This may sound weird to the Euros, but public transport is not part of the L.A. "culture". In fact, the ubiquitous trolley lines of the earlier 20th Century were deliberately crushed by big car manufacturers after WWII. Los Angeles is first and foremost a car city.
As one of the characters in the movie Crash says, public transport is for the poor; the losers; those who can't even afford a beat up set of wheels. Or is it?
I remember a drinks party last year, when someone who'd recently moved to L.A. -- after growing up in Brussels and getting his PhD in Cambridge (England) -- said, "The thing I love about L.A. is that you don't need a car". Everybody looked at him, like "What dope is he on?"
As one of the characters in the movie Crash says, public transport is for the poor; the losers; those who can't even afford a beat up set of wheels. Or is it?
I remember a drinks party last year, when someone who'd recently moved to L.A. -- after growing up in Brussels and getting his PhD in Cambridge (England) -- said, "The thing I love about L.A. is that you don't need a car". Everybody looked at him, like "What dope is he on?"All he did was apply his Euro-habits to his new home: he followed the bus line that stopped right in front of his future office, up to a desirable residential area, where he found an apartment -- et voilà! He also rides the city every weekend, back and forth. Yes, it takes him two hours to get from Pasadena to the beach, but he doesn't mind -- because he has developed an intimate knowledge of the city, its character and scenery we drivers don't have the opportunity to admire. And he gets to read more books than anyone else I know.
That got me to reflect -- especially after I had an accident, and my car was at the body shop for the longest time. So, I too started to use public transport -- and do it as much as I can. My friends wonder what's wrong with me. What about time wasted? disease? getting mugged? Tell you what: it's less threatening than in Paris, London, or New York. -- and way more relaxing than driving in traffic.
All it takes is a little planning -- and getting rid of the untermensch stigma. And it's worth it -- as a unique way to discover what people say doesn't exist in L.A.: the community.
All it takes is a little planning -- and getting rid of the untermensch stigma. And it's worth it -- as a unique way to discover what people say doesn't exist in L.A.: the community.
On the same subject, journalist Chris Balish talked about his upcoming book How to Live Well Without Owning a Car on NPR today [audio]. As he says, "L.A. is full of wonderful, compact walkable communities; and the LA Metro system is wonderful."
[related]
photo LA Metro
[related]
2 comments:
The year before I moved to Paris, I lived in LA without a car. I was living near La Brea and Melrose at the time and working downtown, so I just took the Red Line at Hollywood and Highland, and took the bus down Wilshire Blvd to visit my family in Santa Monica on the weekends. I found it to be quite refreshing actually, I could read and listen to music on the bus, or else listen to people's sometimes very entertaining conversations. And it was less stressful than driving. The only thing that was difficult was going out at night, I would have to rely on friends to pick me up and drive me home.
Even when I did have a car in LA, there were some periods of time when I actually found it more useful to leave it at home and take the bus. When I was a student, I'd take the bus to school as parking at UCLA was a nightmare and I found it often saved time to not have to deal with parking. Also in Santa Monica, I think you can get around quite easily on the Big Blue Bus, or else I often just took a bicycle.
I think that LA without a car is a lot more feasible than most people think. It's just that people have this idea that they need a car in LA. If they just stopped to think for a second, maybe they might see that there are certain things that they can use public transit to get to, or else bicycling, or even (gulp) walking.
But all that said, most of the time, I think having a car really does make life easier in LA
I concur. And it's true that it's easier to have the car option, too.
Post a Comment