After working at home for the last few years, I started a job in Culver City. I've been driving alone to work for the past couple of months, using Waze as a co-pilot, but experiencing one-way commute times of anywhere from 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes, averaging about 1 hour 10 minutes each way to/from Glendale. (18-20 miles, depending on where Waze takes me).
So, being a public transit fan, last week I bit the bullet and decided to try Metrolink/Metro, even though it would take a car trip to the train station, 3 trains, and a 15 minute walk at the end. Even if it took longer time and cost more money than driving, my thought was that at least I wouldn't be stressed by driving, and maybe I could even work on the train.
My route was:
Home --> (drive) --> Glendale Station --> (Metrolink) --> Union Station --> (Red/Purple Line) --> 7th St Metro --> (Expo Line) --> Culver City Station --> (15 minute walk) --> Work
Total Cost: Metro Round Trip: $3.50 Metrolink Round Trip: $5.00; Total $8.50
Verdict:
The morning commute was not bad, Metrolink was on time, the transfer to Red/Purple was easy and quick, as was the transfer to Expo. Expo actually was not delayed too much on the street-running section, and I had an actual seat on the train, despite the train being crowded. I left my house at 7:20, and walked into work at 8:55, for an elapsed time of 1 hour 35 minutes. I think this is about as fast as the trip would be, considering I didn't have to wait more than about 4 minutes for any train. It was cool to see all the commuters walking through Union Station going to their various destinations. It had that "big city bustle" you don't always get here in LA except for the freeways.
The evening commute, however, was not so good, and it was mostly due to the Expo Line. First, it was packed. Not just "crowded", but almost "LA needs to hire those guys in Tokyo who push people into subways" packed. On the one hand, it's a good thing because it means it's popular. On the other hand, so much for "relaxing" on your way home as you squeeze in and stand uncomfortably close to dozens of strangers. By the time we got to Vermont, it was a little less crowded, but I wasn't able to get a seat until we got to USC. That, however, was not as big of a deal as how freaking SLOW it went. We slowly creaked along, stopping at various points for seemingly no reason whatsoever. Until finally just before we got to Pico we just stopped. And waited. And waited. I looked at my watch and it took almost an HOUR to get from Culver City to 7th Street. In the meantime, the Metrolink was getting ready to depart, and if I missed it, I was going to be stuck at Union Station for 50 more minutes until the next train. We finally got to 7th St Metro, I just missed the subway (of course). Finally caught that, ran through Union Station, and made it to my train with 2 minutes to spare. (Side note: Was Metrolink taken over by the Swiss or something? Those guys are ON TIME.) I left work at 5:20pm, walked through my door at 7:10pm. Almost 2 hours.
I really wanted to like going by transit. Unfortunately for me, it's just not a viable solution unless a freeway gets closed down by some catastrophe. There is no way the Expo Line is running 40-whatever minutes from Santa Monica to Downtown in the evening, if my experience is any indication. The Downtown Connector will help when it's done in a few years, but the street running section of Expo is a fatal flaw unless they do something to prioritize the trains.
At the end of the day, for me driving is cheaper, faster, and less stressful, which is disappointing because I really wanted to turn into a regular public transit user. Maybe I'll give it another try in the new year and see if my experience was just an anomaly.
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