Southern California Transit Advocates

Dana Gabbard, 1962-2022

SO.CA.TA member Dana Gabbard staffs booth at Union Station - 80th Anniversary Celebration SO.CA.TA member Dana Gabbard staffs booth at Union Station – 80th Anniversary Celebration

We at SO.CA.TA are saddened to learn of the untimely death of our member and friend, Dana Gabbard.
Dana joined SO.CA.TA in early 1994, after being recommended by another member. He quickly assumed responsibility for coordinating several activities, including the “Public and Legislative Affairs Committee Report” in our newsletter, booths at transit system openings and other public events, and transit study tours.
He will be missed.

Dana Gabbard, R.I.P.

https://la.streetsblog.org/2022/01/14/remembering-dana-gabbard-1962-2022/

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January 15, 2022
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Welcome to the SO.CA.TA webpage

The following SO.CA.TA Board members were elected at our December 13, 2020 annual  meeting:

  • President- Perias Pillay
  • Vice President- Mark Strickert
  • Treasurer- Dana Gabbard
  • Secretary- Hank Fung

Charles Hobbs continues as Newsletter Editor and Andy Novak as Archivist.

Our booth at the 80th anniversary celebration of Los Angeles Union Station on Saturday May 4, 2019 was a great success. We were mentioned in advance coverage of the event by the Los Angeles Downtown News. Richard Morallo of Metro posted a video on YouTube of the event that shows our booth at 1:37.

SB-742 regarding Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach services which we supported was signed by Governor Newsom Oct. 8, 2019.

By unanimous vote of our board we endorsed AB-917 (Bloom) which authorizes all public transit operators in California to install automated forward facing parking control devices on transit vehicles for the purposes of enforcing parking violations occurring in transit-only traffic lanes and at transit stops. The Governor signed it October 8, 2021.

We are part of the coalition endorsing the Beautiful Boulevard proposal for the Eagle Rock Boulevard portion of the North Hollywood to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit project Metro is in the early stages of implementing.

The Los Angeles Downtown News quoted Treasurer Dana Gabbard regarding proposed rail service reductions by LA Metro

Gabbard also was quoted by the VC Star on rail and Thruway bus as an option for travelling from Ventura county to LAX.

Gabbard was most recently quoted in the Railway Age article Biden Administration Sides With Labor, Throwing California Transit Grants (and Riders) Under the Bus stating, “It’s so removed from the lives of ordinary citizens getting around. All of us transit riders are being held hostage by this, and we’re not even at the table. We don’t even know where the table is. All these billions of dollars over some obscure point of federal law that was adjudicated several times.”

The NextGen Subcommittee submitted to Los Angeles Metro comments on the initial proposal and service changes proposed for December 2020 or later. We are gratified the revised NextGen proposal addressed our concerns regarding routes 79, 96 and 218.

Recently we discovered (on a flash drive) the long thought lost first and only Legislative Newsbrief done for a 2000 lobbying visit to the state capitol by three members of the group. It is an interesting peek at what were among the issues of significance then and is at this link.

UPDATED DECEMBER 8, 2021

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November 18, 2017
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