Chatsworth Residents Celebrate, Laud the New Orange Line Extension

What a difference four miles can make. 

County officials and San Fernando Valley residents spent Friday and Saturday celebrating the newly-completed Orange Line busway extension, a four-mile stretch from the Canoga Orange Line station to the Chatsworth train depot. 

Among the weekend festivities in Chatsworth were a children's petting zoo, a number of raffles, and of course, .

Kids enjoyed the company of horses, alpacas, and lamb, and adults took their choice of several booths and food trucks. 

Most noticeably, however, was the buzz surrounding the new Orange Line bus route.

The new busway aims to play a large role in easing Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley traffic by offering an alternate form of transportation, as well as .

"Hopefully it will just help takes some cars off of the road," said Chatsworth resident Thomas Clay. "It's only four miles, but I know a lot of people ride this thing, to work or wherever they may be going. If they keep extending the routes, that means more people will choose to ride the bus and not drive."

According to Metro, the Orange Line was predicted to transport nearly 8,000 people a day. However, closer to 26,670 rode the Orange Line on a daily basis in May.

The number of daily riders currently fluctuates between 25,000 and 27,000.

"The [bus] would just be swamped for most of the day," said Clay, who works in North Hollywood. "It became a hassle, quite frankly."

By 2020, Metro anticipates 9,000 daily riders on the newly opened bus route.

"The extension provides a reach in the north-south direction by about four miles, and the great thing is that at Chatsworth, we connect to Metrolink and Amtrak trains, which provides a reach to the Valley and L.A. County, possibly the country," said project manager Hitesh Patel.

One of those Metrolink frequenters, Northridge's Sabrina Ramirez, commented that her trek to and from downtown Los Angeles will become significantly more convenient as a result of the Orange Line extension.

"I didn't really dread work, I dreaded the bus," said a giggling Ramirez, commenting on the crowded buses. "I think this will ease the amount of people a bit."

Jacob Tilly, who also commutes to central Los Angeles for work, shared Ramirez's relief. 

"I think this is a testament to the state and our local leaders, for serving the people when they needed it," Tilly said. "This extension will make a world of difference for a lot of commuters."

"The north-south run, even though it's only four miles, it crosses a number of major streets," Patel explained. "So, we can pick up more passengers and our passengers will have more flexibility." 

Andre Dell is a resident of Northridge who, upon hearing of the new Orange Line, decided to give the bus a go. 

"I've never been a bus type of guy," said 19-year-old Dell. "But I just wanted to give it a try seeing as how it was free today. I have a lot of friends that take the Orange Line."

Dell said that the bus was "not as bad as I expected."

"I like cars and the bus is something I don't really have patience for," Dell said. "But I can definitely see how this is convenient for a lot of people. If gas keeps going up, maybe I will turn into a bus guy."

The weekend's festivities will continue into Sunday, where free bus rides will once again be offered. 

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