Metro/MTA Docs - Main Page - Red Light Cameras

If you haven't already done so, please read the Metro section on the Camera Towns page

LA Metro / MTA Documents

Big Refund in Watts? - See Set # 8, Below

Two reasons it may be possible for you to completely ignore your Metro ticket!

1. The LA County Superior Court does not report ignored red light camera tickets to the DMV. More info is in "Countywide Information," which is Docs Set # 2 on the LA County Documents page.

2. If your "ticket" does not have the Superior Court's name and address on it, it is a fake ticket (also called a Snitch Ticket) mailed out by Metro in an attempt to bluff you into identifying the driver.
For more details about Snitch Tickets, see the Snitch Ticket section at the top of the Your Ticket page

Yes, this is the webpage with a LOT of info about tickets from the red light cameras sited near Metro's busways and light rail lines in LA County.

But first, here is a political announcement important for anyone who drives a car ....

In 2022, Vote No on Sheila Kuehl

Do you live in LA County? Was Zev Yaroslavsky your County Supervisor? (Until Nov. 2014, he represented the Third District, which includes the central and western San Fernando Valley, Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice, Beverly Hills, the City of West Hollywood, and part of Hollywood.)

Zev "termed out," and in the Nov. 2014 election, Sheila Kuehl won the race to succeed him, by a narrow margin.

Sheila Kuehl authored 3
speed camera bills

Sheila "Kuehl Cams" Kuehl, in 2007

During her career in the California Legislature, Kuehl made three attempts to pass bills to allow the use of automated speed enforcement (photo radar) in California.

As an LA County Supervisor, she has a seat on the MTA/Metro board and she will be a vote to continue and expand Metro's huge (101 cameras, so far) red light camera system.
Kuehl has allowed the MTA to loot her own constituents via ultra heavy ticketing by MTA cameras along Canoga Avenue in Canoga Park. (See Set # 2 and Set # 6, below.)

In 2016 she voted to put an additional LA County-wide sales tax, to go to Metro, on the Nov. 2016 ballot - and it passed. (See Measure M on the Action/Legis page, for more about that tax.)

Kuehl may be up for re-election in Nov. 2022.

End of Political Announcements

Here's Some Special Situations

1. Did they mail your ticket within 11 calendar days of the date of the violation? If it took even one day longer than that, have a look at Defect # 8, on the Home page.

2. If your ticket is for a right turn from northbound Canoga Avenue, please be sure to read Set # 6 below, and contact me.

3. If your ticket is from Century/Grandee, please be sure to read Set # 8 below, and contact me.

About Metro/MTA

Metro, also known as the MTA, and formally titled the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority, operates bus, subway, and light rail public transit in Los Angeles County. Metro has red light cameras at road crossings along its Orange Line busway in the San Fernando Valley, along the Eastside Gold Line light rail in East LA, along the Blue Line light rail which runs north-south between downtown LA and Long Beach, and along the Expo Line light rail which runs out to West LA and Santa Monica.

Most of Metro's tickets are signed by the County Sheriff, and most tickets are prosecuted by the LA City Attorney. The signals at the busway intersections are usually maintained by the city in which the intersection is located.

If you are doing a Public Records Act request for Metro records, the request should be sent to Metro's Records Management Department, at (213) 922-2342, fax (213) 922-2389, rmc (at) metro.net. Metro's main number is (213) 922-2000. However, if you are doing a Public Records Act request for details about the signal lights (signal timing chart, maintenance records) at or near a busway intersection located in the City of Los Angeles, your request should go to the City's Department of Transportation, at: City of Los Angeles, Department of Transportation, 100 S. Main St., 10th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90012, (213) 972-8470.
If you are filing for Discovery, file it with the Los Angeles City Attorney if "your" intersection is in the City of LA. For tickets filed at the Van Nuys courthouse, the address for the LA City Attorney would be: Office of the City Attorney, 6262 Van Nuys Blvd., Suite 160, Van Nuys, CA 91401 Phone (818) 374-3300.
If "your" intersection is in an unincorporated area not in the City of LA, your Discovery request should go to the LA County District Attorney, and your Public Records Request for details about the signal lights should go to the LA County Public Works Department.

Be sure to read the "Countywide Information," which is Docs Set # 2 on the LA County Documents page.

To contact the sheriff who handles the Metro tickets, phone the Traffic Violations Bureau (operated by Conduent) at (877) 786-7234.

In early 2012 the MTA sponsored a bill in Sacramento to require LA County judges to issue bench warrants to motorists who do not reply to their MTA/Metro camera tickets. After strong opposition, the bill failed to move ahead.
It could come back in a later year, so please phone your legislators and ask them to stop any new edition of AB 2147. More info about the bill is in the "Whom to Believe?" section on highwayrobbery.net's LA County Documents page and in Set # 5, below.

Docs Set # 1
Long Late Times: Lighted Limit Lines, Simulated Gates
New 10-9-07

Graph by highwayrobbery.net

At least one Orange Line camera detects an unusual proportion of very long Late Times. I believe that these long Late Times occur because the busway intersections are unusually complex, with several having two or three sets of traffic signals in rapid succession. The graph above is from a 2007 comparison of red light camera ticket Late Times at Balboa / busway to Late Times at two large but relatively conventional intersections in other cities (Hawthorne and Los Alamitos).

A file containing the raw Late Time data is here.

This is the intersection of Reseda Blvd. and the busway. It has three signals in a 250-foot span. For a larger copy of this photo, click here.

In 2009 and 2010 Metro and the Los Angeles Dept. of Transportation (LADOT) conducted an experiment, adding in-pavement red LED lights to the limit lines at two of Metro's red light camera-enforced intersections - one on the Orange Line busway, and the other on the Blue Line light rail. An Apr. 2011 Interim Report showed inconclusive results: An average 17% decrease in the number of red light camera violations at the test intersections, compared with an average 20% decrease at the control intersections. (The 2010 Executive Summary available in Set # 2 below includes graphs of the monthly numbers of violations at those test intersections.)

Lighted Limit Line LEDs, from Interim Report

In Dec. 2009 the Metro Board directed staff to install quadrant gates at 24 intersections along the Gold Line Eastside Extension. In May 2011 Metro conducted a two-week experiment along the 3rd Street portion of the Extension, adding lighted "no turn" signs, bells, and an all-red signal phase to simulate the effect of gates.
Metro Fact Sheet
Metro Press Release
More Info from Metro (Click on "Quadrant Gates")
Virtual Video of Gold Line Extension Route

Docs Set # 2
Ticket Counts, Metro's Revenue - and Possible Refunds

New 2-17-14, updated 3-28-20

Click: Ticket Count Table - for All of Metro's 100+ Cameras

Ticketing Highlights

In calendar year 2019, Orange Line ticketing was up 45% over 2018. (Compared to 2017, the 2019 Orange Line ticketing was 264% higher.) The very heavy ticketing by the seven no-right-turn cameras where the Orange Line parallels Canoga Avenue (see Set # 6, below) was up 18% over 2018 and was 27% of the total ticketing (60,789) from all of Metro's 100+ cameras. That systemwide total was 33% higher than it was in 2018. (Compared to 2017, the 2019 systemwide ticketing was 151% higher.)

In 2019, the ticketing by Gold line cameras was up, with four cameras up more than 100% over 2018 and seven other cameras up more than 50% over 2018.
If your ticket was at a location where ticketing has recently jumped up, and you think that the intersection is confusing or dangerous, please contact me.

The possible refund: See Set # 8, below.

To see the data for those and all other MTA/Metro cameras, click on the link for the Ticket Count Table, above.

The big Metro Ticket Count Table is maintained by highwayrobbery.net, using official reports obtained from MTA/Metro under the California Public Records Act.
The official source documents are available here:

Blue Line:
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014*
2015, to June*
2015, to July*
2015, Aug. to Dec.*
Jan. 2016
Feb. 2016
Mar. & Apr. 2016
May 2016
June 2016
July 2016
Aug. 2016
Sept. 2016
Oct. 2016
Nov. 2016
Dec. 2016
Jan. 2017
Jan. 2017 (new format)
Feb. 2017
Mar. 2017
Apr. 2017
May 2017
June 2017
July 2017
Aug. 2017
Sept. 2017
Oct. 2017
Nov. 2017
Dec. 2017
Jan. 2018
Feb. 2018
Mar. 2018
Apr. 2018
May 2018
July 2018
To Sept. 2018
To Oct. 2018
To Nov. 2018
To Dec. 2018
To Dec. 2019
To Feb. 2020

Expo Line:
2012
2013
2014*
2015, to June*
2015, to July*
2015, Aug. to Dec.*
Jan. 2016
Feb. 2016
Mar. & Apr. 2016
May 2016
June 2016
July 2016
Aug. 2016
Sept. 2016
Oct. 2016
Nov. 2016
Dec. 2016
Jan. 2017
Feb. 2017
Mar. 2017
Apr. 2017
May 2017
June 2017
July 2017
Aug. 2017
Sept. 2017
Oct. 2017
Nov. 2017
Dec. 2017
Jan. 2018
Feb. 2018
Mar. 2018
Apr. 2018
May 2018
July 2018
To Sept. 2018
To Oct. 2018
To Nov. 2018
To Dec. 2018
To Dec. 2019
To Feb. 2020

Gold Line:
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014*
2015, to June*
2015, to July*
2015, Aug. to Dec.*
Jan. 2016
Feb. 2016
Mar. & Apr. 2016
May 2016
June 2016
July 2016
Aug. 2016
Sept. 2016
Oct. 2016
Nov. 2016
Dec. 2016
Jan. 2017
Feb. 2017
Mar. 2017
Apr. 2017
May 2017
June 2017
July 2017
Aug. 2017
Sept. 2017
Oct. 2017
Nov. 2017
Dec. 2017
Jan. 2018
Feb. 2018
Mar. 2018
Apr. 2018
May 2018
July 2018
To Sept. 2018
To Oct. 2018
To Nov. 2018
To Dec. 2018
To Dec. 2019
To Feb. 2020

Orange Line:
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014*
2015, to June*
2015, to July
2015, Aug. to Dec.*
2016, Jan. & Feb.
Mar. & Apr. 2016
May 2016
June 2016
July 2016
Aug. 2016
Sept. 2016
Oct. 2016
Nov. 2016
Dec. 2016
Jan. 2017**
Feb. 2017**
Mar. 2017**
Apr. 2017**
May 2017**
June 2017**
July 2017**
Aug. 2017**
Sept. 2017**
Oct. 2017**
Nov. 2017**
Dec. 2017**
Jan. 2018**
Feb. 2018**
Mar. 2018**
Apr. 2018**
May 2018**
June & July 2018**
To Sept. 2018
To Oct. 2018
To Nov. 2018
To Dec. 2018
To Dec. 2019
To Feb. 2020

Systemwide Executive Summary:
2009
2010 with Supplemental Metrics (pg 4)
2010 Monthly Totals
2011
2011 Monthly Totals
2012
2013
2014*
2015, to June
July 2015 to July 2018: Executive Summary Not Available from Metro
Aug. & Sept. 2018 Including Systemwide Totals
To Oct. 2018
To Nov. 2018
To Dec. 2018
To Dec. 2019
To Feb. 2020

*Until Feb. 2015 Metro was not able to produce reports for July 2014 or later, and until Feb. 2016 Metro was not able to produce reports for July 2015 or later.
**In early 2017 Metro switched to a new format for its official ticketing reports. Those early 2017 (and up-to-May 2018) reports showed that 28 Orange Line cameras were generating a lot of warnings but no citations. In Summer 2018 Metro again switched the format and the resulting official reports (received in Sept. 2018), which re-stated the figures for Jan. - May 2018, showed numerous "citations" generated by the 28 cameras for which the older reports had shown no citations issued, only warnings. Thus it is possible that the "citation" figures in the June 2018 and onward reports may include warning notices.

Metro agreed to pay way too much. In March 2014 the City of Elk Grove approved a new contract which specified the following schedule of rents for their five cameras.

Docs Set # 5
Bench Warrants for Ignored MTA/Metro Tickets?
No, an Amnesty!

It has been reported that staff in the office of a local councilman, and a reporter for one of the local daily newspapers, have been advising callers and readers that tickets from the red light cameras near the MTA/Metro busways and light rail cannot be ignored - the suggestion being that MTA/Metro tickets are in some way superior to the camera tickets issued by the other agencies and cities in the County - which can be ignored.
The best indicator that their advice is not correct is that in 2012 the MTA asked a state legislator to sponsor a bill which would have required the Court to issue bench warrants on ignored MTA/Metro tickets.
MTA's official reports of the percentage of tickets paid (available on the MTA Docs page) show why they are so concerned.
As of Dec. 2007, 75% of the (year-old) Orange Line tickets issued in Dec. 2006 had been paid, while
as of Dec. 2013 only 21% of the tickets issued in Dec. 2012 had been paid.
Article
MTA Staff Report Discussing the Bill

The 2012 bill did not pass, but then in the 2014 session there was a new bill which could have been amended to require warrants. Had it passed (it did not), it would have gone into effect on Jan. 1, 2015.

In late 2014 a new effort began to start a pilot program to give the courts a greater incentive to pursue the collection of fines. That too failed, and was replaced by amnesty programs.

Amnesty

The latest amnesty program started Oct. 1, 2015 and ran until Mar. 31, 2017. For more information, see Amnesty in the Site Index.

Docs Set # 6
The Trap in Canoga Park

The seven "no right turn on red" cameras installed along Canoga Avenue in Canoga Park (Metro's Orange Line busway runs parallel to Canoga Avenue with a lateral separation of just 50 - 100 feet) have been generating a high proportion of all the tickets in Metro's 100+ camera system.

In an early effort to stop those thousands of people from making those dangerous right turns across the busway, Metro installed Blank Out signs which light up when a bus is nearby. They flash this image, supposedly of a bus.

At first glance Metro's sign might be mistaken for Clyde, the ghost from PacMan.

In addition to that potential for misidentification, the BUS/PacMan sign presents these other problems.

1. It is an unapproved sign (not listed in CalTrans' MUTCD), thus exposes Metro and the City of LA to liability in the event of an accident.
2. The BUS/PacMan signs depend upon the motorist's understanding of an English word.
3. The BUS/PacMan sign fails to tell the driver what to do, or not to do. A first-time visitor to the area who does not know about the Busway - or that it is nearby - will not know what to do when he first sees the BUS/PacMan sign. What if, in his haste to obey the (brightly and rapidly flashing) sign, he assumes that he is obligated to clear the roadway for an emergency vehicle, and swings a right turn to get off the main road and out of the way?

The BUS/PacMan signs have been ineffective against right turns on red. Ticketing by the seven no-right-turn cameras on Canoga Avenue reached an all-time high in 2019 and was 27% of the total ticketing from all of Metro's 100+ cameras. (The official reports of the number of tickets issued are available in Set # 2, above.) Metro should change the faces of the present BUS signs to display the universal graphic for "no right turn."

Metro has installed a number of the "no right turn" Blank Out signs along the Expo Line, in West LA.

Sign at Expo Line and Farmdale

Click for Pictures of More Signs along the Expo Line

The effect of changing the Blank Out signs along Canoga Avenue to display the "no right turn" graphic would be immediate - a halving, or more, of violations - and it would be quantifiable by the month following the change.

Over the years Highwayrobbery.net wrote to Metro a number of times suggesting that the face of the electric signs along Canoga Avenue be changed. In response, in 2015 Metro asked an engineering firm, which was studying how to improve bus speeds along the Orange Line, to also take a look at the sign issue. Here is the engineer's discussion of the electric signs.

From page 39 (or page 43 of the pdf) of the final report.

2016: More Signs, Fewer Tickets - for a While

In early June 2016 LADOT installed large No Right Turn On Red signs (not electric) along Canoga Avenue, and the figures for June and July (see the spreadsheet linked in Set # 2, above) showed a big drop in ticketing.
But in August, ticketing was back up.

In 2014, trees were allowed to cover the Photo Enforced warning signs along Canoga Avenue. Photo Page

If your ticket was at a location where ticketing has recently jumped up, and you think that the intersection is dangerous, confusing, or just a ticket trap, please contact me.

Docs Set # 7

Mickey Mouse Tickets - Mostly Turns

Metro never filed the official annual report s required by CVC21455.5(i), for calendar years 2013, 2014 and 2015. Finally, in May 2018 they filed reports for calendar years 2016 and 2017. Per those reports, in 2016 90% of the tickets were for turns, while in 2017 56% were for turns - a huge change.
(The figures from the 2016 and 2017 official annual reports have been entered into Table 2 of highwayrobbery.net's Ticket Count Table, which is at the link given in Docs Set # 2, above.)

On May 11, 2018 we wrote to them.
"Earlier today I received the 2016 and 2017 red light camera annual
reports I requested previously, and those reports show an almost
fourfold increase in straight through violations in 2017 while my estimates, published
online in the spreadsheet on my website, show a decrease due to the
inactivity of some cameras in the Valley. Would you please ask your vendor to
check their figures?"
There was no reply so on July 21 we sent Metro a public records request for the source documents.
"In May you sent me two annual reports which included totals of red
light camera tickets by movement (left, right, straight). This request is for the
source document(s) Metro staff or vendor staff used to compute the totals
by movement published in those annual reports."
On Sept. 17 Metro replied:
"We do not have an automatic report that generates the citations by movement so
this report has to be pulled together manually. The database is not available to the public
since it contains personal citation information."

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