Ken Ruben, a long-time mass transportation advocate and former Culver City resident, died on March 12.
Ruben, 72, lived in Culver City for several years and was a frequent attendee at transportation meeting at Metro. After suffering a stroke earlier this year, he had been in failing health ever since, friends say. He was buried on March 15 in the City of Commerce.
On his Twitter feed, @Kentransrail, Ruben often posted transportation news and headlines from Los Angeles as well as throughout the nation. He described himself as a “lifetime rail and transit fan.”
Ken Alpern, a colleague of Ruben’s who is also an advocate for light rail and mass transportation, recalled his friend’s unwavering support for the Expo Line to come to Culver City even when others in the city were skeptical.
“Ken was a sweet man and who certainly was one of those who carried the enthusiasm of the Expo Line forward, particularly to the Culver City world where it was not without a considerable amount of controversy and legal hurdles, all virtually now gone because of grade separation and growing support for the line,” said Alpern, a Mar Vita resident and the co-chair of the Transit Coalition. “He played a small part in the now-virtually-forgotten challenges of getting the Expo Line to and through Culver City.
“Let’s hope that the powers that be who are fashioning a Measure ‘R-2 keep in mind the letter ‘R’ as in ‘realistic’ and ‘relevant’ and ‘Ruben.’ The issues of affordable housing and jobs, as well as mobility and transit, were fundamental in the life of the late Ken Ruben,” Alpern added. “Goodbye, Ken—‘my namesake,’ as you so often referred to me.”
Measure R2 is a countywide proposed transportation tax for 2016 that would fund transportation projects, among them light rail initiatives.
Metro officials also paid their respects to Ruben.
“Ken was a lifelong friend of rail transportation, and put his heart into rail advocacy for the whole L.A. region,” said Metro spokesman David Sotero. “He was a kind and gentle person who diligently kept his finger on the pulse of Metro for many years. He will be sorely missed.”