GRANTED — RTD Chief Engineer, Rapid Transit, Dick Gallagher(right) reviews proposed Wilshire Subway route with UMTA adminis-trator Ted Lutz, who brought the District a $12 million grant to beginpreliminary engineering on the project.

Southern California Rapid Transit District

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Volume 7, Number 7

July 1980

Last minute court decision halts fare increasepistrict presents its case at July 10 hearing

A temporary restraining order is-sued June 27 by a Los AngelesSuperior Court judge halted aplanned RTD fare increase sched-uled to be implemented July 1.

Judge Leon Savitch issued theorder following a one-hour hearingin a civil suit filed against the Dis-trict by a coalition of riders whoclaim the new fares would dispro-portionately impact the poor, theelderly and the handicapped in vio-lation of federal and state laws.

Savitch scheduled a preliminaryinjunction hearing on the matter forJuly 10.

At a special meeting of the RTD

$12 MILLION GRANT

Board of Directors on June 30 thedirectors voted to take no actionsuntil after the District had pres-ented its arguments at the injunc-tion hearing and the judge hadmade a decision. The District loses$100,000 in anticipated revenuesfor every day the fare increase ispostponed.

"We will comply with the courtorder and delay any action untilafter the hearing," said BoardPresident Thomas Neusom at thespecial session. "We will presentall available information to thecourt at that time. In arriving at thefare structure we took into consid-

eration and applied all revenuesavailable to us, we considered allevidence available to us — includ-ing the sentiments of the public ex-pressed at our public hearing,made all findings and came to allconclusions required by both stateand federal law and established anequitable fare structure giving spe-cial consideration to the differentneeds of all classes of riders, in-cluding the elderly, the handicap-ped and students."

Regardless of the outcome ofthe July 10 hearing, the Districthas been dealt a severe financialblow due to the delaying of the

planned fare increase, accordingto General Manager Jack Gilstrap.

"The action by Judge Savitch di-rectly interferes in the fiscal affairsof a public agency struggling withlimited financial support," ex-plained Gilstrap. "If the judge's de-cision is upheld the District couldlose $30 million in expected reve-nue for this fiscal year. That meansacross-the-board service cuts andlayoffs."

For example, to make up a $1million deficit the District wouldneed to pull seven buses out ofservice and layoff 2 1/2 persons per

(Please turn to page 3)

Feds fund subway preliminary engineeringSome called it a red letter day.

Others referred to it as a Goldenin the history of Los Angeles.

e reason for all of this colorfuloptimism was the announcementby Urban Mass Transportation Ad-ministration (UMTA) head TedLutz of a $12 million grant to beginpreliminary engineering on theWilshire subway.

When combined with previouslyawarded state and local matchingfunds, the federal grant will form afinancing package of nearly $16million to cover first-year designand engineering for the proposedrail rapid transit starter linestretching from Union Station inLos Angeles to North Hollywood.

In addition to the federal funds,$2.9 million has been receivedfrom the California TransportationCommission, while the Los Ange-les County Transportation Com-mission allocated $1 million.

While he described the subwayproposal as "a careful, highly pro-fessional job," Lutz cautioned thatthe grant was not a guarantee that

Sure federal funding would bethcoming. According to District

estimates, preliminary engineeringwill take two years and require atotal funding of approximately $45million. At that time, the UnitedStates Department of Transporta-tion will decide whether or not tofund the subway project. The fed-eral share of the project would be$1.6 billion.

Richard Gallagher, managerand chief engineer of the District'sRapid Transit Department, de-scribed the grant as a milestone inthe development of a high speed,high capacity "metro rail system" inLos Angeles.

"Without these funds we couldn'thave proceeded, we would havebeen stopped," Gallagher said.

At a City Hall press conferenceheld to announce award of thegrant, Mayor Tom Bradley said,"This is a golden day in Los Ange-les history. Our long-held dream ofrail rapid transit is beginning to

come true. . . . This grant opensthe door."

The grant does represent un-precedented federal support afternearly two decades of rapid transitplanning in this city.

Preliminary engineering, whichwill produce drawings and specifi-cations for the rail system, includ-ing its exact route, location of sta-tions, their design and vehicletechnology, should be completedby late 1982. Actual constructionshould begin in 1983 with a tenta-tive completion date in 1989 or

1990.The 18.6-mile route will go from

Union Station, south on Broadway,west on Seventh to Wilshire, weston Wilshire, north on Fairfax,across the Cahuenga Pass to Lan-kershim in North Hollywood,terminating at Chandler.

The proposed route, which willhave some 17 stations along it,was one of 11 alternatives studiedduring some 70 hearings andmeetings between District plan-ners, the general public and inter-ested community groups.

Gallagher, who joined the Dis-trict in 1967 and has guided theRapid Transit Department since1975, said preliminary engineeringis the final phase before awardingconstruction monies.

Among the tasks to be accom-plished during the preliminary en-gineering phase are aerial sur-veys, topographic studies andgeological studies of the substrataalong the route, finalization of de-sign criteria, development andstudy of alternative subway pro-files, station layouts and designand the development of a detailedEnvironmental Impact Report(EIR).

Gallagher said that the EIR willpay particular attention to land usein designing the subway, evalu-ating joint development opportuni-ties in and around the stations.

"We plan to conduct an exten-sive community relations programto make sure that all concerns re-garding station designs and theirimpact on neighborhoods will befully aired and discussed," Gal-lagher said.

During the preliminary engineer-ing phase, Gallagher and his10-member staff will be involved inevaluating alternative locations fora rail yard and maintenance facili-ty, as well a studying such subsys-tems as type of vehicles to use, ve-hicle controls, propulsion powersystem, communication systems,fare collection system and subwayventilation system, to name but afew.

At the end of this phase, prelimi-nary plans will be prepared alongwith a detailed estimate of con-struction costs.

But, don't expect to see a lot ofnew faces around the District dur-ing this period. Gallagher saidmost of the work would be done byoutside consultants specializing invarious aspects of rail rapid transitsystem development. The RapidTransit Department will servemainly in the capacity of contractadministration and project control.

HI MOM — It's not often that Debbie Flores' two occupations —mother and part-time bus operator — overlap, but she likes it whenthey do. So does her daughter, Sandra, a second grader who some-times rides an mom's bus on the 91 line.

Page 2

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Part mother, part student or part driver,part-timers are now part of the program

FORE THE UNIONThe 8th annual UTU Valley

Invitational Golf Tournament washeld recently with the top prize, acolor television set, going to BillPalmer. Second prize was won byPat Keily, who took home a porta-ble radio-tape player. Third prize ofa new golf bag was won by BillThomas. In the team competition,first place went to Division 3 Trans-portation Manager Gerry Woodsand his partner, Ed White, a driverat Division 8. They both won We-ber Kettle barbeques. The secondplace team consisted of Bob Bakerand Ray Koons (who also won theclosest to the hole competition)and they each received fishingpoles. The third place team of BigMac McEvoy and Jocko Campisieach won Polaroid cameras.

CONGRADUATIONSJohn Lowrie, senior schedule

maker in the Service Analysis andSchedules Department, recentlyearned his Master's degree inPublic Administration through Cali-fornia State University, Los Ange-les. With a previously earnedBachelor's degree in CriminalJustice, Lowrie has spent the pastfive years attending classes on apart-time basis to attain his Mas-ter's. Lowrie, an RTD employee forthe last six years, said that most ofthe courses he took were coveredunder the District's Tuition Reim-bursement Program, which partial-ly covers the expense of manygraduate and post-graduatecourses. "It's a marvelous programand I encourage everyone to takeadvantage of it," Lowrie says.

NEW ARRIVALSSeveral new persons have

checked into Hotel California in re-cent weeks.

Division 1 operator Adam Gan-dara and his wife, Yolanda, wel-comed their third child, April Aliza,on May 9. She weighed in at 7pounds, 12 1/2 ounces and was 21inches long. Also welcoming thenew baby sister were Ginger (age9) and Michael Arron (3 1/2).

Easter Sunday was a very spe-cial day for Herbert and BrendaOros. At 11:03 a.m. their secondson was born, tipping the scales at7 pounds, 4 ounces and stretching20 inches long. Named Jermia Au-gust Oros, the new arrival's fatheris an operator at Division 18.

The stork also visited anotherDivision 18 operator recently, leav-ing John Lacey and his wife,Hitomi, with an 8 pound, 8 ouncebaby girl named Marico.

WEDDING BELLSMr. and Mrs. Richard Porter

(Harriet), he's a Mechanic-B andshe's a Utility-B at Division 2, arepleased to announce the marriageof their daughter Sharon toBernard Maloney last May 31. Thewedding was held in the Porter'shome with a garden reception fol-lowing the ceremony.

LINK UPLos Angeles bound commuters

arriving at Union Station viaAmtrak's "San Diegan" at 7:50a.m. Mondays through Fridaysnow have the added convenienceof door-to-door service. They canexit the train, walk a few feet on thestation platform, and step aboardan RTD "Amtram" shuttle bus. Cal-trans is funding the six-month testprogram that provides two busesto meet morning commuters deliv-ering them to three locations in theCentral Business District. Freeshuttle bus tickets are available tocommuters at Amtrak stations.

By Kathleen McCoyNews Bureau Representative

Debbie Flores of East Los Ange-les is a full-time mother whosqueezes in a little part-time busdriving on the side. Robert Bushstudies air conditioning and refrig-erator repair at L.A. Trade Techwhen he isn't behind the wheel of aLine 9 bus headed through down-town and Southeast Los Angeles.Mack Baldridge drove full-time forthe District more than 30 years andnow supplements his retirementincome working part-time for RTD.

Flores, Bush and Baldridge arejust the kind of drivers the Districthad in mind when it created a newposition for bus operators — part-time.

Establishing the concept of part-time drivers was a major elementin last year's contract negotiationsbetwen RTD management and theUnited Transportation Union,which represents the District'sdrivers. Since October 1, RTD hashired about 300 part-timers andplans to fill the quota allowed un-der the present contract of 10 percent of the driver work forte, orabout 450 part-timers.

The contract limits part-timedrivers to a 25-hour work week,Monday through Friday, withsingle daily shifts no less than 2 1/2hours and no more than five hours.The District figured these limita-tions would suit people like Floresand Bush — housewives and stu-dents who want to make somemoney in their spare time.

But, surprisingly, that has notbeen the case. Of the 300 part-timers hired thus far, the majorityreport they would rather work forthe District on a full-time basis andview their part-time positions as afoot-in-the-door that will improvetheir chances of being hired fulltime.

According to District officials, itwill.

"Ideally, the best of the part-timers will fill the available full-timedriving positions as they open up,"says General Manager Jack Gil-strap. "Using drivers on a part-timebasis really lets us see how theyrespond on the job, how their at-tendance is and how they deal withthe public."

So far, part-timers have scoredhigh in performance safety and at-titude. they are sick less, are lateto work less often and make fewerrequests for time off than full-timedrivers, according to William Fos-ter, Deputy Manager of Operationsand Acting General Superintend-ent of Transportation. Since theydo not earn vacation or sick leave,they only get paid when they actu-ally work.

Part-time drivers qualify an onlyone bus line, as opposed to a full-time driver who qualifies an alllines out of his division, as manyas 25 in some cases. Since thepart-timers are locked into a singleroute, they get to know that routevery well and help to improve cus-tomer relations since the driversees many of the same people anhis bus every day.

"That is a situation we like, andour passengers like," commentsManager of Operations SamBlack. "lt is an ideal situation tohire drivers for each line and letthem drive at the same time an thesame line every day. Unfortunate-ly, that's just not practical, exceptfor part-timers."

But the main value of part-timedrivers for the District is in terms ofcost effectiveness, according toGilstrap.

"Eighty per cent of our costs arelabor-related," he says. "Our morethan 6,000 contract workers getquarterly cost-of-living adjust-ments tied to the rate of inflation.Anybody living in Los Angelesknows by now we have one of thehighest inflation rates in the nation.Part-time drivers offer the Districtone of the few chances we have tosave money an labor costs. lt is acritical fiscal advantage for us and,ultimately, our riders."

While the part-timers earn thesame starting salary as full-timeregular drivers (more than $7 perhour), they do not qualify for medi-cal or dental benefits, saving theDistrict $3 per hour, or $3,760 perpart-time driver annually. In a situ-ation where a full-time driver wouldwork a three-hour shift to get paidfor a full day's work, the Districtcan now use a part-timer and payhim for exactly the number ofhours he puts behind the wheel.

Foster says that the transporta-tion managers at the District'soperating divisions have seen first-hand the advantages of using part-time drivers. "It's taking a load offour extra board, the Pool of driversmaintained to fill vacancies causedby sickness, vacations, leaves and

the like," he explains.And, the job is working out well

for the part-timers, also.Baldridge, who has the distinc-

tion of being the first part-timer topull out of a division an a work as-signment, finds the situation offershinn just the added income heneeds. Besides, Baldridge says hewas "Ionely for the buses. Just ashort trip makes me feel like I'veworked all day."

Flores loves to drive becauseshe still gets home in time to dressher two youngsters for school."They keep asking me when I'mgoing to bring the bus home," shesays.

For part-timer Philip Morris,who's been interested in being afull-time driver since 1974, drivingthe RTD's Line 9 from 3 p.m. to 8p.m. Monday through Friday is justthe opportunity he's been waitingfor. With a wife and three smallchildren, he hopes to go full timeas soon as possible.

Patty Barber, another workingmother, says if she gets thechance to go full time, she'll take it,adding her mother can help withthe children.

The bottom line for the part-timers seems to be what goes intothe wallet, and most are pleasdwith their hourly wage. As Bushsays, "You just can't beat it forpart-time."

Takestock

• inAmenca.

Sports wrap upKABC and Transit Ads, Incorporated have wrapped Dodger fever

around an entire bus. Parked in Dodger Stadium's centerfield is thefirst of 25 such buses promoting Dodger games and the radio sta-tion that covers them. The free form ads, which wrap entirely aroundthe bus, were produced and installed by Transit Ads, the firm thathand/es all advertising on District buses. Admiring the handiworkare (from left) catcher Steve Yeager, first baseman Steve Garvey,KABC General Manager George Green, Dodger Manager TommyLasorda, sportscaster Geoff Witcher and pitcher Burt Hooton. Bus-es with the bright yellow ads will travel major routes throughout thecounty and transport fans to and from Dodger home games.

Headway

Bond drive urges employees to Savelt seems that everyone these days is looking for

a sure thing financially. Unfortunately, too oftenso-called investments, like pyramid games andsoybean futures, are nothing more than gambles.

However, more than 9 1/2 million Americanshave discovered an investment that can yield sev-en per cent and involves absolutely no gamble —United States Savings Bonds purchased throughthe Payroll Savings Plan.

The District will be conducting its annual driveto enroll employees in the U.S. Savings BondPayroll Savings Plan this year during the week ofJuly 28 to August 1. Volunteer canvassers in eachdepartment or division will contact employeesduring that period to answer questions andprovide an opportunity for interested personsto sign up.

"Savings Bonds purchased through payroll de-ductions provide employees with a convenient,secure and thrifty way of saving for the future,

something few of us are doing as much of as we'dlike to," explains Personnel Analyst Ralph Cady,who is spearheading the drive.

"lt also gives us a chance to fight Inflation whilehelping to fortify the financial strength of our coun-try at the same time," he adds.

Also, Cady points out that the Treasury Depart-ment has recently introduced a successor to thefamiliar Series E Savings Bond. The new bond,Series EE, will receive an extra half per cent inter-est over the current rate of 6.5 per cent if they areheld to full maturity of 11 years.

Most people find it hard to save money, whatwith all the bills there are to pay each month.What the Payroll Savings Plan does is save themoney first, off the top, and then you pay yourbilis.

If you have any questions, contact the volunteerin your work location during the enrollment period,and then "take stock in America."

Page 3

MORE MONEY FOR SECURITY

Board adopts $334 million operating budgetThe RTD Board of Directors

adopted a $334 million budget onJune 12 for fiscal 1981 (July 1,1980 to June 30, 1981) designedto maintain District bus servicenear present levels provided thecurrent slowing trend in the infla-tionary spiral continues.

A key element of the new budgetwas an expenditure of an addition-al $1.2 million for added safetyofficers to improve security for Dis-trict drivers and passengers.

"To meet the safety needs of ourtrons, the budget calls for hiringadditional 45 officers," General

Manager Jack Gilstrap said. "Thiswill allow us to greatly increase thenumber of security personnel wehave in the field and provide betterprotection for our riders and oper-

ators in some of the high crimeareas in which our buses operate."

Gilstrap also pointed out that thebudget provides for the hiring ofsome 40 additional mechanics tomaintain the District's older busesand keep the new ones in service,and for the District's centralmaintenance facility at South Parkto go to a seven-day work week.

"The new buses, including some940 standard-size buses and 20double deck buses we will receiveduring the year, all come equippedwith air conditioning and wheel-chair lifts," Gilstrap said. "We knowfrom experience that we must havemore mechanics to keep thesebuses in service due to the soph-isticated nature of their added fea-tures."

In addition to the budget, theBoard authorized a $204 millioncapital improvement program,funded entirely by state, federaland other capital grants, for thepurchase of 1,200 new buses, con-struction work on two new busoperating divisions and preliminaryengineering work on the plannedWilshire subway.

Approximately 42 per cent of the$334 million operating budget is

(Continued from page 1)bus. To make up the anticipated$30 million deficit by cutting serv-ice the District would have to pull210 buses from peak-hour serviceand layoff more than 500 employ-ees.

Gilstrap pointed out that, ironi-cally, the majority of persons whotestified at the recent public hear-ing on fare increases were virtuallyunanimous in their opinions thatfares should be raised instead ofservice cutback.

Even if the judge at the injunc-tion hearing finds in favor of theDistrict and allows the fare in-creases to be implemented, RTDstill comes up more than $1.5 mil-lion short for the 80-81 Fiscal Yearbecause of the delay.

"RTD's deficit will increase by$100,000 per day for every day thefare increase is delayed," Gilstrapsaid.

The General Manager also ex-pressed dismay at the confusionthe judge's action has had for Dis-trict customers as well as employ-ees.

The eleventh-hour delay in im-plementing the fare increasemeant District employees had toput in a lot of extra time over theweekend of June 28-29 removingbulkhead notices and "take-one"rider bulletins announcing the newfare structure from more than2,600 buses.

All of the District's more than300 pass sales outlets had to benotified of the fare increase post-ponement and told what to do withmonthly passes already being soldunder the new structure. Sincethese outlets had been selling pas-ses at the new rate for three dayswhen the restraining order was is-sued, a refund plan will have to bedevised.

Ads in local newspapers an-nouncing and explaining the new

expected to come from farebox re-venues, with 38 per cent comingfrom state sales taxes and 18 percent from federal operating sub-sidies. The remaining two per centcomes from other sources.

"This budget, although fiscallysound assuming inflation does notcontinue to soar, unfortunatelydoes not provide for any addedbus service," said Board PresidentThomas Neusom.

fare had to be canceled and publicmeetings had to be set up to ex-plain to community groups whatwas happening.

Gilstrap pointed out that this wasthe second time in as manymonths that a planned fare in-crease had been postponed at thelast minute. A proposed fare in-crease for May 1 was canceledwhen the Los Angeles Count yTransportation Commission unex-pectedly gave the District $4.6 mil-lion (from funds set aside for futureuse) to offset a deficit in the 79-80Fiscal Year budget caused by in-flation.

However, a similar bail out is notlikely this time, according toGilstrap.

Gilstrap said the District hasasked government officials at ev-ery level — City, county, state andfederal — for more money and theanswer is always the same — no.

As approved by the Board, thenew fare structure planned to takeeffect July 1 would raise themonthly pass from $20 to $26, in-crease the basic cash fare a dimeto 65 cents and Charge 20 centsfor transfers each time they areused, with a limit of two extra rides.

Monthly passes for senior citi-zens and handicapped personswould increase from $4 to $6, withtheir cash fare raised a dime to 30cents. Their transfer would cost 10cents with the same restrictions asfor regular riders.

Express bus prices went from $6to $8 for each increment of free-way travel for monthly pass hold-ers and from 20 cents to 30 centsper increment for cash riders.

Student passes were dividedinto two categories, with one passfor students 19 years of age andyounger ($16, up $2) and one forcollege students regardless of age($20).

Judge postpones fare hike

Page 4

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It igt

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If a rede day of fag mei gauffe agd food

goax idea of a good eia& the Remario«

Depattteeeof hal au, offee you tlt seems you hear a lot these

days about how little you get foryour money. And it's true. A dollardoesn't go as far as it used to.Well, the Recreation Departmenthas a deal that is guaranteed totake you back to the good olddays!

For only three bucks you can geta hamburger and hot dog picniclunch to enjoy amidst 40 acres ofgrass and shade trees, plus a dayfull of lounging around a hugeswimming pool that has its ownwave-making machine, fishing in alake stocked with trout or enjoyinga plethora of rides and games to ri-val any carnival. As if that weren'tenough, your money will get youlots of sno-cones, popcorn, pret-zels, soft drinks and prizes to enjoywhile listening to a dance band.

To make the deal even sweeter,if you happen to be between theages of five and 10 years of age,the Recreation Department willprovide you with all of this for onlytwo bucks!

In case you haven't figured it outyet, the "deal" is the 1980 RTDEmployee Picnic, slated to be heldon Sunday, August 17, from 10a.m. to 5 p.m. at Silverlake PicnicGrounds in Norco, nestled be-tween the Pomona and Artesiafreeways in San Bernardino Coun-ty.

Ticket prices for the annual day-long event have been set at $3 foradults, $2 for children five to 10years of age with kids under fiveadmitted free of charge. There willbe absolutely no tickets sold at thepark. All tickets must be purchasedin advance through the Recreation

Department. You may use the at-tached coupon, or stop by the de-partment in person on the sixthfloor of RTD headquarters, 425 S.Main Street, Los Angeles.

The picnic is intended solely forRTD employees, their immediatefamily and District retirees. Ac-cording to Employee ActivitiesCoordinator Diane Delaney, thereason for this is because the Rec-reation Department heavily under-writes the cost of the picnic.

"The Employee Picnic is theRecreation Department's premierevent of the year and a lot of therevenue we receive from electron-ic games, Pool tables and the likeat the divisions goes toward cover-ing part of the estimated $26,000cost of the picnic," Delaney says."Because of this, only District em-ployes, retirees and their immedi-ate family are included. The onlyexception well make is for singleemployees, who may bring acompanion."

Based on past attendance fig-ures, Delaney anticipates some3,000 people will attend this year'sevent and some of the facilities

and events they will be able to en-joy include:

— The park: Silverlake has 40acres of grass and shade treeswith picnic tables located in theshade, a kitchen on the premises,large open grassy areas, parkingfor 2,000 cars, permanentrestrooms, a lake stocked withtrout (fishing poles are availablethere) and a swimming pool with awave-making machine, dressingrooms, lockers and shower.

— Food: Lunch will be servedfor a three-hour period from 11:30a.m. until 2:30 p.m. and will includegrilled burgers, all-beef hot dogs,tacos, baked beans, potato salad,condiments, iced fresh fruit, cook-ies and coffee. In addition, icecream bars, sno-cones, popcorn,pretzels and soft drinks will beserved all day long (or at least foras long as they last).

— Garnes for kids: There will bea bunch of special rides and attrac-tions for the youngsters, includinga small ferris wheel, merry-go-

round, chair swings, pony cart rideand pony ring. Three circus clownswill be on hand to keep things live-ly and amusing.

— Garnes for grown-ups: Therewill be a "midway" with 12 gambooths featuring such gamescolor match, gift car and six-ba iroll that will be staffed by attend-ants and there will be stuffed ani-mal prizes for the winners. Therewill be a Bingo game, lawn bowlingtournament with trophies for thevictors, a softball game, volleyballtournament with medals for thewinning team, a dance band anddancing, lawn darts and a giantmoon bounce.

The park also features a publicaddress system that plays tapedmusic and is used to let picnic-ersknow when and where the variousevents are taking place. There areuniformed attendants to keep aneye on the parking lots and tomaintain order in the park.

And all of this is included in theprice of admission! If you don'tknow where Norco is, don't worryabout it. A map and directions willbe provided with the tickets.

LA of food,fictemetlife mei fx,e4,4 aot

Thvee'et be souteeueg

Toi( emyclie

Order yourticketsby maill

EMPLOYEE PICNIC TICKET ORDER FORM

Name: Badge No

Work Location: Extension

Home address -

Home Telephone -

Please send me: Adult tickets @ $3 each. Total $ Child tickets @ $2 each. Total $

I have enclosed Total $PLEASE, DO NOT SEND CASH! Make check or money order payable to RTD. Send toRecreation Department, Location 32, via company mail; or to Diane Delaney, 425 S. MainStreet, Los Angeles, CA 90013. Tickets may also be purchased directly from BettySconce in the Employee Recreation Department on the sixth floor of the administrationbuilding. Remember, tickets will not be available at the park.

Retireerecognition

Bidding adieu to careers in the transit industry last month were(from left) Edward Deardoff, 15 years of service; Director Jay Price,who presented the retirees with commemorative plaques; AlbertMcKnight, the senior retiring employee last month with 34 years ofservice; Claude Harris, 23 years of service, and Alphonse Brown,who showed up late for his own retirement after 29 years of serviceand got a photo of his own. Unable to attend the ceremony were re-tirees Willie R. Moore (28 years), Nicholas Ross (27 years), CharlesJ. Murrell (34 years), and Rayford Chapman (22 years).

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Page 5

Moving UpAbeyta, Josephine, from ticketclerk to ticket off/rpts cierk.Adams, John I., from asst. div.transp. mgr. to div. transp. mgr.Arana, Jorge, from mopper-waxerto svc. attendant.Arvizo, Ralph, from mechanic "C"to mechanic "B."*feile, Leonard, from mechanic‘r to mechanic "B."Bixler, John L., from mechanic "B"to mechanic "A."Brame, Milton, from info cierk toplanning analyst.Brinkley, William, from Operator tooper/ex. div. disp.Carrillo, Armando, from elec.maint. supvs. to act. elect. superin-tendent.Clark, Janet L., from secretary III toadministrative asst.Cohen, Michael, from informationclk. to supvr. tel. info.Collins, Jr., Louis, from mechanic"B" to mechanic "A."Corvera, Richard, from mechanic"B" to mechanic "A."De La Cruz, Louis, from rel. eq.rec. specialist to eq. rec. specialist.Dell, Donald E., from opr/extra div.disp. to div. disp.Devers, James H., from inst. ofV.O. to senior Inst. of V.O.Downer, Lora, from info. cierk tojanitor.Edwards, Jr., Ed, from mes. clk/rel.

carrier to mail carrier.

Flock, Linda, from ticket clerk toticket office & rpts. clerk.Fogelman, Robert, from Operatorto operator-extra radio disp.Ford, Lillian, from Operator tooper/ex. div. disp.Garcia, Fred, from data proc. opr.to lead DP opr.Garcia, Henry, from mechanic "B"to mechanic "A."Grayson, Don, from asst. div.transp. mgr., to div. transp. mgr.Green, Janet, from opr/extra div.disp. to div. disp.Griffin Jr., William, from Operatorto oper/ex. div. disp.Haertel, Steve, from mechanic "C"to mechanic "B."Hinrichsen, Norma, from scheduleclerk to cierk typist.Hughes, Santos F., from ticketoff/rpts clerk to ticket clerk.Kakazu, Paul T., from informationclk. to supvr. tel. info.Keyes Eugene, from Operator tooper/ex. div. disp.Lawson, Frashier, from Operator toOper./ex. div. disp.Malone, Rita, from Operator tooper/ex. div. disp.Martin, Karen L., from storekeeper(relief) to equip. record spec.Mayer, Rosemary, from temp. typ-ist clk to order typist.Melanson, Cecilia, from secretaryIII to real estate assistant.Miller, Jan T., from order typist topunch/inventory asst.Molinar, Jose, from mechanic "C"to mechanic "B."

Moore, Gere, from training analystto trng. center coord.Moreno, Juan, from mechanic "B"to mechanic "A."Mullins, Emma J., from generalcierk to ticket clerk.McCracken, Rashie, from rel. st.shop clk. to stock shop cierk.Nelson, Elaine, from typist-clerk todiv. stenographer.Novak, Ronald J., from specialagent to sp. agt. ext-radio disp.Nunez, Ruben R., from mechanic"B" to mechanic "A."O'Brien, Charles, from mechanic"A" to equip. maint. supv. I.O'Donnell, Judith, from div. ste-nographer to stenographer.Pace, Eugene, from mechanic "B"to mechanic "A."Ramos, Robert, from rel/mopper-waxer to sick/vac rel mop-waxer.Rascon, Gilbert, from scrty grd IIIto trans. safety officer.Reedy, R.A., from staff asst. II toasst. div. transp. mgr.Reyes, Romulo, from accountantto accounts pay. supvr.Robles, Jesse, from sick/vac, relmop-waxer to svc. attendat.Sandoval, Marco, from laborer "A"to property maintainer "B."Sandoval, Tony C., from opr./ex.div. disp. to div. disp.Service, Barbara, from extra radiodispatcher to radio disp.Shadle, Rodney E., from timetablestorekeeper to storekeeper.Smith, Lee C., from print shop cierkto timetable storekeeper.Soto, Andre, from Op-Ex Inst of VOto Instr. of VO.Starks, Roy L., from div. dispatcherto asst. div. transp. mgr.Stepner, S. Denise, from typistclerk to typist-clerk-extra radio disp.Stevenson, Leon, from radio dis-patcher to asst. chief radio dis-patcher.

Sumner, Bernadette, from infor-mation clk. to print shop cierk.Threat, Daniel, from mopper-waxerto rel. vault truck driver.Tretteen, Irvin, from Operator tooper/ex. div. disp.Truslow, Theodore, from operatorto Oper. ex. div. disp.Unger, Jean M., from secretary IIIto admin. secretary.VanVolkenburg, M., from ticketclerk to general clerk.Victoria, Ermilo, from equip. maint.suprv. I to equip. maint. suprv. II.Ward, Sr., Gary, from utility "A" tomechanic "C."Walsh, Edward, from elec. superin-tendent to temp. dir. of telecom-munication.Wang, Alfred S., from schedulemaker to computer programmer.Wilson, Ralph, from asst. div.transp. mgr. to div. transp. mgr.Werdon, Glen, from equipmentspecialist to equip. maint. supvr. I.Woodson, James, from opr./extradiv. disp. to div. disp.

Shifting GearsWillie R. Moore, 28 years. Operatorat Division 15.Vincent T. Morrison, 22 years. Op-erator at Division 3.Easton B. Nelms, 20 years. Opera-tor at Division 9.Jesse Pimentel, 43 years. PropertyMaintainer "B" at South Park.

In MemoromClif Butler, former Operator, passedaway February 1. He joined the Dis-trict in May, 1923 and retired in Juneof 1955.Johnny Nevilles, operator at Divi-sion 7, passed away May 5. Hejoined the District in April of 1979.

RECREATION NEWS

Evita, Willie and Barry await concert-goersRTD will be Las Vegas bound

once again as District employeesand retirees are invited to partici-pate in a three-day, two-night ad-venture August 8-10. The Recrea-tion Department-sponsored event,which departs from El Monte Sta-tion on Friday, includes accommo-dations at the Rainbow Vegas Ho-tel in downtown Las Vegas, freebreakfast plus discount on lunchand dinner, free chicken andchampagne on the return tripaboard air-conditioned buses andother extras to be announced. Thecost is $58 per person, based ondouble occupancy. Reservations

limited, so act now to get yoursall money is due by July 25.

* * * *

After winning a host of TonyAwards, the hit musical "Evita" isback at the Shubert Theatre inCentury City. Our discount date isset for Sunday, August 10, at 7:30pn. $20 tickets are available for$18.

The outdoor summer concertseason is in full swing at the GreekTheatre and Universal Amphithea-tre and, by now, you have missedsuch headliners as Ben Vereen,Smoket' Robinson, Roberta Flockand Jimmy Buffett. However, thereare still a lot of hot acts to come sodon't procrastinate. Get your mon-ey in now and don't be disappoint-ed. A list of the talent on hand forlate July and early August followsalong with the discount ticket price.At the Amphitheatre:

— Chuck Mangione & orchestra,Sunday, July 20, $11.50.

— Willie Nelson, Thursday, July24, $11.50.

— The Blues Brothers, Sunday,July 27, $11.50.

— Boz Scaggs, Saturday, Au-gust 23, $12.50.

At the Greek:— Spyro-Gyro/Mahatten Trans-

fer, Thursday, July 17, $11.50.— Harry Chapin, Tuesday, July

22, $11.50.

— The O'Jays, Friday, July 25,$11.50.

— Al Jareau, Friday, August 9,$11.50.

— Barry Manilow, Sunday, Au-gust 31, $16.50.

The new neckties, featuring theRTD logo in red over black letter-ing against a gray background, arehere at last and available to thosewith good taste. The $7 necktie is

an excellent way to show off thenew logo. In addition to the newneckties, a complete line of logoitems, including caps, sunvisors,t-shirts and golf shirts are availablethrough the Recreation Depart-ment.

* * *

For more information aboutthese or any recreation event,check the rec board at your worklocation or call extension 6580.

Page 6

Headway

Friendship Day:At Division 1, they're

bridging the gap between thetrain room and the garage.

They may work together at thesame division for years. They de-pend on each other to successfullyperform their duties. But, there isvery little contact between mainte-nance and operations employees.At Division 1, however, they aretrying to do something to bridgethe gap.

Under the direction of DivisionDispatcher David Young, dona-tions were collected over a periodtime from employees at the divi-sion to fund a first annualFriendship Day. The money raiwas used to buy a variety of to.— hot dogs, chickens and ribs tobarbecue, baked beans, salads,cakes, punch and lots of fun.

From early morning to late after-noons volunteers staffed outdoortables, barbecue grills and punchbowls serving food to operators,mechanics, utilities and managers.

Some of the people who helpedmake the day a success are pic-tured on this page, counter-clockwise from above.

Getting into the spirit ofFriendship Day were (left to right)Division 1 Transportation ManagerDon Grayson, Alzie Jones, Mana-ger of Operations Sam Black,Anna Foster, Connie Johnson(holding half a barbecued chick-en), Joe Oliver, Eugene Williams,Mary Hudnall (trying to getConnie's chicken) and DavidYoung.

Smoke got in his eyes but t tdoesn't bother Williams asipkeeps an eye on the charcoal, hotdogs, chicken and ribs.

Young dishes up a hefty helpingof barbecue ribs and sauce to Op-erator Louis Martinez, who's ex-pression seems to say that thewait in line was worth the prize.Operator Maxine Watson is next inline.

Against the backdrop of the newtrain room under construction atthe division, employees made theirway through the line, helpingthemselves to beans, salads,cakes, bread, punch, soft drinksand all the ingredients that makefor a fine feed.

Operators and mechanics, utili-ties and line instructors, young andold, newcomer and oldtimer, maleand female. They all got togetherto share some food and learn a lit-tle more about each other.

Not only was it a great idea, itwas great food, too!

Check it out

No one knows exactly how mang people have met while workingat the District, fallen in love and gotten married, but the most recentcouple to do so was Richard B. Morris, Jr. and Marion Sanders. Inhonor of the occasion their friends in Bus Facilities Engineering andthroughout the District took up a collection to get them started on theright foot and presented it in the form of a big check. Richard, on theleft of the check, is an Engineering Technician, while Marion is aStaff Assistant I. They split the gift in true married fashion withRichard getting $20 and Marion getting the rest.

Headway

Page 7

District lauds trioThree more of the District's frontline representatives were honored by

the RTD Board of Directors as Employees of the Month, with BoardPresident Thomas Neusom praising them for their high standards of Per-formance in providing service to passengers.

Honored as Operator of the Month was Division 18's Manuel Diaz,who began his career with the District in 1960 and has since built a repu-tation as the type of person who is alway pleasant and friendly towardeveryone. He has a first-class driving record that includes a 16-yearsafety award, no chargeable accidents, only one missout since 1974 andhe has not been on the sick list since 1968. His favorite pastimes aretraveling (a natural for a bus driver) and dancing.

Joe Nathan Williams, a Utility-A Leadman at Division 6, earned Main-tenance Employee of the Month kudos for his excellent attendance re-cord and his dependable nature. He originally joined the District as a busdriver in 1973, joined the Schedule Department two years later and thentransferred to the Maintenance Department. He hopes one day to be a

emechanic for the District.For the second time in her 16-year career with the District, Patricia

Baker was awarded Information Operator of the Month honors. Laudedby her supervisors and customers alike for her courteous, patient and ef-ficient manner in performing her duties, Patricia's high standards of ex-cellence are an example for younger operators to follow. Pat's husband,Norman, is also a District employee, driving a bus out of Division 9. Herspare time interests include sewing, swimming and tennis.

TOPS — Participants in the Employees of the Month ceremony in-cluded (from left) Director David Hayward, Bob Williams, PatriciaBaker, Paul Mahoney, Manuel Diaz, Johnny Howard and Joe Na-than Williams.

(Editor's note: Quoted beloware excerpts from just a few ofthe hundreds of letters of com-mendation praising the actionsof District operators which arereceived each month from pas-sengers by the Customer Rela-tions Department. All such let-ters are reported to the Operatorby his division manager and a

cco y of the letter is placed in theator's personnel file).

Thomas Harris, Line 22: (Thefollowing is reprinted from an articlein the Glendale News-Press). Quickaction by an RTD bus driver mayhave prevented both a house fireand possible injury to the occupantof the house. The driver saw smokepouring from a window . . . stoppedhis bus and sprinted to the house,according to a passenger. Harrissaid it appeared the occupant, awoman, had been cooking and leftthe kitchen. Whatever was cookingcaught fire. Harris located the wom-an upstairs, found she was unhurtand extinguished the fire.

N.R. Castillo, Line 755: lt is notoften that the conduct of an employ-ee differs sufficiently from the ex-pected norm to warrant a letter ofpraise. However, this man is ex-tremely courteous, friendly and is acredit to your organization. I regardit as a pleasant change to ride onhis bus.AINchael C. Webb, Line 91:

imp it four separate passengers inthe back of the bus were at varioustimes giving offense to a fairly fullbusload of passengers with loud ob-scenities, smoking, radio playingand insults to the driver. He reactedwith firm, polite and calm requeststo stop smoking and playing the ra-dio. He handled a tough situation aswell as possible.

Elizabeth Anderson, Line 28: Apassenger was playing his radioloudly and our driver requested heturn it oft He started arguing withthe driver and said "make me." Ob-viously he thought she wouldn't.But, when she brought the bus to ahalt, he left quickly. Her conduct inhandling a rowdy and drunken pas-senger demonstrates exemplaryconduct and deserves praise.

Albert E. Troy, Line 83: He al-ways parks parallel to the curb thusfacilitating ascending and descend-ing, he waits for passengers from in-coming lines to cross the street and

get on his bus, and he is a carefuldriver — Such people as Mr. AlTroy, people who enjoy being ofservice to the public and who takepride in the quality of their work, arereal gems and we should honor, ap-preciate and hold them up as exam-ples to be followed — He's courte-ous to the passengers, friendly, andalways helpful in giving directionsand bus information . . . he practi-cally gives a guided tour of the city.(These comments are from threedifferent letters sent in by AlbertTroy's passengers).

Michael Esquivel, Line 65: He isinvariably courteous and friendly to-ward all passengers, greeting themas they board and wishing them wellas they depart. He seems to havean excellent rapport with almost ev-eryone. I don't know where youfound him but you should look in the

same place for more.George Nahra, Division 18: I

was involved in an auto accidentand received an excellent responsefrom your employee. Mr. Nahra re-acted in a very professional andconsiderate manner. Luckily, no se-rious injuries occurred in the acci-dent, but had there been I am sureMr. Nahra would have controlled thesituation with a great deal of care. Iam very grateful.

Lester P. Ellis, Line 44: Not onlyis this gentleman an excellent driver— no sudden stops or starts, alwayspulls close to the curb — but he isalways charming, gracious, and at-tentive to all the people on the bus.He greets everyone with a smileand never speaks harshly to anyone(including the occasional weirdo).

Peter Cardias, Line 810: Regu-lar riders on the 810 have enjoyedour evening ride home because ofPeter "On Time Pete" Cardias. Hehandles the bus very smoothly,without any roughness or quickstops. You can set your watch byhim and he knows his daily regulars'pick-up and departure points.

Harry E. Bailey, Line 838: Thereare some folks who have a naturalsensitiveness to people and theirneeds. One such person is yourdriver number 3670. Not only is hepleasant to everyone boarding hisbus, but he does maintain a certainelement of authority and diplomacyover any attempted loud radios andsmoking on his bus. He is alwaysreliably on time and that means somuch to the working public's effortto get to work on time. My compli-ments to this gentleman.

Edward M Cavin, Division 3: Iwas climbing down the stairs to thebus station at Cal State, L.A. Thebus was about to take off and Iwaved and signaled. I run slowly be-cause of arthritis in my leg, howev-er, I was not forgotten because yourdriver waited for me. What a relief. ltwas 8:30 p.m. and it meant I wouldbe able to make my connectiondowntown for the freeway buswhich runs only every half hour. Iwouldn't have to wait on that darkcorner for 30 minutes and get homelate. Such courtesy took only an ex-tra minute of the driver's time, butmeant so very much to me.

ANGELIC — Operator Albert Judson (wearing jer- employees as part of a unique program designed tosey number one) stands amidst a band of Angels, a improve relations between RTD and the South Cen-local Little League team sponsored by Division 5 trat Los Angeles community.

Safe quartersDirector Charles Storing (left) presents Division 6's Maintenance

Manager Johnny Howard and Acting Transportation Manager E.R.Hamilton with First Quarter 1980 Safe Awards while Safety SpecialistFrank Larson looks on. The division reduced passenger and trafficaccidents by 11 per cent to a rate of nine accidents per 100,000miles of operation. In addition, lost time industrial injuries were de-creased by 31 per cent to a low of eight accidents for each 100,000work hours. The presentation was the first under the restructuredaward program, which gives recognition to the single division withthe most improved transportation and maintenance safety records.

Published monthly for the employeesand retirees of the Southern CaliforniaRapid Transit District.

Editorial input and suggestionswelcome. Deadline for receipt ofeditorial copy is the 14th of each month.Send black-and-white photographs on-iy, please. Requests for photographiccoverage of District events must bepreceded by 72 hours notice.

Mailing address: Headway, 6th Floor,425 South Main Street, Los Angeles,CA 90013. Telephone: 213-972-6680.

David Himmel, Editor

Page 8 Headway

Angels given Royal treatment at Division 5There are a lot of ideas currently

circulating throughout the Districtas to how best to curb or preventacts of vandalism against Districtequipment.

But the employees at Division 5in the South Central Los Angelesarea have hit on a novel approachto the problem they are spon-soring a Little League team.

Actually, Operator AlbertJudson, chairman of the division'sAthletic Department, admits thatattempting to solve the vandalismproblem was not their immediategoal when they decided to sponsorthe Angels, a team of 8- to10-year-old l'il leaguers. The divi-sion employees were simply tryingto repay a favor the area young-sters had done for them.

Division 5 is located adjacent toVan Ness park at the intersectionof Slauson and 54th Street. The di-vision's softball team, the Royals,who compete in the RTD SoftballLeague, practice at the park. So dothe Angels. Over a period of time,friendships have developed be-tween the two teams.

The neighborhood around thepark and the division is a highcrime area and several district em-ployees have had problems withtheir cars being broken into, per-sonal items stolen and even sever-al auto thefts.

Judson reports that one even-ing, while the Royals were holdinga practice at Van Ness, severalmembers of the Angels witnessedsome kids breaking into one of thecars belonging to a member of theRoyals. The Little Leaguers fol-lowed the kids to find out where

"This is our first attempt at thissort of thing," says Judson. "In thefuture we hope to be able to spon-sor a youth basketball team andmaybe even a flag football team."

What sponsorship entails, basic-ally, is money.

Judson reports that the divi-sion's Athletic Department, whichconsists of the members of the di-vision softball, basketball and tabletennis teams, collects donationsfrom its members and seeks con-tributions from employees at thedivision to raise funds which areused to support the l'il leaguers.

Judson says that one of the de-partment's most successfulfundraising efforts was a recenttrip to Las Vegas that they organ-ized and offered for all District em-ployees through the RTD's recrea-tion program.

The trip cost oniy $50 per Per-son, but Judson says a lot of mon-ey was raised by raffling off twofree trips at $1 per chance.

Judson, who coaches the divi-sion basketball team and is aplayer-coach on the division soft-ball team, said the monies raisedare used to purchase equipmentand uniforms for the Angels. Withwhatever funds remain at the endof the season, Judson wants tohave a barbeque dinner for theyoungsters.

All of which brings us around toa recent Little League Day held ona Saturday afternoon at Division 5.

Following their morning LittleLeague contest, the Angels wereinvited over to tour the division, getacquainted with the employeesworking there and take a rideakone of the District's new Grumnelir870 buses.

While on the bus, the young-sters were given a quick introduc-tion to the new equipment, how itworks and its special features.They were also told that keepingthe new equipment looking newand on the streets was partly theirresponsibility.

"Part of our reason for wantingto help these kids was our feelingthat if we could do something forthem, if we could reach them atthis age level, maybe we couldhave better relations with them inthe future and less breaking ofwindows and writing of graffiti onbus interiors," Judson explains.

Chances are, at their age level,the members of the Angels are notthe ones slashing bus seats withknives, or throwing rocks at thewindows or expending their fetttips on seat backs and bus walls.

There are no simple solutions tothe problems facing the Distakthese days. And, when an atteerat solving a problem is made, noone expects overnight results.Whether or not the program at Di-vision 5 is a success or failure oniytime will teil. One thing is certain,however it's a step in the rightdirection.

they lived and then reported this tothe operators.

Wishing to return this favor, theAthetic Department offered tosponsor the youths' baseball team.

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