The Los Angeles Metro Rapid+Rail System? (Long Beach, Glendale: 2010, rent)

[gameguy56]

Is mass transit in Los Angeles usable with those two ways of getting around? Can I live car-less and not be missing much?

[Woof]

I don't know about LA in particular, but you can get around most major cities without owning a car - unless you are dating someone special. It's a little inconvenient for some locations where you may have to wait a good while for some connections, especially on weekends.

Generally speaking my plan is to take mass transit most of the time when I've lived in cities or take a taxi, and then rent a car when it's necessary.

[think.reciprocity]

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This is my question too. I've been told by some: NO WAY & OF COURSE by others. I don't know what the real deal is. I am hoping to move to LA in May - but do not want to be car dependent. I have had to go without a car for over a year now & realize how difficult it can be. I plan on getting a car - but want to live in an area where public transit can be a realistic regular option.

Any well-informed answers from any of you in the LA area - especially those who've used public transit recently?



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[greggd]

It depends on where you plan to live and work. If you are in Culver City and work in Culver City, then you can get by without a car. But, if you plan to work in the San Fernando Valley or down in Long Beach you will probably need a car.

There are buses that run straight up the major streets both N&S and E&W. It will take longer to travel but it can be done.

The reason you get the "No Ways" is because some people live 20-30 miles from work and commute every day. Others have kids they have to cart or family they see that live on the other end of the city.

I used to bike from Brentwood, down to Santa Monica, then down to Manhattan beach via the bike path several years ago. Last night it took me over 1 hour to get from Beverly Hills to Manhattan Beach. I could have done the same trip via bike in the same amount of time.

[jessemh431]

well it depends on where in LA you live. if you live in santa monica/beverly hills/westwood area, you have bad public transportation. if you live in downtown LA, long beach, pasadena, burbank, glendale, northridge, or other nice places along the metro path, you'll be fine. every line meets in downtown so that is the best place to live a car free lifestyle. but remember, LA is not big on rail, we are extremely heavily based on public bus transportation. currently we have a metro extending from downtown LA that should go all the way to culver city and maybe even to the beach. a heavy rail is planned to go underground under the Wilshire Corridor(a whole downtown area just along one street for miles). LA is a very new city so it hasn't had much time to develop. currently though, our public transpo is getting much better. it mainly just depends on where you live though.

[Sorcerer68]

Best places to live for a car free lifestyle:
Hollywood
Downtown
Los Feliz (near the Red Line)
Studio City (if near Ventura Blvd)
North Hollywood/NoHo (If near Red Line/Orange Line)
Pasadena, particularly around Old Pas (as long as you don't need speedy travel late at night)
...and any other communities in the path of the Gold Line i.e. Highland Park, Mt Washington, South Pasadena.
Long Beach (has blue line and even free buses)
Glendale has great local bus service and the Metrolink stops there.

Main bus corridor in the valley is Ventura Blvd. Live near it and you can go anywhere. The terminus of the Red Line is in North Hollywood. This train will take you into downtown. From my closest Red Line stop, I can get to the valley in 10 minutes and downtown in 13. It's actually quicker than taking my car.

I take PT by choice. I also have a car. I live in PT central so going anywhere near my neighborhood toward Downtown or anywhere in a 5 mile radius is easy. I have to go to Pasadena a lot for business which is a 35 minute drive or a 42 minute PT ride. Non locals have a strange need to traverse the entire L.A. Metro area frequently which is about equal to driving halfway across a state where some of them come from. There's no need to do this. There's also no need to live a gargantuan distance from work. Pick your residence wisely and work nearby or make sure both are near one of the main transportation corridors. Great resource is mta.net

If I'm going to any of the suburbs or the South Bay, Palos Verdes, Beverly Hills (except along Wilshire which has tons of buses), Bel Air...I drop the top on my little convertible and drive.

[JesusisLord]

Los Angeles has finally become dependent on light rail, with the Gold Line East Los Angeles Rail Extension in 2009 and the Exposition Line Phase 1 to Culver City in 2010, funding and construction is underway for both projects! The 7th street downtown connector will become an issue for rail projects, because not all of them meet at this location, therefore lessening the ability to switch rail lines. There are many projects for light rail in Los Angeles County, but most of them are very costly. Go to Metro's Website and It will Explain the Different Light Rail Lines and Upcoming Projects. But, public officials are finally realizing public transportation needs need to be severly met due to worsening rush hour commutes.

[frenchy7]

Part of the problem is defining what you mean by "LA". The city limits are of no help and the metro area is just too big. Taking public transit can go from doable to literally impossible. I would say stay in central Los Angeles. One difficulty is the metro system. The other counties in southern california have one unified transit system for the entire county. Not LA county. The MTA operates the Metro system through most of central LA. However, most of the geographic area of Los Angeles county is served by zillions of small municipal lines, making everything super uncoordinated and slow.

Operations-wise, there are a few concerns. One is that the LA area is all designed as a suburb, with the hierarchy of streets. This may mean long (maybe impossible) walks to and from the bus stop if it's not on the major artery. Also, most all LA buses are what they call "local". This means that, even though they traverse a linear route, they stop at nearly every block along the way. This makes going anywhere painfully slow. Also take into account the weather. 79 degrees and sunny may seem nice, but not when you're standing on the street corner in heavy traffic, with no shade, for an hour.

The thing with the LA region is that it's very spread out and decentralized. People travel from anywhere to anywhere, and travel long distances very frequently. Just because you live (and maybe work) in one area doesn't mean you won't have to go somewhere else. For example, you may live in Koreatown, but the Ikea is in Burbank. The transit system just isn't conductive to that kind of travel.

I think the only way to survive in LA without a car is if you spend over 90 percent of your time in the central areas - from downtown, through hollywood and koreatown, and to west la. That area is very dense, city like, with frequent transit service. Go outside of these areas and you stand to face a whole lot of misery.

[fastfilm]

Here's an actual link
metro.net | Transit Services and Information for Los Angeles County

What's a tad confusing is that every system is called Metro-something, even if it's not the few actual train lines. Except for these few train arteries and a half dozen through-way buses, count on the normal bus lines taking from twice to thrice the amount of time it would take to drive to any location, even given our wretched congestion.

Every intelligent person who's not disabled and plans on remaining here saves to purchase a car, since its usage really is a mandate of living in Los Angeles.

[think.reciprocity]

Originally Posted by frenchy7

Part of the problem is defining what you mean by "LA". The city limits are of no help and the metro area is just too big. Taking public transit can go from doable to literally impossible. I would say stay in central Los Angeles. One difficulty is the metro system. The other counties in southern california have one unified transit system for the entire county. Not LA county. The MTA operates the Metro system through most of central LA. However, most of the geographic area of Los Angeles county is served by zillions of small municipal lines, making everything super uncoordinated and slow.

Operations-wise, there are a few concerns. One is that the LA area is all designed as a suburb, with the hierarchy of streets. This may mean long (maybe impossible) walks to and from the bus stop if it's not on the major artery. Also, most all LA buses are what they call "local". This means that, even though they traverse a linear route, they stop at nearly every block along the way. This makes going anywhere painfully slow. Also take into account the weather. 79 degrees and sunny may seem nice, but not when you're standing on the street corner in heavy traffic, with no shade, for an hour.

The thing with the LA region is that it's very spread out and decentralized. People travel from anywhere to anywhere, and travel long distances very frequently. Just because you live (and maybe work) in one area doesn't mean you won't have to go somewhere else. For example, you may live in Koreatown, but the Ikea is in Burbank. The transit system just isn't conductive to that kind of travel.

I think the only way to survive in LA without a car is if you spend over 90 percent of your time in the central areas - from downtown, through hollywood and koreatown, and to west la. That area is very dense, city like, with frequent transit service. Go outside of these areas and you stand to face a whole lot of misery.

It's all so confusing for me - and I have been studying & studying to try & figure it all out. I live in the Twin Cities Metro area now. Within the city of Minneapolis - nearly all areas of Minneapolis are readily accessible by bus - you can take a bus from one end of Minneapolis all the way to the other - no problem. It may take a good long while - but you can do it - and folks do - regularly.

I find that the suburban buses are what are wretched - I now live in the NW metro area & feel like I have stepped into the dark ages of transit. At times it takes me 2 1/2 hours to get the 13 miles into the city - at other times there simply are not any buses available.

I have every intention & desire to have a car before moving to LA - but, given the course of unfortunate events in my life in recent years - I know to plan for the worst case scenario & hope for the best. I want to live within the Culver City vicinity - in close proximity for travel to my church around Buckingham Pkwy & Slauson. I know that, even if I have a car, I will not want to have long commutes to the places I will go on a regular basis.

I find the whole transit system in LA nuts. I can't even clearly determine what the average bus fare would be because there are all these "maybe's" about everything. Or at least how it seems. I qualify for disability bus fare - I think that is 35 cents for the Culver City bus - but then there is the transfer for within the Culver City line & there's a transfer for other Metro lines & then... I just don't get it.

Here, a disabled person (depending upon what verification they have) pays 50 cents for a pass that lasts 2 1/2 hours - as many buses as you'd like to ride. If you take an express or certain other circumstances that usually effect travel further out of the city & into the suburbs - there can be additional fees. A full fare "off-peak" (not during morning or afternoon rush hours) is $1.50 ($2.00 during rush). Express fee is an additional 50 cents & some areas require an additional 50 cents on top of that. Where I live the fare can be as much as $2.75. But, in my mind, it's such a simple system - the fares & the bus lines (even those that are owned & operated by other companies - they coordinate with our main Metro Transit & accept their transfers) - seems like a small child could figure it out.

Los Angeles? I just can't figure out how y'all's (boy is that bad English) system can be so antiquated - I had thought ours was terrible. I would love to be able to bus it from Culver City area (all over) to Santa Monica, Venice, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Griffith Park, etc. If the worst happens (not having a car at any point) - I'd like to feel like I can get around as needed & not feel stranded in my house - like I am now.

Any extra insight would be great!

Thanks for all the help y'all are offering us...


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