SCRTD History #
The Southern California Rapid Transit District (SCRTD), was created by an act of the California State Legislature on August 22, 1964. In that year, SCRTD took over all of the bus service operated by their predecessor agency, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (LAMTA), as well as that of ten additional private bus companies. By creating a heavy rail public transportation system for Southern California and planning for bus improvements, SCRTD intended to serve the urbanized Southern California region, including Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County, Orange County, and Riverside County.
Throughout its history, SCRTD hit many milestones, including:
- In 1974, the El Monte Busway was opened, a bus-only lane (later converted to a high-occupancy vehicle lane).
- In 1973, SCRTD shed parts of its operations outside of Los Angeles County. They were taken over by other agencies including what was then the new Orange County Transit District (now Orange County Transit Authority).
- SCRTD continued to operate inter-county service to Riverside and San Bernardino until the formation of LACMTA in 1993.
- In 1980, voters successfully passed Proposition A, a half-cent sales tax for a regional transit system. Prop A came about after similar proposals in 1968 and 1974 had failed. Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn was one of the key supporters of the proposition, declaring, “I’m going to put the trains back.” Hahn ensured that his South Los Angeles district received the first dollars for a light-rail line on the old Long Beach Red Car route from Los Angeles to Long Beach (Metro Blue Line), after seeing the success of the San Diego Trolley.
SCRTD Acquisitions #
- Pasadena City Lines (Pasadena local lines, 1940-67)
- Inglewood City Lines (Inglewood local lines, 1942-67)
- Blue & White Bus Company (South L.A. local lines, 1967-1971): Acquired in 1971, the Blue and White Bus Company was an African-American owned and operated transit company based in Watts, servicing South Los Angeles.
- Eastern City Transit (East L.A. local lines, 1949-1971)
- San Pedro Motor Bus Association (1961-1973)
- Highland Transit (San Pedro, 1938-1972)
- San Pedro Transit Lines (Harbor City-San Pedro, 1961-1973)
- Western Greyhound Lines (Long Beach-Santa Monica Lines, 1923-1974)
- Ontario-Upland Bus Lines (1928-1973)
- Pomona Valley Municipal Transit System (1966-1972)
Additional Context #
On September 11, 1985, Congressman Waxman added an amendment to that year’s Federal Transportation Budget removing all subway construction funds, citing safety concerns after an unrelated methane explosion in the Fairfax District. By 1986, thanks in part to last minute lobbying by SCRTD president Nick Patsaouras, compromise was reached between Waxman and Representative Julian Dixon. The deal allowed funding as long as service did not pass through the Wilshire corridor.
With a Wilshire corridor alignment prohibited, the Red Line was re-prioritized and routed north up Vermont (the next highest projected ridership corridor) to Hollywood. Because of the change in alignment, there is now a 1-mile stub on Wilshire Boulevard between Vermont and Western Avenues.
The successor agency to SCRTD (1993) is the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), a product of the April 1, 1993 merger between SCRTD and the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (LACTC). Initially, the agency retained the locations of the predecessor agencies in Downtown Los Angeles, but later moved to the 25-story Gateway Plaza Building adjacent to historic Union Station in 1995.