Whether you’re looking to cut back on your emissions, want to connect with your neighborhood on a deeper level, or simply can’t handle another rush hour on the 405, there are a LOTof reasons to ditch the ol’ automobile. This guide is a roadmap for living car-free in L.A.
We drive to school, we drive to work. We drive to the gym, to the beach, to grandma’s house, the grocery store. But you don’t need to ditch your car completely tomorrow in order to get the benefits of going car free.
The goal isn’t to get rid of CARS; it’s to get rid of car-DEPENDENCY. This guide is meant to make that transition a tiny bit easier with steps on how you can ease yourself into exploring alternative modes of transportation, from walking to cycling to taking the bus or train.
L.A. may be the city of the car, but it doesn’t have to be.
Whether you’re looking to cut back on your emissions, or want to connect with your neighborhood on a deeper level — or your soul simply can’t handle another rush hour on the 405 — there are a LOTof reasons to ditch the ol’ automobile.
Cities built for carless travel are safer, greener, and make transportation more efficient. They make getting around cheaper, too.
But the automobile is hardwired into L.A.’s DNA. Our city is literally built around cars — neighborhoods were leveled to make way for freeways, historic buildings were demolished to build surface parking lots.
Stimson Building, on South Spring Street and West 3rd Street, before and after it was demolished and turned into a parking lot in 1963.
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Left: Arnold Hylen. Right: Google Street View
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And it’s not just city infrastructure. We drive to school, we drive to work. We drive to the gym, to the beach, to grandma’s house, the grocery store. How do you part with something that’s so embedded in your daily routine?
How I gave up my car
Before we get into the tips and tricks, I’ll share a bit of my own car-free journey. I wasn’t born with a love for public transit — far from it.
I’m a born-and-raised Angeleno who started driving when I was 17. My first regular commute was a 45-minute slog across three freeways to get from home to high school — and I never once imagined living in L.A. without a car.
A decade or so later when the lease was up on my car in 2021, I decided I may as well try to save some cash and give the car-free life a try. We made a How To LA episode about that process, and my new commute to work, which you can check out here.
But the moral of that episode is: you don’t need to ditch your car completely, tomorrow, in order to get the benefits of going car-free.
Maybe you can’t give up your car for various reasons — that’s totally fine! It’s so expensive to live in L.A. that many people have to live far from where they work. Or maybe you love your 1995 Subaru too much to part with it. I get it.
The goal isn’t to get rid of CARS; it’s to get rid of car-DEPENDENCY. This guide is meant to make that transition a tiny bit easier.
Start small
Change is easiest when change is fun. If going cold turkey is more your speed, skip to Step 5. But if you’re like me, you’ll need a little more convincing before alternative transit in Los Angeles sounds exciting.
Step 1: Find foot-friendly destinations
Find a cafe, bar, or restaurant within walking distance of your home, and make a habit of walking there. Show it off to your friends and brag that you have such a great spot within such a quick walk. If you don’t have anything like that within say a mile of your home, make it a park or a library.
The idea is to train yourself to expect that walking can be exciting and productive. For your first goal, try to go to this spot at least two or three times per week.
A pedestrian crosses Olympic Blvd at Overland Ave as a vehicle turns through the crosswalk.
Even in areas known as food deserts like Lynwood or East L.A., at least 39% of residents live within walking distance of a grocery store.
Your closest market might be a lot closer than you think. Of course, not everyone can get around on foot or bicycle, or carry things long distance. But if you’re able to do so, take advantage! Though counterintuitive, it’s been proven to be cheaper and healthier to buy what you need the day you need it, and avoid shopping in bulk.
For your second goal, try buying what you need for dinner after work every day for a week. Breaking routines takes practice and repetition — but it helps when it tastes great and saves you money!
A map of L.A. County that shows the percentage of residents who live within walking distance of a grocery store.
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County of Los Angeles, Department of Public Works
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Ramping up the stakes
By now you’ve fallen in love with a spot that’s walking distance from your home, and you’ve bragged about it to your friends. Maybe you’re still buying your groceries every day or every other day. Nice!
It’s time to start experimenting with your routines.
Step 3: Discover new modes of transit
L.A. has a subway — a fact I’m not ashamed to say took 26 years of living here for me to internalize. We also have the third largest bus fleet in North America, and our flat, wide streets are excellent for bicycling.
Let’s be realistic: none of these are perfect. Bus service can be infrequent, the subway and light rail network has limited connectivity, and the safety of our bike lanes (where they exist) leaves a lot to be desired.
And we have have to be honest about safety concerns on LA Metro. Reports of violent crime last year increased about 14% over pre-pandemic levels. After the stabbing death of a woman at a Metro train stop in Studio City, the Metro Board of Directors declared a state of emergency to step up safety measures, including barriers for bus drivers.
All of this is unsettling and worth considering, depending on where you live, what time of day you'll be riding and your comfort level. And it's also worth framing these safety concerns within the context of the dangers posed by cars.
That all said, from my almost-daily experience riding either the train, my bike or the bus, I'd argue at least one of these alternative modes of transit is a better experience than you may expect.
Metro: Buses and trains
Just about everyone living in L.A. County lives within a 5-minute walk from a bus stop or train station. There are 101 train stations operated by LA Metro, including light rail and the subway network, with more on the horizon. There are also 120 bus routes that operate along nearly 12,000 stops throughout the county.
All services operated by LA Metro, and 26 other agencies across L.A. County, use TAP for fare payment. A $1.75 “tap” is a good deal for 2.5 hours of unlimited transfers throughout all of the services that accept it.
You can get a physical card for $2 at any train station, or you can use the TAP app on your phone. (From personal experience, the app is the easiest option.)
All busses are equipped with hydraulic ramps for wheelchairs, and subway and light rail trains have designated areas for people with disabilities on every car. Some subway stations along the D line (Purple) have frequent elevator outages, but the 720 Rapid bus line stops at all the same places and is only a few minutes slower, making it a viable alternative.
Find the bus and train stops nearest your home, and see where they lead. The Transit App is my top recommendation for finding nearby routes, but Google Maps works pretty well, too.
My colleagues and I also put together a story on how to ride the bus earlier this year.
Choose a spot along one of those routes for food or entertainment, and make an evening of it. Pro tip: if you’re planning to have some adult beverages on your night out, you don’t have to worry about drinking and driving if you’re riding the bus!
Bikes and e-bikes
Buying a bike doesn’t have to be a huge investment, and it's much cheaper than a car. I got a 1984 classic Italian bike for $300 on Ebay, and after a $50 tuneup at my local bike shop it rides great. If you’re patient, you can find something on Craigslist or other listing sites for even less.
If an electric bike is more your speed, it’s probably a lot less expensive than you may expect if you take advantage of available incentives.
You can get up to $2,000 back from the state of California if you make less than three times the federal poverty level, or about $45,000 a year.
Now that you have your bike, it’s time to learn where to ride it. This isn’t an extra step in many other cities around the world, where non-motorized travel is a higher priority. Unfortunately, in L.A., it’s not so simple.
More and more streets are starting to offer protected bike lanes. If you’re lucky enough to have a few of these in your neighborhood, nice!
If you’re like me, you’re not so lucky.
I live near 4th Street in Mid City, which is a “designated bike route.” In practice that means faded bicycle decals are painted onto the street and I share a lane with cars. This is the case for most of the bike routes near me.
Sometimes these streets feel safe enough, but not usually. I often find myself taking lower-trafficked neighborhood streets instead of the official bike route when the official route is also a major car thoroughfare, like Fountain or Vine.
This map shows all the different bike paths in L.A. County, with distinctions like “Bike Path,” “Bike Lane,” “Bike Route,” and “Bike Blvd.”
But I’d recommend just choosing the bicycle option on Google Maps, and plan to make adjustments when it asks you to take hop onto something that feels like an urban highway.
It’s easy to link up a bike route with a train route, which is how I get to Pasadena for work. It’s a little more stressful on a bus, but people do it.
Important note: Don’t forget to grab yourself a rechargeable headlight and taillight for riding at night, and definitely don’t forget a helmet.
The 217 Metro bus in front of the Hollywood/Vine Station in Hollywood.
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LAist
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Step 4: Identify your loops
This step is easier written than done, but it’s time to modify your routine. Most of our travel is recurring. To and from work, to and from the gym, or to and from a family member’s house.
Identify one of these loops and travel it via public transit, biking, or walking. Then do it again so you get comfortable with the idea.
Then do it again, and again.
Commit to the bit
By now you could lead a walking tour of your neighborhood, and you have a bike or have your TAP card on your phone. You’ve taken the bus for either work or play, and you’ve probably beat your car-driving peers to the destination at least a handful of times.
If that’s you, it might be time to take the final plunge.
Step 5: Sell your dang car
It’s finally time. The moment we’ve been building to all along. Maybe you, like the average Angeleno, have two cars in your household. Or maybe you, like me, finished the lease on your car and want to try out a bike before taking on another expensive lease.
Either way, it’s go time.
Selling your car is actually pretty easy. Apps like Carvana and CarMax give decently competitive prices, and people use Craigslist all the time. As a last resort you can probably sell your car back to your dealer, but that’s usually the least profitable option — especially if you have an end-of-lease purchase option.
(You could also donate your car to LAist to power local journalism!)
When the lease on my Honda Civic ended in 2021, I was able to sell it for about $9,000 more than the end-of-lease purchase price. After DMV fees and taxes, that meant a profit of about $7,000.
(Now that pandemic-level supply chain issues are easing, you might not be able to replicate those numbers. But experts still recommend taking advantage of end-of-lease purchases when possible.)
I purchased my bike for $300, and after a tune-up, some new handlebars, and two years of TAP card payments for my metro fare, I still have over $6,000 left over.
Add that to the savings of NOT having a car payment, not paying for gas or insurance, and I’ve saved a little over $15,000 in 18 months of living car-free.
Epilogue
Going car-free is L.A.’s greenest transit option, but that alone isn't always the strongest motivator. But it’s also great for your wallet, and studies show there’s psychological and economic benefits for people and cities.
If you’re not ready to go all the way and ditch your car for good, that’s OK! But maybe, as you and other Angelenos around you start weaving alternative modes of transit into your life, a less car congested city can become a reality for all of us.
Austin Cross
helps Angelenos make sense of news, politics, and more as host of Morning Edition, AirTalk Fridays, and The L.A. Report.
Published October 20, 2026 1:43 PM
Alex Mendham and His Orchestra perform at the Los Angeles Theatre.
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Courtesy of Art Deco Society of Los Angeles
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Topline:
Alex Mendham and His Orchestra will bring back music of the 1920s and '30s to The Biltmore Los Angeles next month, after a sold-out performance last weekend.
What’s bringing them back: Mendham tells LAist he has a theory about why people are drawn to music from a century ago: Turn on the news, and you’ll understand pretty quickly. Getting dressed up on a Saturday night, hitting the dance floor and hearing a live orchestra play songs from the '20s and '30s is about as good an escape as this city has to offer.
He proved his case ahead of his performance at the historic Biltmore Hotel last weekend. The show sold out weeks early.
How to catch them again: Mendham and his orchestra return to the Biltmore on Saturday, Nov. 7, for a reprise of the night. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the music starts at 8 p.m. Tickets start at around $44.
Shoppers browse vendors inside Un-Other Space during the first Friends & Family Flea in Koreatown on Sept. 26, 2026.
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Courtesy of Friends & Family Flea
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Topline:
Friends & Family Flea is returning to Koreatown. Organizers plan to make the flea market a monthly event in the neighborhood and offer reduced registration fees for local vendors.
Why it matters: The first market was held in September and drew more people to the space than organizers expected. Friends & Family Flea co-founder Kioh Park said more than 400 people RSVP’d but roughly 650 to 700 people attended.
The backstory: The flea grew out of Park and Byun’s experience building MAUM Market, a traveling market for Asian and Asian American makers. Park, who grew up in South Korea, first visited Los Angeles in 2016 and later moved to Koreatown, where the two met and developed their business.
Friends & Family Flea is returning to Koreatown. Organizers plan to make the flea market a monthly event in the neighborhood and offer reduced registration fees for local vendors.
The market will take place on Nov. 21 and Dec. 12 from noon to 5 p.m. at Un-Other Space at 524 S. Western Ave.
The first market was held in September and drew more people to the space than organizers expected. Friends & Family Flea co-founder Kioh Park said more than 400 people RSVP’d but roughly 650 to 700 people attended.
Some attendees told Park they lived just a few blocks away and had learned about the market through social media or The LA Local’s coverage.
The response convinced the organizers to continue.
“It was a trial, but definitely we saw the demand from the vendors and attendees,” Park said. “That’s why we want to keep pushing this.”
Organizers plan to invite back vendors from the first market while bringing in new vendors.
They plan to keep the market at Un-Other Space as vendors and attendees responded well to the indoor venue, Park said.
Attendees play Go-Stop with the LA Hwatu-Hanafuda Club at the first Friends & Family Flea in Koreatown on Sept. 26, 2026.
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Courtesy of Friends & Family Flea
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The organizers are also trying to make the market more accessible to neighborhood businesses. Vendors based in Koreatown can qualify for a reduced registration fee by providing proof of their address, such as a driver’s license or mailing address. Vendors from outside the neighborhood pay a different rate.
“Just so we can have more people who live in that neighborhood and then who do small business there join,” Park said.
The resident-rate program is part of their broader goal of building markets around individual neighborhoods, Park added.
The flea grew out of Park and Byun’s experience building MAUM Market, a traveling market for Asian and Asian American makers. Park, who grew up in South Korea, first visited Los Angeles in 2016 and later moved to Koreatown, where the two met and developed their business.
“L.A. Koreatown was really, it was really kind of a shock. It feels like a late 1980s, early 1990s, Korea vibe. So it reminds me of my childhood. And there’s a lot of mom and pop shops, so it was really an interesting experience for me,” he said.
Park said he had struggled to apply to established flea markets as a vendor because of language barriers and complicated paperwork.
“Back in the day, I didn’t speak English well, I wasn’t able to understand English well, and the process, paperwork was all very complicated,” he said.
Park said organizers plan to continue their partnership with the Koreatown Youth and Community Center, with proceeds from sales of Friends & Family Flea hats going to the nonprofit.
If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.
Kavish Harjai
writes about how people get around L.A.
Published October 20, 2026 1:23 PM
The protected bike lanes are just one part of a longer-term project to increase mobility on Fountain Avenue, including sidewalk widening.
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Courtesy City of West Hollywood
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Topline:
The West Hollywood City Council has rejected an effort that could have delayed plans to add protected bike lanes to Fountain Avenue.
The vote: The motion failed in a 3-2 vote on Monday night. It would have directed staff to evaluate an alternative plan for the road that maintained street parking but didn’t include bike lanes. West Hollywood City Councilmembers Chelsea Byers and John Erickson and Vice Mayor Danny Hang voted to reject the motion. Mayor John Heilman and City Councilmember Lauren Meister, who introduced the motion, supported the effort.
What happens next: The first phase of the project is set to begin construction before the end of the year. The plan includes reducing traffic lanes, pedestrian improvements and protected bike lanes.
The motion: Meister’s motion, which critics said came at the last minute, aimed to avoid the loss of 60% of the street’s parking as a result of the roadway changes. Meister said on Monday her motion was an attempt to weigh the approved plan against an alternative that “might accomplish the same safety objectives while preserving parking.”
Reaction to the vote: Michael Schneider is the founder and CEO of Streets for All, a transportation advocacy group that mobilized bike lane supporters before Monday’s meeting. In a text to LAist, Schneider said “common sense prevailed” and that he looks forward to construction starting.
Watch the meeting: If you’re looking to hear impassioned public comment and West Hollywood City Council members trade jabs, the Fountain Avenue item begins at around 2:06:20 in the meeting recording.
Read more: LAist previewed last night’s meeting with additional context, which you can read here.
Elly Yu
covers issues facing the youngest Angelenos and their families.
Published October 20, 2026 1:17 PM
A damaged tank at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove forced thousands of nearby residents to evacuate.
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Ethan Swope
/
AP Photo
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Topline:
An Orange County judge has approved a $125 million settlement with the company that owns a chemical tank in Garden Grove that malfunctioned earlier this year.
What’s new: The agreement sets aside up to $100 million for a claim program for residents and businesses who were forced to evacuate. Those affected can be reimbursed for expenses like hotel stays and loss of wages.
What’s next: GKN Aerospace, the company that owns the tank, said the claims program will open up as soon as possible and that it will hold a community event on Oct. 27.
The agreement between the Orange County District Attorney and GKN Aerospace sets aside up to $100 million for a claim program for residents and businesses who were forced to evacuate.
What’s covered in the claim program?
Those affected can be reimbursed for expenses like hotel stays and loss of wages. That includes:
Up to $300 a night for lodging, up to five nights
A $500 payment per household for the loss of using their home
Up to $500 per day in lost wages for hourly employees who missed work due to the evacuation, up to three working days
Up to $5,000 per day in lost profits for businesses that had to close during the evacuation
An additional $8.5 million will be used to reimburse government agencies that responded to the emergency.
The company has agreed to a safety plan, which includes new equipment and upgrades to existing equipment, and monitoring and oversight for at least the next seven years.
What’s next?
GKN says it will hold a community event on Oct. 27 so residents can learn about the claim program, though details about the event haven’t yet been released.
The company says now that the agreement has been court-approved, the claim program will open “as soon as possible.” To prepare, GKN said residents should keep receipts related to their expenses during their evacuation.
"Additional guidance on acceptable documentation will be provided when the program opens," according to a company FAQ site.
