KTLA News: "Transit expansion project in Watts" (1971)

I think the experiment has succeeded uh admirably and uh that it has uh actually increased employment for example in a very tangible way in the area and it was uh certainly for that reason that I wanted to to be here to commend both the Department of Transportation and the city Administration uh for the continuation of this program and I would hope that uh it not end at the end of a year that it will be in some way carried on and will become in some way a permanent operation um in the area how do you think this form of transportation will serve the community uh as I say that it it isn't uh it isn't uh for social reasons it isn't uh an individual going one place to visit or to chat but it uh it really works in very well with the economic interest of the people of the area who many of whom are denied uh the opportunity of shopping and uh the best areas are are taking advantage of Health Facilities or job opportunities we've had several uh Transportation projects in the area over the past several years could you just give us a brief summary how you think they have worked out I'd be glad to I guess the first one which um was put into existence here grew out of the U some civil disturbances back about 1967 uh approximately 2. U uh7 million was appropriated in the beginning for that service uh all of it probably was not expended during that particular time but the uh 24mon operational test was to uh do several things determine uh what Transportation constraints contri contributed toward or prevented or or continued to give individual citizens within that area problems to the extent that they could not get jobs and problems to the extent that they could not get to service centers or to hospitals to take care of their immediate needs or to live as normal American citizens are citizens are expected to do so the centry boulevard route was developed which serviced people all along that strip who did not have adequate Transportation before phase two of the project dealt specifically with uh trying to look in a real systematic way at the total transportation needs there not just by running a a bus along a fixed route but to determine whether or not home to work Services would not be good in one case uh demand oriented service of a very small nature to and from certain centers would not help also third extension of that was to sort of upgraded and give it a little higher uh operational test and the fourth one of course we're into now and which uh we have which is the final phase of the experiment which should really determine whether or not all of those things we've done all along have indeed been successful and some lessons are to be learned from the total package so we are now at uh the Final Phase with 15 Vans running in much uh the same way but uh being um plotted uh being measured very carefully to determine their results