When I visit Los Angeles, I no longer rent a car or borrow a family members. Who else is in that boat? (San Diego: rental car)

[OyCrumbler]

I grew up in different parts of the area and have a lot of family and friends in the area and work takes me here sometimes. Starting about four years ago, I've stopped renting a car or borrowing a family members' for the excursions as I've found that rideshare and mass transit essentially takes care of all my needs.

I'm curious about what other visitors, as I'm sure that's different for people now living in Los Angeles, have done the same and what their experiences are and what strategies they use.

I find that rideshare is a lot cheaper than in New York City. I usually use Lyft, but will use other things include Uber and am happy to use anything else. I use Google Maps a lot and that helps cut down some of the trip time and costs. Part of this is that driving in Los Angeles is somewhat aggravating for me in Los Angeles and I'd rather get stuff done whether it's a book or on my phone answering emails or coding. Another is that I find with the more flexible times I have as a visitor that Metrolink and Metrorail is pretty accommodating and Google Maps greatly helps that though I am very open to any suggestions for other apps or resources that might make this even smoother.

Are there other things I should consider? In New York City there's bikeshares and I know that appears in some parts of Los Angeles, but my unfamiliarity with routes and whatever system exists has made me ignore it for the most part. That being said, if anyone has suggestions for that, I'm open to using such.

I also know that electric scooters are pretty popular, but haven't really explored it much though I'm interested in such.

Are there any modes of transit that I should be considering?

I'm basically on the Westside, Hollywood, San Gabriel Valley, Pomona Valley, and Orange County quite a bit and would love suggestions about how to even better navigate and get around all of these.

[PK12]

I haven't rented or driven a car in general in my past 3,4 visits; Uber and Lyft are amazing in LA, very economical and readily available everywhere.



The only time I had to wait around 10 mins for an Uber was at the Getty Villa, and understandably so given the location and accessibility to the entrance.



If I were venturing farther out all over the area then a car might make more sense and would absolutely get one if I were living there, but for reference, I even took an Uberpool from Koreatown to Westfield Topanga and it came out to $12-$15 or something.

[PK12]

I must add that I haven't gone from LA to OC via rideshare; I imagine that may end up being a good bit more expensive.

[quique07]

I once had my car done maintenance in the Honda of Downey, and had to pick it up right after work one Friday afternoon.

I work in Glendale at the time, and had to take an Uber from Glendale to Downey... cost me $40 plus tip. I thought it was pricey...but then again, it was on a Friday during rush hour. Took over an hour too.

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by quique07

I once had my car done maintenance in the Honda of Downey, and had to pick it up right after work one Friday afternoon.

I work in Glendale at the time, and had to take an Uber from Glendale to Downey... cost me $40 plus tip. I thought it was pricey...but then again, it was on a Friday during rush hour. Took over an hour too.

I'm sure it would of been a lot more expensive with a taxi.

[VLWH]

Originally Posted by quique07

I once had my car done maintenance in the Honda of Downey, and had to pick it up right after work one Friday afternoon.

I work in Glendale at the time, and had to take an Uber from Glendale to Downey... cost me $40 plus tip. I thought it was pricey...but then again, it was on a Friday during rush hour. Took over an hour too.

At first I thought it was a lot too. If you figure the driver gets $30 from the fare and spending an hour each way (assuming no fares heading back home), that figures at $15 an hour. Of course also deduct gas and wear and tear on the car.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by OyCrumbler

Are there any modes of transit that I should be considering?

I'm basically on the Westside, Hollywood, San Gabriel Valley, Pomona Valley, and Orange County quite a bit and would love suggestions about how to even better navigate and get around all of these.

I think the old style printed maps are the best. They give one a wider perspective of the big picture on how all the lines intersect. See if you can get a printed copy of this huge map from the LA metro offices. There are tons of buses that go everywhere. For example the 76 bus goes through the Asian food heaven on Valley Blvd.

https://media.metro.net/riding_metro...system_map.pdf

https://media.metro.net/documents/3e...4e38c6c260.pdf

There is also the DASH bus system for short routes around downtown. It costs only 50 cents to ride. This is an extremely useful system for transport around downtown,Little Tokyo and Chinatown.

https://www.ladottransit.com/dash/ro...n/downtown.pdf

Santa Monica also has its own Big Blue bus system.

https://www.bigbluebus.com/routes-and-schedules/

The OCTA in Orange County also has many bus lines.

https://www.octa.net/ebusbook/CompleteBusBook.pdf

https://www.octa.net/ebusbook/routePdf/WCCounty.pdf

https://www.octa.net/Bus/Routes-and-...es/System-Map/

One of the most useful routes is the 55 which goes from Santa Ana station to downtown Santa Ana, South Coast Plaza and Newport Beach.

[Swandaddy]

I usually end up renting a car when I go there as often I have to go to both LA and San Diego and bounce from friend group to friend group but it seems this trip I'm not going to have to -- even if I have to get a few ubers/lyfts it will still save me quite a bit of $$. I do enjoy driving when I'm on vacation (or an extended weekend), but I'm usually tired of it when I'm done so this'll be nice to just look out the window. Also a Zipcar member and I believe LA has some so that's an option too if it comes up.

[Statz2k10]

I actually have been to LA quite a bit in the last 7 years & always rented a car. But my last trip was the first time I did not. Mainly because I had a busy schedule & not as much time for sight seeing.

My main concern on having a car was the day I left & having no issue getting to the airport. I figured everything would be fine & it was. But going into it I always worried a little bit about having an Uber on time to ensure my arrival time to the airport was when I wanted.

I probably will look into not getting a rental car again depending on what I want to do. I've been to Malibu & driven around site seeing so much that it's not really worth getting a rental car if that's the only reason I need it.

I think that if you compare what you'd spend on a rental car versus Uber it's still worth paying more in Uber fees when you take into consideration that no risk of dealing with insurance companies (accidant). No stress driving. You get to look out the window and soak up the surroundings. No parking costs. Also not having to worry about finding parking.