1st Transit Peace Talks Lead to More Talks

Amid mounting concern over threatened giant cuts in bus service, the warlords of the RTD and county Transportation Commission met behind closed doors Tuesday in an effort to resolve a bitter conflict over $107.8 million in transit funds.

After 45 minutes, they came up with an agreement--to meet again Monday.

“I will only say it was a small step forward to continue the dialogue. I would not say it is a major step,” said Supervisor Ed Edelman, who acted as a mediator in the conference between RTD board President Gordana Swanson and Supervisor Pete Schabarum, who chairs the commission.

‘Willing to Meet Again’

“It would be improper to say that an understanding is close at hand, but at least the parties are talking and willing to meet again,” Edelman said.

The meeting Tuesday afternoon came one day after the RTD filed a lawsuit accusing the commission of withholding transit funds in a deliberate effort to undermine RTD service and thus enhance private bus operations in the county.

The RTD is handing out leaflets to riders warning that starting in January, unless funds come through, it may have to eliminate all service on weekends and holidays, all night and pre-dawn Owl service on weekdays, one-third of rush-hour service and half of the midday service.

The RTD board has set a public hearing on the cuts for Nov. 29 at 10 a.m. at the district’s downtown headquarters, 425 S. Main St.

The focus of the dispute is Proposition A sales-tax transit funding totaling more than $2 million per week. The RTD says it is overdue more than $50 million since July 1 and is entitled to $107.8 million for the 1988-98 fiscal year--22% of its entire budget.

Commission officials, who oversee Proposition A funds, say the money is being withheld because RTD labor contracts do not meet guidelines adopted by the commission.

In a related development, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley said he has asked his two appointees to the RTD board to introduce a motion asking that the lawsuit be withdrawn. He said he was “outraged” by the suit, charging that it threatens to undermine the peace talks between the district and the county Transportation Commission that his office helped initiate. Bradley made the comments during a press conference on another topic in answer to a reporter’s questions.

‘Not Consulted’

Bradley said his appointees to the 11-member board--Charles Dunning and Larry Gonzalez--were not informed of any plans for a lawsuit.

Swanson said that the RTD board on Nov. 10 authorized the filing of a lawsuit if necessary and that she decided to do so after speaking with eight of the 11 board members. Contrary to Bradley’s statement, Swanson said, she alerted Dunning and Gonzalez.

“At this point, the RTD had no choice but to file a lawsuit,” Swanson said. “It was a matter of desperation because we have had absolutely no indication that there is an interest or a desire on the part of the commission to resolve the issue of Proposition A dollars.”

Among the board members Swanson did not notify was Charles Storing.

“This thing sure caught me flatfooted,” Storing said. “How the hell is someone going to negotiate with you if you’re suing them?”

The district carries about 1.4 million boarders a day, and such a massive cutback would leave hundreds of thousands of transit dependent riders, particularly in minority communities, stranded.

To strengthen its case, the RTD has been leafleting its buses with English and Spanish warnings about the massive service cuts and encouraging riders to contact the county commission, which “seldom hears from bus riders.”

The leaflets also provide the phone number to Schabarum’s office.

Times staff writers Scott Harris and Kevin Roderick contributed to this story.