CALTRANS-SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT 1974 STRIKE IMPACT STUDY

From August 12 until October 18, 1974, the Los Angeles area public transportation system was operationally shut down by a labor strike. The SCRTD system regularly operates some 1869 buses, serving about 650,000 daily riders, over a 2000 square mile area within the Los Angeles Basin. Although Los Angeles is correctly characterized as an auto oriented urban area, with mass transit carrying only 2 to 3% of weekday person trips, there were apparent impacts--on traffic congestion, on mobility, and on commerce. Nine strike-impact areas were evaluated, including effects on business, on auto traffic and occupancy rates, on unemployment and welfare benefits attributable to the strike, and various other resultant conditions.