Relying on Public Transportation in LA (Glendale, Torrance: lower-class, insurance, how much)

[Holyghost182]

I'm moving to LA for the summer, I won't have a car, I was wondering what life like in LA without a car.

[SandyCo]

What part of L.A. will you be in? Here is the link to the bus/subway/rail services. http://www.mta.net

It's difficult to live in L.A. without a car, unfortunately. Not impossible, but difficult.

[Holyghost182]

I'm working in Westwood, so I'm going to try to live in that area. Are the trains and busses fairly frequent?

[Chinghis]

Westwood is a major transportation hub, in some ways. MTA buses run through there - the Wilshire Boulevard buses run to Santa Monica and downtown, and the MTA Rapid buses stop there, if you're headed near a major cross-street. There are also Santa Monica Blue Bus (www.BigBlueBus.com) and Culver City Bus (http://www.culvercity.org/depts_bus.asp (broken link)) routes that pass through there, so you can make connections to some other areas that way, too. During rush hour, you can probably count on catching a bus every 8-10 minutes. Every 15 minutes during the day, but more like every 20-30 minutes, I think, in the evenings and weekends.

Oh, wait, you're going to work and live in Westwood? Yeah, public transportation can be OK for you, although it will be easier to just ride a bike to work, if you live within a couple of miles. MTA buses just run down the major thoroughfares like Wilshire, Santa Monica, Pico, and Olympic.

For entertainment and such, you'll probably want to branch out to other areas, and then it might be a pain not to have a car. After about 7:00 p.m. and on weekends, MTA gets kind of scarce (and perhaps scary). It's been a while since I regularly rode, but I did live without a car in L.A. in the early 1990s. Most of my life was centered around UCLA and Westwood, and I was a kind of hard-core cyclist, not afraid to ride 10 or 15 miles to go to a party or event. After a couple of years, I moved in with my girlfriend, and had access to her car, but I was still primarily a bus-and-bike rider.

It can be done, but you have to relish your uniqueness, accept the hassles, and be patient.

p.s. You know, it's funny, but I just looked at maps for the three agencies that serve the Westside - Culver City, Santa Monica, and the MTA - and the MTA has virtually NO north-south buslines on the West Side. There's one on Lincoln, in Santa Monica and down near the beach, and then another 8 miles or so West, on Robertson. But nothing in between - if you want to go between any of the major boulevards, you have to use one of the other two agencies. Not to say they don't coordinate well - they might, I dunno - but it's kind of an interesting policy decision.

Oh, also, remember that most, if not all, buses these days have the bike racks on the front. That means you can ride to the stop, stick your bike on the front, get driven most of the way to your destination, and then ride the rest of the way.

[GreatDeals321]

It looks like a lot of the other people that responded did their research.. it seems pretty accurate cuz my sister and a lot of my best friends live out there.. if u need advice on food, i kno lotsa places that are good and affordable..=)

if you're you decide you need a car, i know a couple of good dealers out there that could give you a great deal based on your budget and what you're interested in.. so just email me at goteampiink@yahoo.com if you need any info..

best of luck and welcome to LA!

[mover007]

I used MTA for about 1 1/2 years going to westwood blvd/wilshire from Miracle Mile/LACMA area. Both are populated, safe areas to catch buses.

A couple of buses go on wilshire and continue to santa monica pier very regularly and it is a fast trip and fun thing to do. I've used transfers to culver city, venice, and taken buses to hollywood, downtown and los feliz. Not hard at all to get to the fun, cultural events around the city.

The only problem would be waiting for the bus in the dark--alone. Not a safe idea. LA has a car-culture--so streets/bus-stops can feel desolate. (But then again, mace is legal here if you need it.)

When you factor in the alternative--how much a car, gas money and insurance costs--then paying for a cab occasionally is not so bad. IF the stop/street seems empty/dodgy...get to a populated area and call a cab from there. It will be worth it.
Keep a taxi number and cash on you ALWAYS, in case you need one. I don't know if cabs stop when you flag them because i never see any empty... (unless they are parked at a "stand").
So, yes--considering where you plan to live/work...I can safely say you won't need a car for one summer in LA.

good luck and welcome!

[Chinghis]

Cabs - you know, it's funny, but I always see these rows of taxis just sitting at the taxi stands in Century City or Beverly Hills, etc., and it's always a bunch of Russians or Ethiopians (or bunch of people of 'X' ethnic group) sitting around talking, smoking, and I wonder.... How on earth do they make enough money to make this worthwhile? I mean, in New York, you never sat anywhere, always wanted the meter running. Must be a different economic model, I dunno.

Anyway, cabs are a good suggestion, but I've never taken one in LA, other than when our car got totaled one day.

[Sorcerer68]

I used PT for 2 years. This was before most of the Metro Rail was built. At the beginning of this period, I lived in the South Bay and it was awful trying to get around. Buses were sparse and infrequent save a couple major arteries. I liked the Torrance Transit buses because they were very clean. I lived near Downtown for a little while and discovered I could get anywhere I wanted and didn't need a car. This is when the Red Line just started running (it was a quarter). After that, I moved to Glendale very close to downtown. A the time the Bee Line busses were free and made getting around Glendale very easy. Getting to Hollywood was an ordeal that sometimes took 2 hours.

If you plan on living without a car, research PT where you plan to live. I'd live close to the Metro Rail. PT friendly areas: Downtown, Mid-Wilshire and Hollywood.

[Holyghost182]

I don't suppose its a particularly common thing to be without a car in LA? I kinda expected it to be, especially with wanna superstars trying to save money till they get there big breaks.

Are the bus/Metro scheduales fairly accurate? Or is it one of those, your lucky if they ever come on time kind of systems.

I'm planning to be in Westwood, or a nearby area, where I can preferably be only a couple of miles from work.

[Chinghis]

No, no one walks in L.A.

Of course, it's from a movie, but it's kind of true. Sure, "wanna superstars trying to save money" until they hit it big don't have money for a car, but they also have to get to their auditions. In New York, you just get on the subway. Here, you could be driving 20-30 miles between auditions or shoots in a day, easy. Just can't do that on a bus, or even the subway, really. Not for any length of time.

And there's a class aspect of it - if you don't drive, people really do think of you as lower-class, I think. You know, only the poor and working class take public transit. Which is kind of true. I used to joke that I was always the whitest person on the bus, and I'm half-Mexican.

People looked at me as something of an oddity when I told them I didn't have a car. Some folks will take pity on you and always offer you rides. It's kind of funny when you tell them, "No, thanks, I like taking the bus. Gives me a chance to read or sleep."

Downtown and along the major thoroughfares during the day, I'd say the schedules are reasonably accurate. What's maddening is when you wait for 15 minutes, only to see three buses stacked up coming down the road. First one will whizz by, and you get picked up by the second or third one. Hopefully. Usually.

If you're in Westwood, you'll be OK. Just keep in mind what I said about E-W routes being served by more lines and agencies than the N-S routes. Those N-S routes may only run once every 30 minutes on the weekends, I think. Would have to check.