor to the generation of new job opportunities. The city's economy will benefit, and more people will be able to move about thanks to an efficient transportation system, which will also make the city easier to travel to for everyone.
References
Hansen, I. A. (2020). Hyperloop transport technology assessment and system analysis. Transportation Planning and Technology, 43(8), 803-820.
Holodinsky, J. K., Williamson, T. S., Demchuk, A. M., Zhao, H., Zhu, L., Francis, M. J., ... & Kamal, N. (2018). Modeling stroke patient transport for all patients with suspected large-vessel occlusion. JAMA neurology, 75(12), 1477-1486.