CSUN Earthquake Service

Not all post-earthquake transit service was operated by transit agencies. California State University Northridge, finding itself dealing with a collapsed parking structure on the east side of its campus (shown on the right), which provided a large part of the parking for CSUN students and faculty, used FEMA money from MTA to operate four lines of its own. (Photo courtesy CSUN.)

These shuttles are known to have been in service by February 14, 1994 (based on the timetable issuance date, from which the above map was taken); they likely had started before then.

Line 647 was dubbed the Campus Circulator, and was key to the CSUN emergency service plan. It operated a one-way clockwise loop around the perimeter of the campus, connecting the north campus parking Lot T (which had been little used since the closure of the former Devonshire Downs race track) with the main campus. It also had a dedicated stop at the existing bus lane on the west side of the campus, which allowed for MTA Line 240 and three CSUN shuttles to interconnect. Line 647 ran two versions; a clockwise loop (as shown on the map) every eight minutes from 7:00am until 10:00pm, and a reverse direct connection between the north campus parking lot and the dedicated stop via Lindley Ave. between 8:00am and noon. Line 648 interconnected CSUN with the hurriedly-constructed Northridge Metrolink Station (which opened just two days after the quake itself, on January 19, 1994). It operated from 7:00am to noon and from 3:00pm to 7:00pm, presumably on a schedule to meet Metrolink trains, although that was not made clear on the timetable. Line 649 was the type of shuttle one would hardly have expected, even in an emergency situation. It operated hourly between CSUN and the UCLA campus in Westwood, marking one of the few times a service interconnected campuses of the California State University and the University of California. The reason for this unusual arrangement was that the Oviatt Library building at CSUN was damaged in the earthquake and closed for repairs; the shuttle became a necessary link for students in need of a large university reference library, UCLA's being the closest. This line was the only one to operate seven days a week ... 10:00am to 9:00pm Monday through Thursday, 10:00am to 5:00pm Friday and Saturday, and noon to 9:00pm Sunday. Line 650 was created in the aftermath of a hurried arrangement with the owners of the property at the southwest corner of Plummer St. and Shirley Ave. which had, several years previous, been the site of a Handyman home improvement warehouse store. The service ran weekdays from 7:00am to 7:00pm but the timetable didn't give frequency of service. (This arrangement was all the more interesting because in July, 1987 the parking lot entrances had been barricaded and locked to prevent use of the otherwise vacant parking lot by RTD Line 418 patrons; although RTD had an arrangement with Handyman Stores, when the chain ceased business at the beginning of the year the property owners had different ideas. Apparently, with the property still vacant more than six years later, they were willing to make a deal with CSUN.)

The descendant of Line 647 still exists. In November, 2000, CSUN increased the frequency of shuttle service between Lot T and the Prairie/Etiwanda bus stop, as well as switching to larger buses. At the time, CSUN President Jolene Koester said the changes allowed the transport of nearly twice the number of passengers per trip. When Lot T was subsequently closed to construct the headquarters of Medtronic MiniMed, the shuttle was rerouted to serve lots along Lassen St. It still operates today, as a tram operating entirely on the University grounds, although a new circulator operating on Lindley Ave. - Nordhoff St. - Etiwanda Ave. - Plummer St. was proposed in the campus master plan approved in March, 2006.

Line 648 also still technically exists, with a modified nine-trip morning schedule that meets all trains (both directions) that arrive between 7:00am and 9:30am at Northridge Metrolink Station, operating directly to the University. In the afternoon, it operates four return trips to the station, timed to arrive about ten minutes prior to the trains arriving between 3:00pm and 5:30pm. (The CSUN website advises students needing to get to and from Northridge Metrolink Station at other times to use LADOT's DASH Northridge.)

Neither Lines 647 or 648 are still known by those numbers.

Line 649 ceased operation when the Oviatt Library reopened in the fall of 2000; the date of Line 650's discontinuance is unknown, although the arrangement with the owners of the parking lot was ended long before the property was sold for redevelopment.

Metro Line 240 has not provided direct service to CSUN since the bus lane was closed in April, 2003, but a revision to the campus master plan calls for a new transit center at approximately the same location to provide dedicated bays for Metro local buses, Metrolink shuttles, and other services; no timetable has been set by the University for construction.

Maps on this page
hosted by Giga Files

RETURN TO THE EARTHQUAKE PAGE