The "wannabe" transit planner, Charles Thomas


The following is an e-mail sent to Metro SFV general manager David Armijo by Charles Thomas the day of the sector open house. The "Ms. Tadin" referred to is Rebecca Tadin of State Senator Richard Alarcón's Valley field office; apparently Mr. Thomas thought overwhelming an already-overworked staff member would force his ideas into action. I have masked the e-mail addresses; however, Mr. Thomas' sent this e-mail from his work e-mail account at the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, leading me to wonder how much taxpayer-paid time he wasted pursuing his pipe dreams.


From: Charles Thomas [mailto:********@cuiab.ca.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2002 10:44 AM
To: '*******@mta.net'

Dear Mr. Armijo;
I will not be able to attend tonights meeting but 1. Mr. Brewer has my bus plan as revised on May 22 of this year on hand. and 2. I am working with Ms. Tadin on a more streamlined plan which will be ready by this weekend. As I do not wish to burden your fine staff with yet more copies of my work today I do wish for you to personally see my new plan when it is ready. In lieu of my appearance tonight I would like you to know about some major wastes of energy , time and labor that could be dealt with by at least the December shakeup.
1. The 183 line. There is no need for an extra bus or two going from Sepulveda to North Hollywood Station. Solution: Weekdays. Every 30 minutes, a bus to Glendale; every 30 minutes a bus to Burbank. Saturdays. Every 40 or 45 minutes a bus to Glendale. Sundays and Holidays, every 60 minutes.
2. Hollywood Blvd. This may not be in your sector but only one line - the 217 - should run on this street between Vine and Highland. The 210 should end all it's Nbd. runs at Vine Station, the 212 at Highland and Hollywood. The 180- 181 and proposed 780 should be detoured to Sunset via Vine or better yet, Vermont so to serve Kaiser and other hospitals . These changes will firstly help clear the almost constant traffic jam on that part of the Boulevard that I have identified as " Nightmare Alley. " and secondly save the MTA many thousands of dollars each year in costs related to that gridlock.
3. The 152 line. It is a waste to send this into North Hollywood Station. It might be a " popular " pick up point for people from the Red Line but they could pick it up much easier at Universal City and lose no time as it takes as long to get from Vineland and Magnolia to the NH Station as it would to get to UC. We are talking about 15 minutes timed 600 weekday trips and 125 weekend trips. That is a lot of energy, time and labor being wasted. If you would talk to the Operators they will tell you the same thing. If it was the 154, we would not be saying anything as it only runs once an hour.
4. Again it is out of your jurisdiction but several of the LA DOT lines afre operating below their capacity and should be taken out of service. Namely the 413 Commuter Express and the Studio City/ Van Nuys DASH line. The vehicles used on these lines could be used in better circumstances. For example, the DASH could run as a replacement for the 96 and 152 lines from Sherman Oaks and Universal City to Burbank and the 183 line from Burbank to Glendale while a new 86 line would use big buses from Downtown to Sepulveda/ Ventura with the routes of the 96 and 183 lines. Better service all around. We have heard what a fine job you did with the Orange County service. We are lucky to have you and hope you will be with us for many years to come.
Sincerely, Charles J. Thomas
(address & phone numbers masked, although he lists his direct extension at the aforementioned state office as his "Business" number)


My comments: I also submit for your perusal an e-mail received from Mr. Thomas before he stopped bombarding me with his flood of pronouncements. Note the segment I have highlighted, and also that he attempts to discredit me by copying the e-mail to the Mayor's office and MTA transit planning staff.


Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 07:35:28 -0700
From: Charles Thomas [********@cuiab.state.ca.us]
Subject:
To: "'mtakym@pacbell.net'"
Cc: "'*********@mayor.lacity.org'", "'*******@mayor.lacity.org'", "'*******@mta.net'"
X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2650.21)

Dear Kym;You are a jealous fool. I will want nothing to do with you ever again. I tried to work with you but you want no one's help because you think you know it all. You know some things and you have good ideas but you are self centered and whiny. I expect to see an Undeliverable as usual but I know what is workable and what is not. Charles.

And ...

Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 07:35:28 -0700
From: Charles Thomas [********@cuiab.state.ca.us]
Subject:
To: "'mtakym@pacbell.net'"
X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2650.21)

For your information I was a candidate for the MTA Board and about 60 Citizen/Voters wrote to the Mayor in my behalf, people who know me and what I stand for. I do not know why you were and are opposed to me other than outright jealousy. You have'nt the foggiest notion of who I am and you have no right to judge me. If Isabel would not stop me, I would sue you for slander. If the Mayor's staff and Allison Yoh listen to your horse manure about me after all they have heard from good, decent citizens then they are hopeless. To think I was in constant praise of you and that I recommended you for Jackie Goldberg's Transportation person makes me worry about MY judgement. Your thoughts about Minibuses in view of the fact that they are used everywhere including some MTA contract lines are archaic and although I changed my mind about using them on regular lines years ago I still consider them a highly important method of Public Transportation. In short. Mr. Richards, you have only the right to disagree with my points of view. You have no other rights. Charles.


Note that a state employee used state resources to hint at a lawsuit against a private citizen. Which of us would have had the stronger case in court? We will never know: Charles Thomas passed away on January 5, 2004.

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