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  If you’re a fan of Metro Rapid bus service, you’ll be glad to hear that the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) recently added two new lines to serve us here in the San Fernando Valley.

  Rapids are those red buses that zip through intersections faster due in part to their priority at traffic signals. Technology on the bus communicates with the traffic signal and prolongs green signals and shortens red ones, allowing the buses to travel up to 29 percent faster.
  As part of its most recent service changes, Metro introduced Metro Rapid Line 724, which travels between the Sylmar/San Fernando Metrolink Station and the North Hollywood Metro Red/Orange Line Stations. Metro Rapid 724 parallels Metrolink train tracks on San Fernando Boulevard before turning in Sun Valley down Lankershim Boulevard to North Hollywood.  
  I find this bus service particularly useful whenever I’m running late and miss the morning train headed for Downtown L.A. Rather than wait an hour for another L.A.-bound Metrolink train, I’ll jump on the 724 to North Hollywood and take the subway into downtown. 
  This line is only good for weekday commuting between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m., so plan accordingly. You can, however, board Metro Local Bus 224 during other hours and on weekends if needed. Just remember that Metro Local 224 stops in Sylmar at the corner of Hubbard and Truman streets rather than turning directly into the Sylmar/San Fernando Station. It’s an easy walk from the Metrolink platform to the corner bus stop.
  If you’re coming from the North Hills area, there are several bus lines that will bring you to the Sylmar/San Fernando Station. They are Metro Local Lines 236 and 239, Metro Rapid 734 and Commuter Express 574. 
  The other Rapid, Line 794, travels between the Burbank Metrolink Station and Downtown LA. Like the 724, it is a weekday-only Rapid service that serves as an alternate way to get to or from work if you miss a train. Even if you don’t miss the train, this line provides access to the Burbank Media Center and connects to the Metro Red Line in Downtown L.A.
  These two Rapid Lines bring the total number of Rapid Lines operating in the Valley to six, and are a great asset for the area.
Canoga Transportation Corridor Project
  On another note, I promised to report back on the Metro Board’s decision on the agency’s Locally Preferred Alternative to extend the Valley’s Orange Line busway to Chatsworth. The board did, in fact, approve the agency’s recommendation. That means the busway would be built on agency-owned railroad right-of-way. The project now moves into its Final EIR and preliminary engineering phase. If construction is approved and funding is made available, it would take about 30 months to complete. Again, buses could be running on the alignment by 2016, or earlier if funding is made available sooner.