It’s a thought-provoking question. Here in Los Angeles, the car capital of the world, the average car on the freeway carries 1.1 passengers, and we spend an average of 100 hours per year commuting to and from work, which is not very efficient at all. More frequently than not, the car pool lanes are backed up [...]

Would you want to have a Metro Maintenance Yard in your community or on your street? Most people want the “status quo” and prefer that any new municipal, civic, cultural, and private development occur somewhere else. They’re called (“NIMBY”) which is the acronym for “Not in My Back Yard.” Which brings me to the salient issue [...]

With the upcoming opening of the Gold Line Extension soon approaching, I wanted to provide a quick preview of the route and its proposed stops. The Metro’s Gold Line Extension features include: Six miles of new rail, which allows those residents better access for public transportation Connections directly to the existing Metro Gold Line to Pasadena, without the [...]

Have you ever wondered how the Metro keeps their trains clean? A Clean Train is much better than a Dirty Train! A few days ago, I was among a fortunate few to be able to take a tour of Metro’s light rail maintenance yards, which included the Gold Line.  Included in the yards were the usual [...]

Most people aren’t aware of it, but the Los Angeles Metro has a Vanpool Program that provides alternative transportation choices for commuters, improves air quality, reduces traffic congestion in Los Angeles County, and provides a real-world solution that co-workers or fellow Vanpool riders can save money, time, and stress, during their weekly work commutes. This under [...]

Just released this week, the Texas Transportation Institute’s Annual Mobility Report concludes that: “Travelers spent one hour less stuck in traffic in 2007 than they did the year before and wasted one gallon less gasoline than the year before. The differences are small, but they represent a rare break in near-constant growth in traffic over 25 [...]

Free? Who doesn’t like free stuff? Free parking is included in the Metro’s Park and Ride Lots throughout the City, and they’re all part of, and connected to, a Metro location. Why own a Car but also use the Metro? Simple and to-the-point— Metro’s Park and Ride is a go-between for drivers who prefer to combine modes of [...]

Just in time for the  4th of July weekend—now anybody can effortlessly access Los Angeles Metro routes simply by using Google Maps. This has been in the works for quite some time and now the service is live. The coverage is world-wide also. LA Metro is now part of a network of 412 cities worldwide that [...]

Last week, I had an enlightening email exchange with one of my readers who is soon traveling to California to visit his children. He doesn’t live here, so he isn’t very familiar with the LA Metro system, but nonetheless loves the idea of using Metro wherever he goes. He had so many questions! How walkable are the [...]

As the need for additional Metro and Blue lines increases, the Los Angeles Metro and the Santa Monica Blue Bus’ are meeting their ridership challenges, and at the same time creating new and improved transit gateways. Over 300 Big Blue Bus transit stops and shelters will be redesigned with the following taken into consideration: Create [...]

Because I took the Los Angeles Subway home after finishing my Downtown walking tour, I thought it would make for a great story for today’s Metro Monday. Along with over 200 bus lines, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, has four Metro Rail Lines. Los Angeles Metro Subway Background With about 14 million people in the greater Los [...]

Based on the last 1998 Los Angeles County Profile Study, prepared by the California Department of Transportation, the Southern California Association of Governments, and other State agencies, by extrapolation, if there was an estimated vehicle miles traveled of 76,973,000,000 or just about 77 billion miles traveled annually in 1998, then using a conservative multiplier of [...]