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How Angelenos Are Getting Around (The New And The 'No Duh')
A new survey by USC Dornsife has a number of surprising and not-so-surprising findings about our transportation habits.
The just-released Mobility Report finds that — wait for it — the personal car is still king. The study shows that 33% of L.A. residents rely solely on a personal vehicle, while only 2% rely solely on public transportation.
Public transit is still the most common substitute – the bus more so than the Metro – but people report being concerned about safety and convenience (read: cost, long wait times and a lack of nearby stops).
USC Dornsife psychology professor Wendy Wood says the survey results affirm that the city's transportation crisis can be best addressed "adding some friction to make it more difficult to drive."
The report is based on a survey of 1,400 Los Angeles County residents.
Here are some of the more interesting takeaways:
- Ride-hailing (think Uber and Lyft) is used with the highest frequency by lower-income residents as a complement to public transit.
- E-scooters were ranked among the least frequently used forms of transportation. It might feel like there's a Bird and Lime parked on every corner, but 94% of residents say they've never used one.
- Personal cars are involved in more traffic accidents and collisions by far than any other mode of transportation.
- Harassment and assault are reportedly happening more often to people walking than riding the bus or Metro (and much more often to women).
- Nearly half our residents are missing out on social or leisure activities because of transportation problems (commute times were too long or people didn't have access to affordable transportation).
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