As a non-driver (I've never learned), I'm completely reliant on public transit. 75 cents per trip is an amazing price - here it's something like $2.25 on Toronto's system, then $2.75 on the York Region system ($3.75 if you're traversing more than one zone, as I do). The monthly passes are $100 for Toronto and, IIRC, $130 for York Region, so I'm spending a little more on transit than you were on driving. (Do you get free transfers on the L.A. system? I.e., if you have to change buses, is it included in the initial price, or do you have to pay a second fare?)
It's nice to be able to relax and read the paper, but that's offset by the extra time it takes. I'd probably knock about an hour per day off my travel time if I drove.
Good for you! I actually looked into this last week, but I can't do it. There isn't a bus line near my house. I could bike to the nearest one, but the road I have to bike on doesn't have a bike lane - and it's a 55 MPH curvy road. Very dangerous to bike on
( ... )
Biking to work was the first alternative I looked into. I quickly rejected it because of the dense traffic, horrible drivers and lack of bike lanes on the way to work. I had a grand ol' morbid time imagining what would become of me if I found myself pinned between the parked cars on the street and some daft ass in a Hummer yapping on his cell phone. The big grade I'd have to pedal up 2 miles through Cheviot Hills dissuaded me, as well.
Unfortunately, the line that will get me to work does not offer bus passes. :(
Hopefully this exercise will turn me into a better planner and organizer. Since I loathe to get back in my car once I'm home from work, I've already made adjustments in my errands to integrate them into my commute.
Oooh...you're brave. As much as I hate commuting in L.A., the only bit of sanity is that the space is all my own in my car. I don't have to share a bench with a vagrant. I don't have to have people talking on cell phones all around me. My own music fills my ears, not a static-y beatbox from someone's iPod. The gas prices suck a lot. But hell, so does losing sleep to get to the bus stop on time.
All things I'm taking into consideration, especially the lost sleep. I need my sleep. There's a reason why, for now, I'm viewing this as a trial period and not a permanent lifestyle change.
According to jubesclone, the Culver City and the Santa Monica bus lines are mostly vagrant-free, although the rest of the city's bus lines are a different story.
Oooh, I did that for a week last summer when my car broke down. I won't lie to you: it was terrible. My buses (just traveling from Wilshire in Bev. Hills to Wilshire in Westwood) were rarely on time, and often 4 orange ones would come for every red one that I needed. It ended up taking a exorbitant amount of time, and it was actually more stressful for me than driving would have been.
Even if there are few vagrants on the system, a woman like you is definitely going to be noticed. Be prepared for some really rude stares.
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As a non-driver (I've never learned), I'm completely reliant on public transit. 75 cents per trip is an amazing price - here it's something like $2.25 on Toronto's system, then $2.75 on the York Region system ($3.75 if you're traversing more than one zone, as I do). The monthly passes are $100 for Toronto and, IIRC, $130 for York Region, so I'm spending a little more on transit than you were on driving. (Do you get free transfers on the L.A. system? I.e., if you have to change buses, is it included in the initial price, or do you have to pay a second fare?)
It's nice to be able to relax and read the paper, but that's offset by the extra time it takes. I'd probably knock about an hour per day off my travel time if I drove.
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Unfortunately, the line that will get me to work does not offer bus passes. :(
Hopefully this exercise will turn me into a better planner and organizer. Since I loathe to get back in my car once I'm home from work, I've already made adjustments in my errands to integrate them into my commute.
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Hope it works out for you!
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According to jubesclone, the Culver City and the Santa Monica bus lines are mostly vagrant-free, although the rest of the city's bus lines are a different story.
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Even if there are few vagrants on the system, a woman like you is definitely going to be noticed. Be prepared for some really rude stares.
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