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Mass transit is only a feasible option when the city has been designed around it or has evolved around it for a long time. Specifically, you need both high den

Mass transit is only a feasible option when the city has been designed around it or has evolved around it for a long time. Specifically, you need both high density commercial and residential spaces where you can place transit hubs, and those spaces need to be laid out so that routes between them are fairly direct. You also need transit vehicles to come at very regular intervals (no more than ~5 minutes, and preferably ~2 minutes). Ideally, you would also have a lot of low cost rental vehicles such as bikeshares or micro-cabs that could be used for the last mile to a destination commercial space. If you have to drive a car to a transit hub, wait 10-15 minutes for a vehicle, transfer multiple times (with wait times for each), then walk more than ~5 blocks to your final destination it becomes a shitshow. Los Angeles is a perfect example of this.

thebradbain 8y ago
I actually live in LA, without a car. It’s perfectly feasible, and actually pretty convenient (and a lot of the times, yes, even faster than dealing with car traffic!), if you live in an area walking distance to a frequent transit stop (admittedly not everywhere, but definitely okay coverage, and it’s only expanding). LA being antithetical to transit is... really a stereotype. The entire city (and even much of the county) is built along the old streetcar lines and the red car network (the largest streetcar system in the world back in the 30s!), which existed until the 60s. It’s a city built for transit and a city where transit is being heavily invested in again — because only relying upon cars turned out to be a failed experiment. As a fun tidbit of things to come: By the 2028 Olympics, LA is hoping to have completed a metro line connecting the Valley to the Westside via the Sepulveda Pass within 12 minutes — a journey which takes the average driver during rush-hour 55-65 minutes to complete on an ever-expanding Highway. Once it’s finished, it’s projected to be the busiest single rail line in the US, surpassing any in New York City even.
- CuriouslyC 8y ago
  I also lived in LA for quite a while about 10 years ago, and for certain routes (like venice/sm -> downtown) it wasn't that bad. Unfortunately if I wanted to get anywhere outside the major hotspots, that involved the aforementioned walk half mile to bus stop/10-15 minute wait/take bus in traffic/get off and walk several blocks to next stop/wait 10-15 minutes/take bus in traffic/walk to destination loop. I highly suggest getting a motorcycle - I was able to cut some trips that took almost 2 hours down to about 30 minutes and parking was always easy because you can park end in between cars.

thebradbain 8y ago

I actually live in LA, without a car. It’s perfectly feasible, and actually pretty convenient (and a lot of the times, yes, even faster than dealing with car traffic!), if you live in an area walking distance to a frequent transit stop (admittedly not everywhere, but definitely okay coverage, and it’s only expanding). LA being antithetical to transit is... really a stereotype. The entire city (and even much of the county) is built along the old streetcar lines and the red car network (the largest streetcar system in the world back in the 30s!), which existed until the 60s. It’s a city built for transit and a city where transit is being heavily invested in again — because only relying upon cars turned out to be a failed experiment. As a fun tidbit of things to come: By the 2028 Olympics, LA is hoping to have completed a metro line connecting the Valley to the Westside via the Sepulveda Pass within 12 minutes — a journey which takes the average driver during rush-hour 55-65 minutes to complete on an ever-expanding Highway. Once it’s finished, it’s projected to be the busiest single rail line in the US, surpassing any in New York City even.

CuriouslyC 8y ago
I also lived in LA for quite a while about 10 years ago, and for certain routes (like venice/sm -> downtown) it wasn't that bad. Unfortunately if I wanted to get anywhere outside the major hotspots, that involved the aforementioned walk half mile to bus stop/10-15 minute wait/take bus in traffic/get off and walk several blocks to next stop/wait 10-15 minutes/take bus in traffic/walk to destination loop. I highly suggest getting a motorcycle - I was able to cut some trips that took almost 2 hours down to about 30 minutes and parking was always easy because you can park end in between cars.