I take transit to work sometimes; we’re a one-car family, so if my husband needs the car, I ride the bus to work.  He has a shorter commute, so usually he buses and I drive.

We also use transit for recreation at times too; he might drop me and our older son off at the movies, and we’ll take the bus home while he and our younger son go do the shopping.  Or we’ll all use it to go do holiday shopping or other events where the car is an encumbrance.

When we have out-of-town guests, we usually take them on the Gold Line and use the Red Line to show them Hollywood.

From home to work Downtown on Skid Row (my husband takes the bus to Downtown Glendale); also from home to the Americana or Hollywood.

The 92 goes almost everywhere we need to.  We also use the 180/181 sometimes.

It usually takes me 45-50 minutes door-to-door if I’m using the bus to get to and from work.  For my husband, his work commute takes more like 30-35 minutes.

I love it!

$100 – $300

Behind the wheel, I’m at the mercy of other drivers and their whims.  On the bus, the time is mine; I can read, play a game, or just hear myself think.

When I’m with the kids, they don’t have to be strapped into carseats, so they can see the world go by and I can give them a hug or a kiss whenever I want to.

The bus is safer than a car.  Buses have fewer accidents, go lower speeds, and the passenger compartment is higher than most of the mass moving out on the road.

We save money by only having one car.  Our car insurance dropped by $100/month when we sold one car; we aren’t paying another $150-200/year registration, and we’re paying bus fare instead of fueling up.

With only one vehicle, we think more about where we’re going and how we’re getting there.  We lower our impact on the environment that way, and see more of the world around us.

Several times a week, mostly in the afternoon/evening to visit friends and social events.

From North Hollywood to Hollywood, Downtown, and the San Gabriel Valley to avoid traffic on the 101 and the 134.  It takes less time and I find myself not aggravated upon arrival, and if I have a few drinks, I don’t have to worry about driving home.

Orange Line, Red Line, Purple Line, Gold Line.

If it had a timetable that worked with my work schedule, the 183 Bus would cover work commute, but I don’t currently take it.

Red Line from NoHo to Downtown is 30 minutes, and slightly to substantially longer to go to the SGV since the Red Line arrival times and Gold Line Northbound departures always seem to be staggered just right so that a gold train leaves right as my Red Line train pulls into Union Station – meaning a wait for the next train.  The 20 minute evening interval (and sometimes more, as cars/trains are removed from the track or taken out of service for the evening) between Gold Line trains has made for some unfortunate delays, but I’m generally not on a deadline to be somewhere when I’m taking transit.

This interval also makes it really impractical to hop on a Gold Line train to get to the Little Tokyo Arts District stop (where I often go), but it’s a pleasant walk form Union Station if you’re not in a hurry.

I love it!

$100 – $300

Avoid traffic, save gas and I enjoy taking trains.

But mostly because of traffic.

I take transit five days a week to work and back and I do this due to not owning a car. I do this in conjunction with a bicycle to and from the transit.

I start from home at the corner of Cahuenga Blvd. and Moorpark St. finishing up at Roscoe Blvd. and Fallbrook Ave. which is where I work. In terms of transit, that would be the Orange Line from Lankershim Blvd. to Canoga Blvd.

I take the Orange Line.

1 hour and 45 minutes.

I deal with it.

$50 – $100

I don’t own a car. It also forces me to exercise every day which is not something I would do if I had an easy and convenient use of a car.

Commuting to school, visiting places west of the San Gabriel Valley for recreation.

My commute is Azusa to UCLA.  Sometimes I visit places like Downtown L.A., Chinatown, West Hollywood, Santa Monica, etc. just to walk around somewhere interesting.

Foothill Transit 492. Metro 190, 720, 920, 761, Silver Line, Purple Line, Red Line and more.

Commuting to and from UCLA takes 2.5 to 3 hours one way, but in evening rush hour this is sometimes comparable to taking a car.  Just getting from East San Gabriel Valley to the eastern terminus of the Silver Line at El Monte Station takes about 45 minutes – add on time to that if I intend to go anywhere in the city of L.A.

I deal with it.

Less than $50

My home in a mobile home park has only one parking space which is occupied by my mother’s car, so I need my own way of getting around if I need to go far, or somewhere that I can’t share a ride with her.

L.A. traffic is terrible enough that when going to the Westside (by the way: to many San Gabriel Valley people, that means anywhere west of Downtown L.A.), transit and car are often comparable in terms of time.

UCLA vanpools do not fit my schedule since their last return trip leaves campus too early in the afternoon, and housing options in Westwood are extremely expensive compared to living out here.

I also value the environment and believe that more people should try to take transit and cut their consumption in general.