4/3/04

-  MTA Bus Information

   o  Cost to ride the bus:
      -  Cash: $1.25 exact change each way
      -  Tokens: $9 for a bag of 10 tokens (1 token each way)
      -  MTA Student Pass: $8 per month (unlimited rides)

   o  How to get an MTA Student Pass

      1. Fill out an application and turn it in to the
         RUHS Attendance Office.  There is a $1 processing fee.

         I recommend doing this BEFORE school is out for the summer. 
         The pass will have to be renewed in Oct., but it only
         costs a dollar and it gives you all summer to work out
         the "bugs".  (We never got my son's bus pass last year
         until Dec. even though we started working on it in July,
         partly because we couldn't get the school signature over
         the summer and partly because MTA rejected his photo twice.)

         - Applications can be picked up at the Application
           Office or downloaded from the MTA website:
           http://www.mta.net/riding_metro/fare_info/images/StudentID_app.pdf.

         - A photo needs to be attached to the application.

           They are really picky about the photos:
           + If you use a digital photo, print it on photo paper.  Another
             Mom said her son's photo was rejected for this.
           + Make sure the photo is the right size as indicated on the form
             and make sure your child's face fills the photo.  (Our son's
             photo was rejected twice; the reason wasn't made clear until the
             2nd rejection.  I finally took one of the school photos and
             trimmed it (taking off his ears) and they liked that one.)

         - It will take about 3-4 weeks to process your pass
           (you can purchase tokens from Redondo Beach City Hall,
           Transit Department, while you wait for your pass).

      2. After you receive your bus pass in the mail (comes
         directly from MTA), go to the Redondo Beach City
         Hall, Transit Department to purchase your monthly
         sticker.
         -  You can only purchase the current months' sticker.
         -  The Transit Department will mail your monthly
            stickers if you do 2 things:
            1. Pay in advance.
            2. Provide self-addressed, stamped envelopes for
               each month.

   o  Finding out the schedule for the bus

      -  Here is a link to download the schedule for lines 215/211:
         http://www.mta.net/riding_metro/timetables/bus200.htm.
         Unfortunately, times are included only for the main
         intersections so you have to guess a little bit for the
         times at your stop.  A map is provided, but it is difficult
         to tell where the stops are.  Your best bet is to drive
         the bus route to determine stops of interest.
     
      -  There is an MTA Trip Planner that is useful for determining
         more exact times for a particular stop: http://mtaweb5.mta.net/.
         I found that entering "Diamond/Garnsey" worked well for
         identifying the school.  For identifying your stop, you
         should be able to enter an intersection near your house
         (e.g., Vail/Nelson).

      -  Take scheduled times "with a grain of salt" - they aren't all
         that accurate.