IS the LA subway system up the to point where I can go anywhere to the city with it? (Huntington Beach: rental car, rental)

[calipoppy]

We love our cars way too much in LA to EVER have a comprehensive public transportation system.

And frankly, we don't understand people who keep asking about it, either. I mean, I hop in the car to drive to my gym which really is walking distance. The last time I used public transportation I think I was about 15(and that was ONLY because I wasn't old enough to drive yet)

My cousin has two cars, just in case one is in the shop (and she isn't the only Angeleno who does this)

Public transportation in LA is for children, people who for whatever reason physically can not drive, the extremely poor and/or the extremely eldery.

[CESpeed]

Originally Posted by calipoppy

We love our cars way too much in LA to EVER have a comprehensive public transportation system.

And frankly, we don't understand people who keep asking about it, either. I mean, I hop in the car to drive to my gym which really is walking distance. The last time I used public transportation I think I was about 15(and that was ONLY because I wasn't old enough to drive yet)

My cousin has two cars, just in case one is in the shop (and she isn't the only Angeleno who does this)

Public transportation in LA is for children, people who for whatever reason physically can not drive, the extremely poor and/or the extremely eldery.

Finally!! Someone who gets it!

[SolanoSt]

Did we really expect something else? If we really wanted better bus service we would have been fine with the old RTD and stick to it, but the point of the MTA is to build rail. In order to build rail you need public support and lobbying for federal money. Unfortunately the janitors, maids, busboys and other minimum wage workers don't do that very well and the MTA is quite greedy for money, just look at the headquarters next to Union Station built for 500 million.

In an ideal world improving bus service is a given but since that is a huge money loser for the MTA anything they do is just lip service, and if it weren't for BLU it would be a lot worse.

So in the real world building rail is of course cool and sexy and they get to boast it will improve traffic and of course the real kicker is the new demographic added which is is the white collar money in MTA pockets. Obviously one doesn't really have to read between the lines to figure out what they would prefer to build, maybe someday after a fair amount of rail has been built bus service could serve it's true purpose to feed the rail networks from small neighborhoods.

Originally Posted by CESpeed

This will still not cover L.A. It would only service white collar workers from the Valley and West L.A to downtown LA so they don't have to drive into Downtown. In the meantime, the janitors, maids, busboys and other minimum wage workers will be tuck with substandard bus service because all of MTA's focus is on the rail system.

[LASam]

Originally Posted by calipoppy

We love our cars way too much in LA to EVER have a comprehensive public transportation system.

And frankly, we don't understand people who keep asking about it, either. I mean, I hop in the car to drive to my gym which really is walking distance. The last time I used public transportation I think I was about 15(and that was ONLY because I wasn't old enough to drive yet)

My cousin has two cars, just in case one is in the shop (and she isn't the only Angeleno who does this)

Public transportation in LA is for children, people who for whatever reason physically can not drive, the extremely poor and/or the extremely eldery.

I find it ironic that you are defining the people who use public transit in LA, and you haven't used it yourself since you were 15. How do you know what kind of people use it? I've used it, and I don't fit any of your categories. When I use LA public transit, I see plenty of college/young professionals using it. The subway is packed with people going to Kings and Laker games. Maybe the problem with LA is that a lot of people don't understand public transit, like yourself, but think they have it all figured out.

[the one]

exactly LA Sam!!!
i know plenty of people who work with me just off the red line or purple (whatever) and they come on the train to work. they do this because they hate getting stuck in traffic coming down from the valley or out from the OC. some of them do the metro link/metro rail. and metro link aint cheap either. others do the park and ride jig. a lot of people who do not fit in your cute lil categories ride the rails.
while a lot of lower income individuals use rails, so do many other types of people. its not like in frisco, but its not like you think either. and with the rising gas prices i will be riding the bus more pretty soon. i have a car that i am able to drive, i am not a child or elderly, i have a home so im not poor, just broke most of the time. there are plenty of people who take the rails because of convenience. or in my case to not pay out the ear for gas. also, once more lines get added (in the next 15 years i hope) more and more people will ride the rails. its only a matter of time.
i have the patience, do you? even the patience for a 1 hour + bus commute. i still get to make dinner. help the kids with the school work, visit with friends. im fine. life is good. and i cant wait for the east LA line to be up and ruinning. the situation will only get better.

[nickdahammer]

Originally Posted by Dangerous-Boy

I want to visit LA one day to if it exists and not just on TV and movies like Heat, collateral, and the shield.

I like using the public transportation. It saves me a hassle of using a car since I hate driving.

So i was wondering how could well the LA subway is. Does compare to nyc or is more like philly's?

Just got back from Boston and used the 'T' pretty extensively, as well as commuter rail. It is much more entrenched and extensive, though the trains don't run any later than ours, which I found kinda strange.

Anyhow:

We have Metrolink (commuter rail) and an urban rail system that will get you to Hollywood, Chinatown, downtown Long Beach, Pasadena, Koreatown, Universal City/Studios, Union Station/Olvera Street, Disney Hall, the Music Center, Staples, L.A. Live (all downtown Los Angeles).

I doesn't compare to the East Coast systems, but it can get you to alot of places in a short time. I haven't taken the bus for years so I can't comment on that.

[nickdahammer]

Originally Posted by CESpeed

This will still not cover L.A. It would only service white collar workers from the Valley and West L.A to downtown LA so they don't have to drive into Downtown. In the meantime, the janitors, maids, busboys and other minimum wage workers will be tuck with substandard bus service because all of MTA's focus is on the rail system.

Janitors, maids, busboys, construction workers will take Expo to work, either to downtown or to the Westside. The Expo route covers a huge cross-section Angelenos. Those jobs exist City-wide, Expo will serve them as well.

It will be much like the Blue Line, which to my mind, has the most diverse ridership I have ever seen, and that includes trains I rode in London, Istanbul and Boston.

[CESpeed]

You have obviously never driven down Wilshire at midnight and seen the high number of people busboys, janitors, waiting for the bus. You've never been there waiting for bus that passed you up (at 11:00) because there are not enough buses because they are building the rails. Do you know how cold it is that late at night? I'm sure the low wage workers are very grateful that MTA is building a rail system that will allow East Coast transplants to continue to use public transportation.

[calipoppy]

Originally Posted by LASam

I find it ironic that you are defining the people who use public transit in LA, and you haven't used it yourself since you were 15. How do you know what kind of people use it? I've used it, and I don't fit any of your categories. When I use LA public transit, I see plenty of college/young professionals using it. The subway is packed with people going to Kings and Laker games. Maybe the problem with LA is that a lot of people don't understand public transit, like yourself, but think they have it all figured out.

There are always exceptions, however, most Angelenos would agree that getting around the Greater Los Angeles area using ONLY public transportation is extremely difficult. Yes, there are some people who live or work really close to bus lines or whatever that can take advantage of the public transportation without any problems. But this is a small percentage of people in LA area.

I simply can not imagine someone who lives in the hills and canyons of Malibu walking 1 1/2 or 2 miles down a winding canyon road (in the rain, in the heat or in the dark with coyotes and rattlesnakes) to get to PCH to wait for a bus to take them to whatever other buses/metrolines to get to their job in Downtown LA or Century City or the South Bay and beyond.

And then let's say that you need to stop at Trader Joe's after work to pick up groceries or happy hour with co-workers. Then imagine trying to repeat the same routine of waiting for a bus at 8 or 9 at night...and then another bus (or more) only to have to walk 2 miles back up the canyon in Malibu at 11 or 12midnight.

There are so many communities in greater LA that make using public transportation beyond undesireable...just not practical or realistic.

[nickdahammer]

Originally Posted by CESpeed

You have obviously never driven down Wilshire at midnight and seen the high number of people busboys, janitors, waiting for the bus. You've never been there waiting for bus that passed you up (at 11:00) because there are not enough buses because they are building the rails. Do you know how cold it is that late at night? I'm sure the low wage workers are very grateful that MTA is building a rail system that will allow East Coast transplants to continue to use public transportation.

How would you know what I have done and have not done? You don't, so don't presume to tell me what I know and do not know, nor what I have experienced or not experienced.

The post dealt with the kinds of people who are going to use the Expo Line, i.e. white, blue collar, etc. I don't presume to KNOW what low-wage workers want or expect, but I assume they, like all commuters, want reliable, safe, efficient transportation.