Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Los Angeles Tops List of Cities For Carless Residents
Photo by hercwad via the LAist Featured Photos pool
()
A surprising survey shows that Los Angeles tops the list of areas offering public transportation to its carless residents, trumping even New York.
The Brookings Institution compared the 100 largest U.S. metro areas for the number of households with no cars and no access to transit. It then ranked them based on how effectively its public transit system gets residents to work.
The report's author Adie Tomer told the Huffington Posthe wasn't surprised by the findings, despite the stereotype that Los Angeles is the capital of car culture.
"The reality is, it's also really good transit culture too when it comes to the ability to get on a bus," Tomer said.
Support for LAist comes from
However, the stereotype that even Angelenos opting for public transit will have to spend hours of everyday in gridlock is borne out by the report: only 36 percent of carless residents can reach work under 90 minutes.
But how did Los Angeles manage to beat out New York for the title of the city that best serves carless drivers? That looks like a statistical trick than a definitive win for Los Angeles' public transit system.
After all, the survey shows that there are many times more New Yorkers than Angelenos that completely forgo owning a car. The survey estimates there are 355,457 carless residents in Los Angeles, compared to 2,065,904 in New York.
On top of that, the margin between the two cities is very close. The survey shows Los Angeles' transit system reaches 99.1 percent of its carless, while New York's reaches 98.7 percent.
To be clear, the survey didn't focus on a game of coastal one-upmanship (although, btw, San Francisco was ranked third). The survey focused most of its analysis on metropolitan areas in the South and Southwest that do the poorest job of connecting workers to public transit.
We might have gridlock, but in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix and St. Louis, many residents can't even get on a bus.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The critical findings are part of long-awaited after-action report was released Thursday. It contains recommendations for increasing emergency staffing and updating old systems. -
Diving has changed, mountain biking has been added. Here's where to watch the Olympics in person in 2028. -
'A Great Day in the Stoke' is a free, daylong event in Orange County billed as 'the largest gathering of Black surfers in history.' The fourth annual festival is set for Saturday in Huntington Beach. -
Kimmel returned less than a week after ABC suspended his show over comments he made about the assassination of right wing activist Charlie Kirk. -
Southern California might see some light rain tonight into Wednesday morning. After that, cooler weather is on the way, but expect the humidity to remain. -
A gate tax at Disney? It's a possibility.
Best of LAist