I wonder if Metro has thought about using bi-articulated buses (80 feet long with two trailers) on the Orange Line. That could allow them to increase capacity without the cost of hiring extra drivers to "pod" buses.
I know that there's a law that doesn't allow buses longer than 60 feet on California streets (Metro had to get an exemption to do trials on a 65 foot bus) but these buses run almost entirely on a private busway road. The only exception is the loop the buses make from the Canoga station to the stop at Warner Center... that's about two miles in mixed traffic.
It seems with some mitigation... it could be a good way to increase capacity.