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Originally Posted by jd3189
^^^ After deal with shitty LA traffic for the past few months, I’m 100% with you. At least this is one good thing COVID has led to on a living standpoint.
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I'm not sure LA traffic will ever get back to what it was pre-pandemic. It certainly won't be as easy as 2020 was where you could get from Newport Beach to DTLA in 40 minutes and everyone was doing 75 minimum on the freeways (that was fun). But because of remote work I don't think transit is in the minds of many SoCal residents now since they aren't going into the office at the same frequency and daily traffic, although increased in 2021, is still not what it used to be.
When I first moved to LA I'd drive 15 minutes from Artesia to the Artesia station in Compton on the Blue Line and take it to my job DT. Then I moved a couple blocks away from the Gold Line in Pasadena and would do the same on it (except walked to the station this time). Moved to Inglewood for a bit so stopped using transit since it was inconvenient from north Inglewood and the Expo Line stretch near USC would make my trip longer than it needed to be (this section should be a subway). I used the trains because they'd often be within 10 minutes of driving (sometimes faster, sometimes slower).
When I moved to OC I used the Metrolink everyday. It was 9 times out of 10 quicker than driving from where I lived in OC. The parking garage would have levels 1-3 filled by the 7am trains and people start to use the 4th and 5th levels. Nowadays you can drive past it at 9-10am and the lower two levels are barely filled. What's going to make people want to use the Metrolink if they aren't going into the office or on the days they do go in the commute is now almost an hour shorter because people work remotely? I'd rather just drive at that point. My employer is one of several that has stopped looking for office space DT because business has been so good remotely. We may do some regional wework type spaces for staff that would like to go in, which also means they'd be less likely to use transit since the offices would be closer to where folks live.
Sometimes I do miss the rush hour commute. Getting my coffee, chatting with my train friends, seeing the same conductors, getting a second morning workout from all the walking and stair taking in DT, etc. But remote work is still way better for me. I do think some of the lines like Sepulveda and extending the Crenshaw Line into West Hollywood/south to LAX are very beneficial. But the ones used for everyday rush hour commuting like Metrolink and even a lot of the SGV portions of the Gold Line might need some additional help.