LAist: The Los Angeles Public Transit Lifestyle™: 10 Ways To Embrace It

guest

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 20:22:59 -0800

i meant my last post as a reply to #21, not #17

guest

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 20:22:00 -0800

#17: "i meant Manhattan. obviously you need a car in the other 4 boroughs" Going back to New York, I manage very easily in the Bronx without a car, just transfering between bus and subway, same thing in Brooklyn.

guest

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 00:56:40 -0800

well said, guest 45.

guest

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 06:51:24 -0800

Sorry, people, but I'll stand next to guest #29 and #30 (and Malingering as well). You DON'T improve mass transit service by spending your hard-earned bucks on something that sucks. If you want better mass transit you folks have got to start screaming at your legislators and local pols in huge numbers, because the funding DOESN'T come from ridership. I lived in New York (suburban but spent enough time in Manhattan to have an opinion) for 27 years, so I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of mass transit. Assuming that everyone can just ditch their cars and their current jobs to be closer to a transit hub is the height of arrogance. And stating over and over again that people should pay good money for shitty service is just so Microsoft. Bill S.

Malingering

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 23:24:39 -0800

I lived on the East Coast for 5 years without a car. I loved it. Never had a problem. Only wished I had a car when I had to move something big or felt the urge to take a road trip. Then I moved back to LA. I rode the bus to work for 2 years: It works if you have a lot of spare time as it takes forfuckingever; I started developing neck and back pain from carrying my laptop and papers and extra shoes around (as I had to walk about a mile each way) and ended up spending over $1000 in physical therapy; The buses come so infrequently and/or get so crowded about once a week I would be late to work no matter how early I left; I couldn't sit and read or do the things I wanted to on the bus because I would be shoved against the wall squished against sweaty, smelly jackasses who didn't seem to bathe (btw, Angeleno, even the White people fucking reek when the AC doesn't work, which is most of the time) plus I showed up to work and smelled like shit; I would get enraged at the idiots who scream into their cell phones for the entire ride to outdo the noise of the engine; and once I was egged by a random bunch of jackasses while walking to the bus stop. As in they threw eggs at my head. And hit me. It also renders certain things practically impossible, like going from work to the gym to a nice dinner because you have a busy schedule and there's no time to stop off at home. Well, unless you are fine with dragging around a suitcase all day to carry your clothes changes and you have a safe place at work to store the aforementioned luggage. And then I got a new job in a neighborhood where I found it would take over 3 hours EACH WAY on the bus (or a 30 minute drive) and where it wasn't exactly safe to sit outside in the dark waiting for a bus that came once every 32 minutes (though a very nice man did offer me his crack pipe at one point) and gave up on this bus thing. Working 12 hours + 6 hours on the bus = no sleep. If you don't mind those things, then yes, it's great. But calling people fools, sheep or superficial minority haters because they can't handle the public transit system the way the godly Metro riders can is just narrow-minded and naive. If you're going to do it, good luck and more power to you. I really hope you don't work long hours and live in a place where despite being a very populated area of Los Angeles, taking a bus to the market would involve hauling your groceries for a mile. But don't turn into some public transit snob and then name-call the people who don't do it. It's quite possible they have their reasons.

guest

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 12:08:44 -0800

Zach: you throw in a good point. the bus is probably more realistic as a public transit tool than the subway, at least for right now. Also, to Militant: nobody ever said anything about minorities or beautiful people.

Militant Angeleno

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 11:35:36 -0800

The choice is up to you fools. Transit will not get better unless more people use it. That is the bottom line. If you don't want to ride the bus or train just because you don't want to look at minorities and just wanna see all the (fake) "beautiful people" you so aspire to be like, then the Militant suggests you move back to where you came from.

Militant Angeleno

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 11:32:33 -0800

Thank you, Wad. People like to use absolutism as a lame way to get out of this argument. The Militant has a car and use it when it is necessary, but also doesn't use it when it is not necessarry, and most of you fools are sheep -- creatures of habit. Besides, everybody knows that only a Sith deals in absolutes.

Zach Behrens

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 02:13:30 -0800

#39. What about taking the bus? :)

guest

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 01:28:18 -0800

if you don't live anywhere near a subway station...how can you be expected to use public transportation? not everyone lives in Downtown or Hollywood, you know.

guest

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 01:26:17 -0800

to Militant: if someone moved to LA from a city with arguably better public transit...why wouldn't they diss our system? it just seems like the Metro rail only services East LA, the Valley, Hollywood, and Long Beach - and like somebody said earlier, why shouldn't it go to West LA or Santa Monica?

Wad

Sat, 28 Jul 2007 15:11:49 -0800

To #30: If you wish to use public transportation in L.A., we're here to help. A car does not have to be an all or nothing proposition. Actors have to go to odd sites at odd hours on short notice, and sometimes a car may be required. But, if you get a car don't be compelled to have to drive even to the market a half mile from your place. Los Angeles has a very good public transportation network. By very good, it means that the service grid is comprehensive and goes nearly everywhere most people go. We only have four rail lines and a busway people are supposed to pretend is rail, but it is the buses that are the real workhorses of our system. There are many lines that run every 15 minutes or better - during off-peak hours. During rush hours, they run more frequently. In order to help you navigate around the system better, consult Metro maps. Here is the Los Angeles County system map. It shows all Metro routes, as well as routes of municipal carriers. In the top right corner is a table of service frequencies. If choosing a place to live, narrow it down to an area with several bus lines that have high frequencies. http://www.mta.net/riding_metro/riders_guide/system_map.pdf This "12-minute map" shows the highest frequency bus routes. This map was created to show which routes you can use simply by waiting at the stop and not having to consult a schedule. http://www.metro.net/riding_metro/12minute/12min_map_eng.pdf All Metro buses and trains also allow bikes. If you are a bike rider, you can effectively get by on transit and bike without a car. Should you still need a car, consider getting a car only when you need it. Flexcar is a car sharing service. You pay an annual membership fee, and you call it up when you need a car. Fees are by the hour, and include everything (car, gas, insurance, the works). See http://www.flexcar.com . The best traditional car rental service, should you need one, is Enterprise. It operates hundreds of neighborhood locations, and the employees are friendly to a fault and would do almost anything for your business. An economy car starts at $25 a day, but you have to fill the car up before returning it and insurance is $10-$20 a day extra. See http://www.enterprise.com . You might save some money by buying a rental car insurance policy if you have to rent cars frequently. If you need any more help, ask the friendly folks at http://metrorider.elhay.net for any other help we can give.

Militant Angeleno

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 14:57:49 -0800

The Militant also believe there should be a car-ownership quota, and any new person coming here must get on a waiting list to get granted the privilege (The State of CA considers driving a privilege, not a right) of car ownership. If you already live here and own a car, no problem for you. But for anyone else coming here, get in line. Adding/expanding freeways as a method of curing traffic congestion is akin to solving a cocaine addiction by using a wider straw.

Militant Angeleno

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 14:52:19 -0800

If you come to Los Angeles from a city with better public transportation, diss Los Angeles' system without even trying it out, and get a car without any thought into it, THEN YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM.

guest

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 22:50:41 -0800

i agree completely with #32. there are so few places that are "near a transit hub" that this whole idea is seriously laughable.

qwerty

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 19:59:28 -0800

#30 asks: "Is my notion of being an actor in LA without a car realistic?" The short answer is no.

guest

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:20:58 -0800

These suggestions are all well and good for single people with lots of time and no children to concern themselves with. "Move near a transit hub" Yeah, right. There are no areas in LA near a transit hub where I would be willing for my kids to go to school. Long Beach? No thanks. NoHo? Um, no. Hollywood? Yikes. If I were single it would be great! But with school aged kids, I can't just up and move to someplace based on the transit system. And how exactly is someone supposed to do grocery shopping for a family of 5 using public transport? Go to the store every day? Most people have more important things to do with their time than hit the grocery store daily. How about the kids' afterschool activities? Busy parents often need to drop one child off at soccer practice, then take another to swim lessons, then back to soccer to pick one up, and then home. That's NOT going to work with public transportation. Weekend home improvement projects? How exactly should someone get 6 bags of wood chips and 12 flats of pansies home to finish a garden project while taking the bus? Gonna need a car for that. Sorry, but using public transportation is not feasible for many people. Especially those with homes, children and less free wheeling lives.

guest

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 14:15:12 -0800

no one has said it better than #29. kudos to you, #29! and thus, #30: the answer is probably to get a car, especially if you're just coming out of New York. you'll get here and be like, wow they call this public transit?

guest

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 11:07:07 -0800

I'm moving to SoCal this autumn, and will be sans car. Initially, I'll be staying in Santa Ana and commuting to LA, until I find a place. The two are connected via metrolink, but my big worry is this: I'm an actor. How feasible is it to get around on the buses in LA, when I might have several places to go in a day? I'm coming from 9 years in New York and 2 in San Francisco, and I am so comfortable on public transportation that I really don't want to give it up. Is my notion of being an actor in LA without a car realistic?

guest

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 09:58:10 -0800

I used to bike to work, so I am all for public transportation (and manual trasportation, apparently) but ditching your car only works if you have no responsibilities. Those of us with kids or a preexisting job are going to find it nearly impossible to ditch a car. Living near a transit hub only works if you have a job near a transit hub. Some of already have jobs. Good jobs. Jobs that not only provide wages but satisfaction. Jobs that are not near a transit hub. There is one guy at work who uses public transportation, but he also keeps a sleeping bag at work and smells like shit all the time. Also, I now drive my kids to daycare before heading out to work. OK, so you will say, take a stroller. I *do* go on stroller walks, with 2 small children in tow, to pick up small amounts of groceries, but dragging a laden stroller into a bus is crap. I've done it, and I will NEVER do it again. Until the public transportation system is better, most people will not be able to follow your "sage" advice. Occasionally take public transport to something? Sure, even with kids. Ditch your car? Not going to happen.

LA Bus Girl

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 08:32:57 -0800

guest 25: maybe because there are a lot of people in claremont, shitty public transit, and metro's a county agency? give some love to rest of the county, please, thank you.

fredcamino

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 01:27:10 -0800

Hey Guest#25, don't get caught up in the "geography" excuse... London is actually 100 square miles larger than Los Angeles, and has one of the best urban transit systems in the world. I wrote about in in this article on MetroRiderLA last September.

calwatch

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 21:47:45 -0800

Manhattan is not even one fifth of the NYC population, though. I am sure more than a million people in the city of Los Angeles have access to reasonable public transit and can live without a car if they wanted to (Downtown, NE Los Angeles, South Central, the Westside, and the central part of the Valley).

guest

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 20:56:44 -0800

2025? that's one helluva long time! i don't know why they'd build a line all the way out to Claremont before they build lines WITHIN Los Angeles itself first. make it easier to get from West LA to the Valley, or West LA to Downtown, or West LA to Hollywood, or West LA to anywhere really. all we have here on the Westside is our bus system. LA is just too spread out and large for a transit system to flourish like it does in Manhattan or Chicago.

guest

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 16:36:27 -0800

"I don't think LA will ever be like New York or Chicago or DC, where you can live practically ANYWHERE in the city and be able to get by without a car." To argue with your first point, the MetroRail system is STILL IN THE PROCESS OF EXPANDING. In three years it'll be the third largest system in the USA after New York and Chicago. The Gold Line to East LA is coming, definitely. The Expo Line to Culver City is coming, definitely. It looks somewhat likely that we'll also have the Purple Line to Santa Monica and the Gold Line to Claremont by 2020 or 2025. Beyond that, who knows? Will we get our Green Line extension to LAX? Maybe. But those four projects alone will bring the system up to over 125 miles of track, and that will make us proud owners of a decent transit system, bigger than all but two other cities in the USA.

tykeCjohnson

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 15:10:37 -0800

guest #18, you should also look into Flexcar for your absolutely necessary car needs, other than that tho, congrads!! going car free is probably the best thing i've ever done.

guest

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 09:32:48 -0800

also, going along with the above comment: when you say "the city" in relation to New York, it means Manhattan, even though the 5 boroughs are all technically New York City.

guest

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 09:30:24 -0800

to #17: i meant Manhattan. obviously you need a car in the other 4 boroughs.

guest

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 08:36:07 -0800

#18: "My employer subsidizes Metrolink tickets to the tune of $100 a month as part of a State of California ride share program, so I buy a monthly Metrolink ticket ($178) for $78." What's the State of California ride share program? I thought some companies just had benefits packages that included Metro passes and the like. Is your company tapping into something I don't know about?

LA Bus Girl

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 07:56:04 -0800

The best part about taking the bus/train is that you meet random and awesome people. I once met a former Broadway dancer who was teaching at Cal State LA on the bus.

guest

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 05:06:42 -0800

A lame but true testimonial: I moved to Los Angeles about two years from the middle of the country to take a job in Claremont. Knowing that LA and Claremont are connected by MetroLink, I decided to live in Los Angeles and commute. To make the experiment more interesting, I sold my car upon moving to LA. I sought out an apartment near a Metro Stop (red line is my line), searching in North Hollywood, Hollywood, Echo Park, and eventually landed atop a beautiful hill in MacArthur Park. I purposefully omitted Pasadena, though when the gold line is extended to Claremont in years to come, the option will be even more viable. My employer subsidizes Metrolink tickets to the tune of $100 a month as part of a State of California ride share program, so I buy a monthly Metrolink ticket ($178) for $78. Metrolink tickets give you full access to Metro transit options. So for $78 a month, I have full access to the transit options of LA and San Bernadino counties. Living where I do, I have easy access to Rapid buses to Venice and Santa Monica (though buses make me car sick). My groceries come from local markets and, because I buy what I what I can carry, my materialism and wasteful habits have abated, and I eat better than I ever. I walk enough to feel like a European and I have so much time to read, it's amazing. On the work commute alone, I have read seven books this summer. IPods are also nice. Admittedly, there are some challenges. Sometimes you need to take a taxi or ride a bike or or rent a car or have a friend meet you somewhere. But it is also wonderful to be completely exempt from the hassles of SoCal driving.

Militant Angeleno

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 02:42:42 -0800

"I don't think LA will ever be like New York or Chicago or DC, where you can live practically ANYWHERE in the city and be able to get by without a car." Er, you DO need a car if you live in Staten Island or a great deal of Queens. All the people I know who live there do.

calwatch

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 22:58:42 -0800

Quite frankly, I do support public transit but the car free lifestyle not for me. I'm with Sandra Bullock on this one. However, we should encourage people to use transit though, and the more we can eliminate the stigma of using transit, the better. Just don't guilt trip me into riding Metrolink to work (I have a ten trip ticket that I use occasionally but unfortunately I don't wake earlier than absolutely necessary and so I drive into work).

guest

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 21:53:53 -0800

the key to why LA is not a mass transit-friendly city is exactly what people have been saying in their comments, and what some bloggers on LAist have even admitted in their posts: to be able to live without a car in LA you have to live in some neighborhood that is near both mass transit stations and near all the usual necessities, like grocery stores and the like. I don't think LA will ever be like New York or Chicago or DC, where you can live practically ANYWHERE in the city and be able to get by without a car.

guest

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 21:43:01 -0800

Get it while it's good and poison-y.

fredcamino

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 20:52:10 -0800

You want sum Kool Aid Guest #12??

guest

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 20:32:47 -0800

This is starting to sound like a cult.

fredcamino

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 20:22:24 -0800

Hey Guest #10, good luck to you. Like I've said throughout the day, going car-free in L.A. is challenge, but it is also entirely possible. Hopefully, if you move to a transit accessible neighborhood, you can be lucky enough to land a job near a transit hub as well, if not, you may have to try your hand at a bus ride... sometimes it can work, sometimes the distances and traffic make it unbearable. It's up to you to face up to the challenges and decide your threshold of pain and pleasure. For me, driving is such a painful experience, and transit is so pleasant, that even the worst transit experiences I've had still beat some of the "better" driving experiences I've had in this city. Let's hope it's the same for you. Keep reading MetroRiderLA and keep us up to date with your story.

guest

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 19:55:46 -0800

great post! thanks so much!! As I posted in one of greenlagirl's guest editor posts, I'll be graduating college soon and looking for where to live around LA. I'm very hopeful to adapt to a (mostly) car-free lifestyle, and this gives me so much hope!! (especially because i have tried my hand many many times on the buses, without much efficiency, but am seeing now that the subways might be really efficient for me if i live in the right place). again- thank you thank you!

guest

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 19:40:08 -0800

huh?

Militant Angeleno

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 18:53:36 -0800

The Militant does a hand gesture at #7 consisting of the thumb of one hand rubbing against the other 4 fingers.

guest

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 18:42:02 -0800

i think more people would use a mass transit system if there was a rail line that went from West LA to the Valley, like from Venice/Santa Monica/Culver City out to Sherman Oaks. Maybe it would help alleviate the 405 North traffic between 4-7 pm.

fredcamino

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 18:14:25 -0800

LOL @ Militant. It doesn't get much whiter than those two.

Militant Angeleno

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 18:05:31 -0800

BTW, the Bus Riders Union would LOVE to use that photo for some of their propaganda...

Militant Angeleno

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 17:46:30 -0800

As a native who has ridden on the local buses sence age 12 (back when Metro was the RTD (Rough, Tough and Dirty/Real Tardy Drivers), the buses of today are WAY cleaner, smoother and nicer than back in the day. Never again would I ride a bus with a faux-woodpanel "cockroach brown" interior (that goes for the seats too), making it a perfect camouflaged environment for the said insect. Never again would I get the "bus massage" (the vibration of the motor coupled with the real awful suspension system hitting every dip and pothole, coupled with rattling interior panels). Plus, these days the buses all have bike racks, they talk and got those coolio LCD screens showing Transit TV...

Farstucker621

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 17:46:02 -0800

"Add Transit Access To Your Invites, E-Vites, Bulletin Posts, Etc" Now thats a GREAT idea! Originally I'm from New York and they never really had stuff like that for resturants and venues, but you're pretty much forced into public tranist (not a bad thing). But I think both cities could benefit from that. All it takes in an extra line on the directions page of you website.

fredcamino

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 17:26:36 -0800

Nice tip Will, good for the moderate transit user. I love the Pass because it's so simple, and still relatively affordable for all the transit you get and the hassle you save. We're all anxiously awaiting the wide release of Metro's Universal Fare Cards, or TAP, which should (in theory) make things easier for everyone.

guest

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 17:05:28 -0800

The monthly pass is an awesomely efficient thing but for those such as myself who do not masstransit enough for that to pay, let's not forget the lowly token: quick and simple and best of all they don't expire. Before this last rate hike you could get a bag of 10 for a discounted $11 (or $1.10 each), but now they've upped the price to $12.50, the full base fare. I always keep a couple on me wherever I go. If I were smart and had a few extra hundies to throw around before the increase I'd've bought a couple dozen bags' worth... or I should at least do that some time before the next base fare increase. -Will Campbell