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From Boyle Heights To The Beach: We Pitted Metro's New E Line Against A Car
The How To LA crew at the finish line in Santa Monica.
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Brian De Los Santos
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LAist
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Boyle Heights To The Beach: Is The New Train Faster Than a Car?
One caveat: We didn't do it during rush hour. But we still learned a lot.
It's the weekend! Maybe you want to try a new way of getting around town? Metro’s new regional connector opened two weeks ago and it's making it easier for people to travel from Azusa to Long Beach and East Los Angeles to Santa Monica without transferring.
The How to LA podcast team checked out the ride on opening day, June 16. But to spice things up, we did a test. We wanted to know which experience would be better: riding the metro or driving.
So, we split up into two teams and held a race from Mariachi Plaza to Santa Monica Pier. One team would use the newly-constructed E line, and the other would drive down the 10 Freeway.
Here are How to LA’s three biggest takeaways from the experience.
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People wait to ride the new Metro regional connector in Little Tokyo on Friday, June 16, 2023.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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Metro more consistent
How to LA’s “Team Car” trip took half the time of the Metro’s ride — with just a 30-minute journey.
Both teams departed from Mariachi Plaza, riding the metro’s new E-line and driving west on the 10 Freeway towards Santa Monica.
But, the race was heavily skewed towards Team Car from the get-go.
The How To L.A. team prepares to race to Santa Monica.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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By 1 p.m., traffic had cooled significantly from peak commute hours. This advantage allowed Team Car to keep a steady cruising speed with sparse braking for all 18 miles of the journey.
However, as all Angelenos know, traffic here can be unpredictable. According to Google Maps, at all operating hours (approximately 4:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.), the journey could be a 1 hour and 8-minute affair.
Compared to the possibility of a 1 hour and 30-minute drive during peak hours on the 10, the long train ride might just be the shorter journey (we might just have to do a rematch during rush hour).
Plus, the ride on the metro is hands-free. So, instead of spending an hour staring at the bumper of a Honda Civic, on the metro, you can catch up with work, read a book, or scroll through your socials.
It was a very chill experience.
People really like trains
Did you know there’s a name for train enthusiasts? Yes, really. They call themselves “ foamers .” Well, apparently some dislike the term, but the folks we met embraced it.
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The How to LA team met some of these “foamers” lining up at the new station in Little Tokyo to ride the regional connector for the first time. When the stations first opened at noon on June 16, a line of 40 to 50 people spanned the station. “A lot of foamers are probably here,” Alice told us as she waited in line at the Little Tokyo station. “I feel just for a lot of people, it's gonna make the city a lot easier to get across.”
“I’ve been waiting like three years for this,” said Maya, Alice’s friend and one of the many enthusiasts.
How To L.A. host Brian De Los Santos interviews a metro rider on the opening day of the regional connector.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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“I feel just for a lot of people, it's gonna make the city a lot easier to get across.”
The connector brings L.A. a total of three new stations : Grand Avenue in Bunker Hill, 2nd Street at Broadway and Little Tokyo and the Arts District. And these new stations serve as attractions themselves. For example, the Bunker Hill station features a three-story art piece by Taiwanese-American artist Pearl C. Hsiung.
A mural celebrating Little Tokyo near the new Little Tokyo/Arts District Metro station.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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Metro tap app
How to LA’s host Brian De Los Santos felt as though he was awakened to a whole new world riding the metro. For him, the L.A. Metro’s recent improvements made the experience a major upgrade from his previous experiences as a homegrown Angeleno.
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Transit rider Kwan Luu points to a map at L.A. Metro's new Little Tokyo/Arts District station, one of three new stations that are part of the regional connector in downtown.
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Frank Stoltze/LAist
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Among those additions is the TAP L.A. app . Now, riders can pay for their ride, map their trip, and check departure and arrival times all in one app.
The app released to the public in 2021. To be transparent, it's not free of flaws. Users have complained that, at times, the app crashes and makes it an unreliable option. But despite the mixed reviews, the added convenience of a one-in-all app, coupled with the new ease and peace of mind of a ride on the metro, makes it all worth it.
So, here’s How to LA’s advice: Give the metro regional connector a ride, and judge for yourself.
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
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