Robin suggested that we take the rail system to the Staples Center since it would be cheaper than parking there and we had some extra time. I was not a stranger to the LA metro system as I had taken it numerous time before when I used to come up to LA to visit Morgan. I would take the MetroLink from Laguna Niguel to Union Station and the Metro Red Line to Hollywood and Western. I was for the idea, but I was a bit surprised hearing it from Robin.
The other night we decided to take the bus to our friend's party off Pico and La Cienega so we could both drink and not have to worry about driving home. We got on the bus and made it to the stop where we were supposed to transfer to the next bus line. The stop happened to be in the gayest part of Hollywood which also in my mind made it the safest part of Hollywood.
After watching fat transvestites and several groups of gay dudes walking by for what seemed like an hour, we began to think that the bus wasn't coming. We waited about 20 minutes past the time the bus was supposed to be there and finally we made the decision to take the bus line we just came on, back to our house and just drive to the party. As we are waiting for the bus to take us back home, we see the bus that we were supposed to transfer to coming up the street. The only problem is that we crossed the street to get to the other bus stop so now we have to run across the street as the bus is coming. Not afraid of looking like complete idiots in front of a bunch of gay dudes, we began to charge across the street waving our arms and yelling at the bus. He kept driving. What a douche. So we ended up crossing the street once more and waiting for the bus to take us home. Robin was so unamused. I was ok, but I would have been a lot better if we had just stayed one more minute on the other side of the street.
Anyhow, willing to give LA transportation one more chance, we set out from our house towards the Metro station at Hollywood and Vine. About 17 minutes later we made it there and hopped on our train. At the first stop, the conductor comes on the loud speaker and says there is a train in front of us with "door issues" and we have to wait until the get it figured out. We wait for a bit and then head on our way after a few minutes. Then we get to the next stop. The same thing, although this time he says we might be stuck here for a while because the train is still having problems and they might have to reroute all the trains. I couldn't believe it. I thought we were going to miss the game. Luckily for us we started moving in just a few short minutes.
We finally made it to the Staples Center with plenty of time left. But if we had missed part of the game due to "door issues", LA Metro would never see another dime from Robin or I again.
Why can't our public transit system be as good as New York's or Japan's or London's?
Tags: Los Angeles Kings, LA Kings, LA Metro, Staples Center, craigslist
I’m telling you, dude, it’s really up to you, as an LA resident to vote to expand and improve the public transit that’s there. The more you use it, the more the records will show that Angelinos need it. I try to do the same thing here in SD. It’s actually starting to work, I think. We have added two new tolley lines and doubled the amount of buses within the last five years. It’s still total shit compared to those other cities you mentioned, but hopefully it’s only step one on a long track toward real, useful public transit.