Former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg and Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn sparred Wednesday over who should be blamed for the city's traffic problems, which consistently rank as the worst in the nation.

Hertzberg, who is running for mayor, used a morning drive-time radio talk show to announce a 10-point transportation plan dubbed the "Commuters' Bill of Rights." He also said that Hahn was "asleep at the switch" for missing numerous Metropolitan Transportation Authority board meetings.

Hahn's campaign spokeswoman, Julie Wong, quickly fired back in an e-mail to Hertzberg's campaign headquarters. "We are sending you a Los Angeles Commuters' Bill for $850,000,000 of taxpayer money that has been and is being diverted from our transportation needs to pay for the budget mess you left in Sacramento," it read.

Hertzberg, who represented the San Fernando Valley for six years, left office at the end of 2002 because of term limits.

The Hertzberg campaign sent the bill for $850 million in lost transportation funds back to Hahn. "It's pathetic hypocrisy," Szabo said.

Hahn campaign consultant Kam Kuwata replied: "It's the typical Sacramento flimflam."

On KABC-AM (790), Hertz- berg told listeners he wanted to end road construction during rush hours. "What brain-dead idiot does anything like this?" he asked. He also said he wanted to cut the number of trucks on the road during commute times.