Day 1: Easy Riding -- Trains in Carland but No one walks in LA

I love trains!

Easy to travel, no security checks, I can catch up on my reading, and I can absorb local culture.

First time I depended solely on public transportation was when I went to the university. I didn't have a car and the only way for me to move around was to take the bus everywhere. It was a small town with no need for a rail system. But a few years after my freshmen I spent a summer in France and for the first time I discovered trains. I fell in love!

Today my experiment to be carless began, making me trust and depend on public transportation again.

It was an easy day. The only place outside of downtown I had to be at was work. Before 7am I hit the streets riding the bicycle to the metro line at Flower and 7th. Carried the bicycle down the stairs, bought my ticket, and got in the railcar. 

The half full railcar zoomed from stop to stop with people commuting to their jobs. While the different characters boarded, I read. I got off at my respective stop and biked to work. It felt weird arriving to work on a bicycle. After more than three years of working there this was the first time I used this method of transportation. I am glad! It was quick, I got to read and got a quick work out...what else can I ask for?

I am surprised that not many people ride the metro in LA. Yes, cars are kings in this city yet ironically, Los Angeles county was very well connected by a once sophisticated railway system, there were the Red Cars at one point and the Yellow Cars at another. As motor cars became more common, those started taking precedence over railcars and the rail routes had to slow down and stop more often to accommodate the new vehicles.

Then there's also the Great American Streetcar Scandal where GM is said to have conspired to buy and dismantle railcars and railways in order to replace them with cars, buses, and freeways. I wonder if that truly was the turning point for this city to stop walking.

Good thing that this city is now seeing more people walking and riding bikes...then again it might be better for the freeways to be congested and for a few of us to share the railcars and buses. Ok, not seriously, however I don't know if the current public transportation system is ready to handle more commuters...I know the freeways seem like they aren't. Just like the 8 straight days of rain we got toward the end of last year when the 110 Freeway flooded. LA can't handle real rain...what if it keeps raining people?

More on the Streetcar scandal: Part I & Part II