Will Los Angeles ever get a public transit system like this? (Glendale: home, transfer to)

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by thebordella

I said "surreal" -- in that, being deep underground in a subway tunnel feels very urban in a way that is not typical for LA. It's not a criticism, just an observation. The comparison between LA and DC metro is indeed that both feel new. NYC and Chicago transit feel as old as they are. Again, that's not a criticism either way, it's just the way it is.

The TAP card is a fine idea. In principle it is better than paper tickets or even the NYC Metrocard. The implementation is needlessly confusing.

Partly this is because the system is evolving and a number of things have changed over even a few years' time. So if you look up information online it is not always consistent. For example, can you add cash value to a card? The current answer is yes, but apparently the old answer used to be no, and you can find both answers on different web sites.

What happens if you add a day pass and cash value to the same TAP card? Can you choose which to select on your next swipe? The answer seems to be no -- the software chooses the day pass over cash fare -- but again, this is really not clear and leaves people confused and/or guessing what will happen when they swipe.

Why do you need to add a day pass at all? Why not just let the system determine the best fare. If you've tapped more than $5 worth of rides within a day timeframe then why doesn't the system just "buy" a day pass from your cash value? This stuff shouldn't be computer programming rocket science in 2013.

Do you swipe again when you exit a train or only when you enter? The answer seems to be only when you enter, but in some terminals when you exit you pass through exit turnstiles with TAP signs and readers facing you. Why? Just go and watch for 10 minutes and you will see people confused, trying to figure out whether they are supposed to tap again, etc.

I disagree about the accessibility of the fare machines. All this jargon -- you shouldn't have to be an employee of Metro to understand what these words mean, or someone who has already used the system 10 times. There should be big obvious shortcuts on the main screen to the most common transactions. "GET A NEW TAP CARD WITH DAY PASS", "ADD DAY PASS TO EXISTING TAP CARD", and so on. Not MetroFare this and MetroStoredValue that. Yeah sure after a few times you figure it out, but there is no need to be so obscure in the first place. Plus, LA is a city with lots of tourism and ethnic diversity. As a college educated American who makes a living using the English language, if I find the verbiage arcane and confusing, I can only wonder what it must be like for someone with a different first language or country of origin.

The transfer fare policy (or lack thereof) is bizarre and nonsensical. It's great that a single ride is only $1.50, but how does it make sense that if you have to take one line for 10 stops and then a second line for 2 stops that it costs double? I suppose that from Metro's point of view this encourages day and monthly pass buyers, who are an important market, but LA needs to lower the friction to get as many people as possible on board and that includes single-rider buyers (which includes both visitors and occasional-use residents).

Plus, the transfer penalty is made worse by the fact that given the nature of the LA system you often do need to take multiple lines or modes.

Like I said, every one of these things is easy to improve. It's just policy and the will to do so. I hope that as the hard stuff continues to get done -- laying down the actual transit hardware -- the human interface side will continue to mature.

I can't tell you how many people I see TAP on their way out. Maybe it is because so many people are used to BART's distance-based fares (in which is makes sense to TAP "in" and "out"), but I would be annoyed to pay twice for one ride! I think once the Regional Connector is complete, we may see distance based fares implemented on the N/S (Blue and Foothill Lines) and E/W (Expo and Eastside Lines) LRT Lines.

One huge benefit of Los Angeles is that its fares are very low compared to most other big cities (though transfer fees can add up).

[chdlmc]

Where do you live and work PDF? Walking to work in LA with "bars and everything else" nearby sounds awesome.

[PDF]

Originally Posted by chdlmc

Where do you live and work PDF? Walking to work in LA with "bars and everything else" nearby sounds awesome.

Westwood. But you can do this in many other areas in LA.

[Peppermintstix]

I'm a transplant too. Just got here from Chicago. I really think LA would be ****ing amazing if it had a better public transit system. I rely on the bus to get to work (I never had a car in Chicago and I'm actually terrified of driving) and while I'm grateful that Metro exists I wish it worked better. Having to wait 90 minutes for the next bus just because it's 9pm is really bad. If you're waiting 15 minutes for a bus in Chicago it's time to complain. And 15 minutes is the average wait time out here. LOL.

I bet LA could get away with a combined subway/el system out here.The train could go from underground to elevated running along the same path as the freeways with bridges overhead at the stations for pedestrians to get to their connecting bus or wherever. I don't know when that would happen but it's definitely possible. What's accepted as true and unchanging one day is a funny anecdote in history another.

First thing that really needs to happen is for LA to stop being so anti-pedestrian. Yikes why did the sidewalk just disappear? How does the mailman deliver people's mail with no sidewalk? Is he just walking in the street at the mercy of drivers? I've been told by several people that the town i work in (Glendale) is really great for striking and killing pedestrians. That has got to stop. When the city becomes more friendly towards pedestrians it will be easier for public transportation.

Honestly I'm surprised that the car-owners in this city haven't revolted yet. It's like they force you to have a car and then punish you for it. Smells like a racket to me. I can appreciate it being from a corrupt city but something needs to be done.

By the way I do like LA and I'm happy to be here. The sunshine is fabulous.

[azriverfan.]

It will never happen. Politics will get in the way. In order to build something like that, you would have to tear down buildings and property and those owners will tie the city with red tape. The traffic and public transportation in L.A. is the worst in the country and will only get worse. I don't see how anyone can live there and commute a minimum of one hour each way every day. What a colossal waste of time!

[The Illusive Man]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

It will never happen. Politics will get in the way. In order to build something like that, you would have to tear down buildings and property and those owners will tie the city with red tape. The traffic and public transportation in L.A. is the worst in the country and will only get worse. I don't see how anyone can live there and commute a minimum of one hour each way every day. What a colossal waste of time!

I live in L.A and my drive to and from work is 10-15 minutes. I also take the 405 freeway.

There goes that.

But yes, there will be a public transit system like that eventually.

[nickdahammer]

I have experienced the occasional delay on Red Line trains as well, but that is an exception for me. And I live in Mt Wash/Highland Park. The Red Line is invaluable for me, taking me into Union, then onto Hollywood. Oddly enough, the most efficient transportation system I have ever used was in Istanbul. They are fast, packed, modern and go where people need them to go (I didn't take the subway, just the 'tram').

Originally Posted by PDF

I have problems with the reliability of the Red Line. Literally, the past handful of times I have taken the Red Line I have been on the train for 50 minutes in what should have been a 15-minute trip. Maybe I just got unlucky, but LA Metro seems to have massive delays whenever I do try.

I have just never ridden a transit system that has so much construction work or other delays at peak times. And the West side expansion sounds cool, but it's just going to be an extension of what is currently there. And given that I don't like what is currently there, I'm not going to like what it is extended to. But who cares, it is so far in the future anyway.

The Red Line serves a purpose. If you live in central LA, it's great. You can get up and down Hollywood/Downtown very easily. I lived in Koreatown for my first few weeks here, and relied on it. Now that I live on the West side, I really only take the subway when I'm going to a game at LA Live or checking something new out down that way. But I still run into problems I previously mentioned.

Maybe I am putting too much hate into the LA Metro system, but I have just been sworn off from it. You would too if you got as unlucky as me. I have really only been satisfied with the Rapid 720 bus line, never had an issue with it asides from it being SRO most of the time.

I have traveled on light-rail only systems in smaller cities across the country, and I don't think it's ridiculous for LA's light-rail and subway lines reliability and experience to be on par with those.

I actually do like the Expo Line. I can see potential in that. But I was commenting on the NYC subforum how I often feel worse after riding the LA Red Line than I do after coming out of a NYC subway station that has no A/C. And I wasn't the only one. Riding the Red Line is so much different from riding a subway in any other major city, like say Chicago.

Luckily I'm able to walk to work, so I don't even deal with the LA Metro on a regular basis. But I've had so many bad experiences with it. OK, so maybe I'm being a little too harsh in some of my posts. But if I was going to stay here, I would definitely get a car and never deal with public transit in LA again.

[Nightscape]

Did someone from Arizona just say LA has the worst public transportation in the country? HA!

[Jonah1979]

Originally Posted by BAA17

Is it possible even in 50 years?

They did have a transit system like that many decades ago and they ripped it out. Politicians have little vision....

[Harrier]

Bring back the Big Red Cars.

http://www.usc.edu/libraries/archive...toric/redcars/