Comparison Test: Public Transportation Vs. Automotive Mobility
(A Blue Line train pulls into the station. The Blue Line connects Long Beach and downtown Los Angeles.)
Recently, I found myself in the odd position, at least for an Edmunds editor, of being without wheels. So I decided I would take public transportation from my home in Long Beach to our offices in Santa Monica, a distance of about 31 miles. I thought it would be a kind of comparison test between driving and using bus and light rail.
I used a feature on Los Angeles transit's website called "trip planner"
which told me which buses and trains to take, where and when to catch them and how much they would cost. I printed this out and headed out the door at approximately 6 AM. It was rainy and cold but I only had to wait about 10 minutes before the bus arrived. I was able to purchase a transfer that allowed me to make it all the way to downtown Los Angeles for only $1.60.
The bus was surprisingly crowded for that early in the morning but I found a seat and watched the city slide by while alternately checking news and e-mails on my Blackberry.
At the Blue Line light rail station, I waited only five minutes before the train slid into sight elegantly ringing its gong. Forty-five minutes later I was in downtown Los Angeles. There, it was pouring as I searched for my bus stop. Around me, Los Angelinos, much more accustomed to sunshine than this nasty wet stuff, scampered for cover. One young woman, running at full tilt, hit some slick stuff. Her legs went out from under her and she fell down in a jumble of arms, legs and embarrassed laughter.
I caught an express bus for $1.75 to take me the final leg of my journey to Santa Monica. When we got on the freeway I realized how ironic the term "express" bus was. The bus was caught in traffic just like everyone else. The big difference, and this is really quite significant, is that I wasn't driving. This left me free to work on my laptop, read the newspaper and doze off. When the bus arrived I had a three-minute walk to my office building.
For a short time, I was the curiosity of the office, answering questions such as, "how far away do you live?" And, "It took you how long?" When I told them it took three hours door to door, they made faces to describe my assumed agony. But I told them it really wasn't that bad. It's hard to describe the difference between the state of mind of a driver stuck in traffic, angry because it's taking way too long, and a bus rider relaxing with an open paper in front of him.
This isn't to say that I'm giving up the car keys. It isn't even implying that I had the stomach for a return trip in the same day. I left my office under internal combustion power and made it home in a slick 45 minutes. It is nice to know, however, that there is an alternative to driving your own car, pay for gas, insurance, parking, not to mention depreciation, parking tickets, speeding tickets, repairs and maintenance. Besides that, nothing quite beats the feeling of arriving at your destination and stepping off the bus under your own steam without worries about car parking or car protection. You are then free to completely experience the city around you.
- Posted by
- Philip Reed February 18, 2009, 5:04 PM
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- Categories:
- Fuel Economy, Life with Cars
- Technorati Tags:
- Blue Line, Bus lines, city life, Los Angeles, Public transportation, trip planner
The prices you quote don't include the tax money you paid to build the bus and train lines plus the taxes you will continue to pay to run those lines, whether or not you actually use them. If you do use them, you can sleep easy knowing that those who don't are helping to subsidize your travel.
When mass transit works, it's actually really great. LA's mass transit is the perennial example of how NOT to do mass transit (mainly because LA is just so spread out and congested that it's almost impossible to build an effective system there).
As for the "state of mind" argument, depends what kind of driver you are. I don't get agitated in traffic, personally, or suffer anything you could call "road rage". Of course, many people do. For those people, the benefits of mass transit on their heartrate is assuredly much more measurable.
Why does public transit get criticized for using tax money but roads don't?
dutch - The costs you think of when you think of driving on the roads don't include the taxes you pay for construction, maintenance, police, and a thousand other things. If you do use them, you can sleep easy knowing that those who don't are helping to subsidize your travel. Wait, that sounds familiar.
Dutch, I didn't bring up the cost to say I was wildly in favor of public transportation. Just noting what I paid for purposes of comparison. To get an accurate picture of cost vs. value to taxpayers would be complex and yet, in the end, still debatable. And where do you draw the line? What is your time worth while driving vs. riding the bus/train? More questions. More debates.
Clarkma5: You're right that the state of mind of many drivers is mellow and, to be fair, some public transportation riders could be stressed out. Still, I think there is a disconnect process that occurs you aren't driving that is typically relaxing. I find myself reading more, more willing to work on tasks that require attention when I'm "trapped" on a plane, train or bus.
@Philip: Nice article. As with you, there are times when my coworkers wonder why I take the bus (~1 hour) when driving (~30 min) will get me to work at just about the same time (~7:00am). My answer - choice.
@everyone else...
I've been taking the bus to and from work for the past three years. For errands around town in my work area, I have my old 1995 Honda Civic to take me. I leave it at work during the workweek until Friday, and drive it back home that afternoon. I reverse the process on Monday mornings. I'm not completely car-less, but I do what I can to save money and get a little walking done while I'm at it.
I live in the Central Coast of CA, and my coworkers would often discuss the importance of having a good public transportation system in place. I couldn't agree more; however, I think they're really speaking to the rest of us taking public transportation so that the roads become less congested, allowing them to take their own cars! But I digress. When I asked one how he got to work, of course he answered, as many did, by driving in. When I asked why, he answered that was convenient. So I responded that that's the reason why we don't have a good public transportation system in place, regardless of cost. By definition, public transportation is not convenient because it's never in sync with anyone elses schedule. And if it's not convenient, there's no demand for it. Sure, it'll be fine for some, but they're in the minority. For everyone else, they'll reason that taking the car would be faster, or whatever.
So for the next discussion on public transportation, cost is not the issue. The issue is parked outside.