LAist: Conquering Fear One Bus Trip at a Time

guest

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 21:51:56 -0800

my life is so much better since losing the car. my quality of life is just better. i have my complaints like everyone, but most of the time i love being carless. -nate

sinatrasiren

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:36:04 -0800

I actually took the bus for a good portion of the time I lived in LA. Most of the time it was from Hollywood to Century City and back where I definitely preferred it to driving that route!(Can you say just sitting in your car in traffic on Santa Monica Blvd for an hour?) I really like your point about doing something you are afraid of. I've heard that even varying your commute a little bit every couple of days will keep you happier with a more positive outlook.

LA Bus Girl

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 11:20:22 -0800

The amount of reading I get done on the bus/train is amazing. Plus it's a great time to sort of just think... And if that's not your thing, you can always talk to a new person. It's great, dude.

guest

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 10:23:03 -0800

i agree with both the post and the comment. maybe you add a few minutes to a journey, but the reward is greater for many reasons both selfish and unselfish. it sounds weird to say, but i really enjoy experiencing people and situations that i don't normally coming across in my daily routine. older catholic passengers crossing themselves as we pass churches is fascinating to me. in simple ways, riding metro can open up your field of vision in the city.

fredcamino

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 09:12:19 -0800

Nice job Zach. Appreciate stories like that. Mostly, I'm glad you enjoyed it and it worked out for you! In the end, my advocacy of such a lifestyle really has nothing to do with politics, environmentalism, guilt, or any such things... it's really more selfish than that: I just find it a lot more enjoyable than driving. I find myself much happier after such a trip, and not in a pious holier-than-thou way, but because I didn't have to search for parking, because I got to do some reading, because I wasn't getting aggravated with traffic, because I got a little exercise, etc.