File Under: Unnecessary Changes

At first it seemed like a one-off mistake. The logo on a Metro bus was a little unusual. But then I saw it on a billboard.

Apparently the MTA has redesigned its logo -- spending, I would assume, thousands upon thousands of dollars (business cards, letterhead, signs, and a hefty fee to some design firm) to change its "M" logo from this:

To this:

Huh? The original "M" logo was fine! And it's easily recognizable on every bus and at every train station! So why make a slight "Cracked M" tweak? Just makes no sense to me.

But then again, this is the agency that recently named the San Fernando Valley Metro Rapidway as the "Metro Orange Line." Never mind that it's a busway, and the rest of the color-coded "lines" (Red Line, Blue Line, Green Line, Gold Line) are railways.

And never mind that the buses on the "Orange Line" will be painted red -- while other buses not on the Orange Line are painted... you guessed it. Orange.

Let the confusion begin!