MetroRiderLA

So I did it. After months of telling myself I’d get around to it, I finally got rid of my number one expense. I probably drove less than 20 times in 2006, but I sure spent a ton on insurance and especially on parking! Thank you Craigslist, and thank you MetroriderLA!

[tags] la, metro, limp, actor [/tags]

In another entertaining Metro episode today, a Latino man standing about 5′5″ and dressed in a green hoody, kaki jean jacket, jeans and all white shoes faked himself a limp. He was sitting at the back of the bus in the seats facing each other with his legs well extended when two black women boarded and wanted to get passed. Seeing as he didn’t have any intention of bending his left leg one of the women spoke sternly for him to please move his leg, causing no reaction from the relaxin’ man. Perhaps because his hood was up and he wasn’t acknowledging her, the woman assumed he didn’t speak English and like all people do when they are encountered with a language barrier, she spoke louder.

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[tags]transit, los angeles, get la moving, car free, uncar, subway[/tags]

Hello All,

I’m a mass transit advocate, a proud mass transit rider, and I’m about to relapse.

I live smack dab in the middle of this city in Leimert Park. The closest rapid station to me is just a 5-minute 0.3-mile walk away and the THREE red buses (710, 705 & 740) can wisk me away to any part of this city. The locals (all within a 5-minute walk) include the 40, 42, 105, 210, 305, and 608 in addition to the Dashes. Outside of Koreatown/Pico-Union or Downtown I couldn’t ask for better mass transit connections in this city.

And yet, for the first time in over 5 years I’m seriously considering purchasing an automobile. I’ll go from paying $0 per month for personal transportation (my job pays for my bus pass in lieu of paying for parking) to needing to put $4-6K down and pay $500-$1000 per month (depending on whether I take on a car note). So why the heck would I consider it? Primarily because my time IS that valuable, and my commute on public transit does suck.

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Here’s some mass transit fun. While leaving the Pershing Square station on the Red/Purple line today, I saw this bizarre subway route map standing next to the escalator. It took me about half a second to realize this was a prop for some upcoming movie shoot. But they did a great job designing this totally fictional system map, which is fascinating. It shows a fake non-place, with some place names from L.A. and others from Washington D.C. Oddly, they’re using the real MTA “Metro” logo though. (Sorry, my camera freaked out here.)

Take a closer look. Meet you at Jack Avenue!

On the back of the map stand was this lenticular map, three maps in one actually, depending on the angle where you stood. This one has place names from New York City. Must have cost a bundle to make this.

The Pershing Square station was playing the part of the 14th Street Station on the Green Line. Okay then. Note Metro logo at left.

At this fake newstand was the security guy, keeping a close dutiful watch on all these expensive sets…oh no, wait…Dude’s reading a magazine.

The funniest part of this was that while I was taking these pictures, a number of people stopped and looked at this map, trying to figure out what the hell it showed and where they were. “Don’t bother homez,” I told the guy, who looked stumped, “that map isn’t real.” He wouldn’t believe me. As far I know, he’s still looking for the Gold Line to City Center Plaza.

I take transit every weekday, from the SGV to the financial district downtown: usually one Foothill Transit bus and two Metro trains (Gold and Red lines). I generally have no (major) issues with either the FT buses or the Metro trains. I do, however, have a pretty big issue with Metro buses.

I only ride Metro buses rarely, but I see them all the time, working in the financial district, and have increasingly noticed an appalling habit nearly every metro busdriver seems to have. That’s the two-pronged thinking that a) a yellow light (and sometimes even a red) means “Speed up and race through the intersection,” and b) honking somehow makes it okay. These busdrivers - and this includes DASH buses, too - ALL seem to think that if you honk, thus alerting someone - in theory - that you’re rushing through a yellow-changing-to-red, that makes it alright and no one will get hurt. I’m honestly amazed I’ve yet to see a pedestrian (or maybe a bike messenger wearing an iPod) get hit by one of these errantly speeding multi-ton missiles. Downtown is a heavily pedestrian area, thanks to its concentration of office buildings, yet these busdrivers seem to have qualms about speeding through intersections as if not making a stoplight will completely throw them off schedule. As if Metro buses are generally on time, anyway!

I can’t be the only person to have observed this, can I?

(By the way: hi there, I’m a new contributor and longtime reader of MetroRiderLA. I’ve lived here (just east of Pasadena) for 2 1/2 years, and have utilized transit for most of that time to get to and from work (I’ve worked in Glendale and downtown Los Angeles) on a (week)daily basis.)

[tags]foothill transit, silver streak, bus, los angeles, san gabriel valley[/tags]

Note: Photos and incessant linkage to come later.

Foothill Transit became the latest agency on board the bus rapid transit bandwagon, as it converted its longest, busiest and most important route into Silver Streak. Service began Sunday, but this trip was taken on Monday, second day of service and first day of weekday service. Rides are free throughout March.

For this trip, a special guest joined MetroRiderLA: Siel, the Green L.A. Girl. She brought along her laptop and was able to hook into the bus’s wi-fi and liveblog. Yes, the wi-fi works, and this is the first bus service in Los Angeles County to offer wireless access.

The internet connection is one of the few positive aspects of this “new” bus service.

Overall, though, Silver Streak gets a thumbs down as far as making a great first impression.

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