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Metro Named America's Best Transit System

Thursday, October 12, 2006

LOS ANGELES, October 12, 2006 (KABC) -- The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has been named the nation's best transit agency, and officials want everyone to know it.

County supervisor and Metro board chair Gloria Molina accepted the Outstanding Transportation System for 2006 award from the American Public Transportation Association in San Jose on Tuesday.

"This award is really for the 9,000-plus men and women working at Metro who earned it by tending to the unique needs of Los Angeles," Molina said.

"They are the heart and soul of this agency, and this award really is a testament to their capabilities. But this is also L.A.'s award, because without our loyal customers, we would not be celebrating today," Molina said.

Seeking to capitalize on the award, the MTA launched a promotional campaign today featuring the award to boost ridership on its buses and trains.

The theme of the new campaign is, "Ride America's Best."

"Texas has an old saying -- `if it's true, it ain't braggin" -- so I guess I should say we are the best and we are going to be promoting this as we go forward," said Metro CEO Roger Snoble.

Metro is buying newspaper and radio ads touting the agency as America's best transit system, said Warren Morse, Metro deputy executive officer of communications.

"For our riders, what we're trying to do is use this fact that we've won this award as an inducement to ride with us, as another reason to go Metro," Morse said.

Metro buses will soon feature signs boosting its recent award, and bus drivers will wear patches on their uniforms that say "America's Best."

Agency managers also will randomly board buses and trains to hand out Metro coffee mugs, passes and coupons.

Metro beat out major transit agencies in New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C., to win the award.

Clean-air buses, customer satisfaction and expanded service all helped Metro secure the national award.

"What I've seen that you're doing, it's the right stuff," said William Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association. "We get a chance in my job to go all over the country, in fact all over the world, and to watch the progress you've been making over the years here in L.A. is nothing short of spectacular and wonderful."

From January to June, ridership on all bus and rail lines was up 7 percent compared to the first six months of 2005, according to Metro spokesman Marc Littman.

MTA operates 2,000 clean-air Compressed Natural Gas buses and plans to have a 100 percent CNG fleet by 2008.

Customer satisfaction is at an all-time high, with 84 percent of riders reporting they are satisfied with Metro Service and 83 percent reporting that service has improved over the last year, according to the MTA.

Metro service is also expanding. Officials hope to have 28 Metro Rapid Lines in operation by 2008. The Metro Orange Line opened last October, and earlier this month officials broke ground on the Expo Line light rail project.

Metro employees celebrated the award and ridership campaign at a ceremony this morning that included videotaped messages from riders and a performance from a Tina Turner impersonator, who sang "Simply the Best."

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