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I went to go have lunch with a friend on a Westside, coming from Burbank (20 miles), and the roundtrip took me close to 3 hours. LA is a strange place in that w

I went to go have lunch with a friend on a Westside, coming from Burbank (20 miles), and the roundtrip took me close to 3 hours. LA is a strange place in that way. The other day, I overheard someone, who is 'non-minority', tell someone else that they took public transit (bus) to work. The other person was slightly dumbfounded, wondering why anyone would subject themselves to that. I really do want to see a more bikeable Los Angeles (see link below), and I do want to see the freeways as not part of the problem in this city. http://www.williamha.com/bike-commuting-to-work-in-los-angeles/ http://www.williamha.com/bike-commuting-to-work-in-los-angel...

wcummings 11y ago
If you press people about why they don't like taking the bus, you get some interesting answers, usually containing some riff on the phrase "those people". It's pretty shitty.
- nether 11y ago
  Yeah, Angelenos are terrified of the very poor. I've taken the bus a bit in LA (both the Metro and some of the local lines in the south bay). I didn't notice any more colorful characters than I did on transit in NYC, Chicago, or SF.
- xraystyle 11y ago
  I'm not sure who you're talking to, but generally when I ask people why they don't like taking the bus the response is usually much more likely to have something to do with the fact that getting anywhere by bus in LA takes easily double the time one would spend in the car. The crowds and the lack of cleanliness on the busses are usually mentioned as well. Dirty, crowded, loud, and slow? No thanks. I've taken the bus numerous times in LA out of necessity, usually when my bike unexpectedly broke or I was just too tired to ride home, and it always sucks. I avoid it at all costs. The subways are better, but not by much. They're still insanely crowded during peak hours and not really any faster than driving when you factor in the time and effort it takes to get to and from the stations themselves. However, I'd take the subway downtown more often if it just ran later.
admyral 11y ago
The buses in LA are awful. They're subject to the same traffic commuters deal with AND also makes stops every couple blocks. The questionable cleanliness and sharing tight quarters with unsavory people is to be expected in a city that doesn't consider mass transit an viable option.
- tomjakubowski 11y ago
  The major routes have express buses which make fewer stops and carry transponders that give them priority at stoplights. The biggest of them have bus-only lanes (at least during peak hours) for part of their route too. I used to commute regularly from Palms to Downtown on Venice Boulevard on the 733 and never found getting stuck in traffic to be a major problem.

wcummings 11y ago

If you press people about why they don't like taking the bus, you get some interesting answers, usually containing some riff on the phrase "those people". It's pretty shitty.

nether 11y ago
Yeah, Angelenos are terrified of the very poor. I've taken the bus a bit in LA (both the Metro and some of the local lines in the south bay). I didn't notice any more colorful characters than I did on transit in NYC, Chicago, or SF.
xraystyle 11y ago
I'm not sure who you're talking to, but generally when I ask people why they don't like taking the bus the response is usually much more likely to have something to do with the fact that getting anywhere by bus in LA takes easily double the time one would spend in the car. The crowds and the lack of cleanliness on the busses are usually mentioned as well. Dirty, crowded, loud, and slow? No thanks. I've taken the bus numerous times in LA out of necessity, usually when my bike unexpectedly broke or I was just too tired to ride home, and it always sucks. I avoid it at all costs. The subways are better, but not by much. They're still insanely crowded during peak hours and not really any faster than driving when you factor in the time and effort it takes to get to and from the stations themselves. However, I'd take the subway downtown more often if it just ran later.

admyral 11y ago

The buses in LA are awful. They're subject to the same traffic commuters deal with AND also makes stops every couple blocks. The questionable cleanliness and sharing tight quarters with unsavory people is to be expected in a city that doesn't consider mass transit an viable option.

tomjakubowski 11y ago
The major routes have express buses which make fewer stops and carry transponders that give them priority at stoplights. The biggest of them have bus-only lanes (at least during peak hours) for part of their route too. I used to commute regularly from Palms to Downtown on Venice Boulevard on the 733 and never found getting stuck in traffic to be a major problem.