Category Archives: Why You Ride

Why You Ride (or Don’t) Thursday roundup

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How do you feel about bus and rail? Infographic.

In our Why You Don’t Ride (unscientific) survey we asked readers who don’t regularly ride public transit, “How do you feel about bus and rail?”

Here’s how the answers panned out;

  • 69% responded: I’d ride a bus if there was a route that served my needs.
  • 97% responded: I’d ride rail if it there was a route that served my needs.
  • 12% responded: I’d ride a bus, but only if it has a dedicated lane.
  • 18%: I probably wouldn’t ride a bus.
  • 3%: I probably wouldn’t ride rail.

It turns out that Source readers who drive aren’t neccessarily married to the mode – in fact we only had two respondents who claimed they probably wouldn’t ride bus or rail at all.

What’s also interesting is that a majority of drivers would ride a bus if there was one that served their needs. Of course, one’s needs is a really broad variable – and if speed is one of those needs (and our survey data shows that speed is a big reason why drivers choose their cars over transit), it’s often hard for a bus in mixed traffic to compete with a car.

This is probably why we see that almost 100% of respondents indicate that they would ride rail if there was a route that served them.

Here are our selections this week – both TZ and Lawrence have some interesting commentary on the bus/rail split:

Read the surveys, after the jump. Continue reading →

Why You Ride (or Don’t) Thursday roundup

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Why You Drive - Most common responses.

The infographic above is a visualization of the most common responses to the question, “Why do you drive?” in our Why You Don’t Ride survey.

It really came down to two things for survey respondents: convenience and speed.

Despite the recent report that L.A. has the worst traffic in the U.S., those who choose to drive do it for the speed. Long commutes are often made longer by buses that have to make many stops or when a rider must transfer, and the convenience of being able to set their own schedule rather than adhering to a transit schedule is attractive to many drivers.

Here’s what one respondent, John from Monrovia, had to say about the issue:

“Why would I sacrifice speed and flexibility just to use Metro?  It should be one or the other.  Driving should be more flexible, and rail should be faster.  Since buses compete on the same grid as cars, they’re doomed to fail on both counts.”

Other common responses included: ease of use, reliability, safety and the fact that some just had no other choice. Safety is an interesting answer considering that over 30,000 Americans are killed each year in car accidents – but most of the answers in the survey were referring to the perception of safety in and around transit stops, especially late at night.

Why should Metro care about why people choose to drive? If increasing ridership is a goal, it’s important to know what the competition has to offer. How can Metro compete with the car – especially in terms of convenience and speed? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Here are our selections this week:

Read the surveys, after the jump. Continue reading →

Why You Ride (or Don't) Thursday roundup

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One change that would improve your transit experience - word cloud

The above infographic displays a word cloud of answers pulled from the following question on our Why You Ride survey: “If you could make one change to improve your transit experience, what would it be?“

While readers expressed a multitude of opinions, a few ideas popped up again and again: more frequent service, expanded late night service, free transfers, access to real time arrival information and an improved TAP card with stored-value.

The good news is that a few of these issues are actively being addressed – TAP cards are moving towards full stored-value implementation and Next Bus is on its way (stay tuned for an update).

Not quite as pressing, but worth mentioning: a few riders would like a better smelling ride more than anything else.

Here are our selections this week:

Read the surveys, after the jump. Continue reading →

Why You Ride (or Don't) Thursday roundup

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Last August we embarked on a little experiment – we decided to open up the blog to our readers and give them the chance to tell us why they ride transit. We didn’t stop there though, we also decided to ask those who don’t ride to tell us why.

The response was overwhelming, we received 325 completed surveys (227 “Why You Ride”, 98 “Why You Don’t Ride”), many of them going into detail about what keeps them on or off transit and what they’d like to see Metro do to improve transit in L.A. County.

We started publishing the results immediately, allowing other readers (including Metro staff) to see how their fellow Angelenos felt about L.A.’s growing transit system. We posted 48 surveys to the blog last year and they often sparked good discussion on the comments board, but some felt the daily postings were becoming a little overwhelming (including Streetsblog L.A., who still awarded us with 2010 Streetsie Award for best news site despite the frequent postings).

This doesn’t mean we’re done publishing the surveys – but to turn down the daily noise we’ll be posting a selection of them in a single post every Thursday from now on.

Also, we’ve closed the survey so that we can collect the data and analyze the results. We’ve actually got some bigger plans once we’ve compiled all the data, so stay tuned.

Here are our selections this week:

Read the surveys, after the jump. Continue reading →

Why You Don't Ride: RDM, Long Beach

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‘Why You Ride (or Don’t Ride)‘ is a series where you, our faithful readers, share your transportation routines in L.A. and your thoughts on how to make things better – read more about the concept here.

Want to share your story? Take the survey here if you ride transit regularly, or take this one if you don’t ride.

Who You Are:

Name: RDM
Occupation: Scientist
Location: Long Beach

Your Transportation Routine:

How often do you drive and for what purpose?

Daily commuting.

Where are you typically traveling from and going to?

To work in Costa Mesa from Long Beach.

How many vehicles do you or your family have?

1

How long does your commute typically take?

1 hour.

Briefly, how would you describe your typical driving experience? Love it, deal with it, or hate it?

I deal with it.

On average, what do you spend each month on transportation?

$300 – $500

Do you use any forms of alternative transportation?

None of these are feasible for regular use on my commute.

Why do you drive?

Inter-county travel is extremely poor in southern California. If I relied on public transit (LB Transit plus OCTA), it would probably take 2 hours each way to get to work. This assumes that transfers work perfectly. If I miss a transfer (not unlikely), it could easily add an hour each way.

Continue reading →

Why You Ride: M, Hollywood

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‘Why You Ride (or Don’t Ride)‘ is a series where you, our faithful readers, share your transportation routines in L.A. and your thoughts on how to make things better – read more about the concept here.

Want to share your story? Take the survey here if you ride transit regularly, or take this one if you don’t ride.

Who You Are:

Name: M
Occupation: Artist
Location: Hollywood

Your Transit Routine:

How often do you take transit and for what purpose?

I take it 4-5 days a week to work and back home mostly. Occasionally I take it if I want to drink and not have to drive.

Where are you typically traveling from and going to?

From Hollywood to the Grove area.

What lines/routes do you take?

222 or 156 then 217 or 780 depending.

How long does it typically take?

780 and 217 can take 20 to 25 minutes for the ride…

156 and the 222 10 to 15 minutes for the ride….

But all of these buses need more frequent buses. Especially the 222. The wait for the next bus can be as much as an hour, if the bus shows as scheduled.

Briefly, how would you describe your typical transit experience? Love it, deal with it, or hate it?

I deal with it.

On average, what do you spend each month on transportation?

$50 – $100

Why do you take transit?

I did it because of the stress of driving and finding parking. I was thrilled with the savings in my car insurance and gas, as well is lowering my carbon footprint.

Continue reading →

Why You Ride: DJ, Downtown L.A.

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‘Why You Ride (or Don’t Ride)‘ is a series where you, our faithful readers, share your transportation routines in L.A. and your thoughts on how to make things better – read more about the concept here.

Want to share your story? Take the survey here if you ride transit regularly, or take this one if you don’t ride.

Who You Are:

Name: DJ
Occupation: Planner
Location: Downtown L.A.

Your Transit Routine:

How often do you take transit and for what purpose?

I take it for most of my transportation needs; from running errands to commuting.

Where are you typically traveling from and going to?

I live downtown and often go to Hollywood or the Westside.

What lines/routes do you take?

The 720 Metro Rapid line to Santa Monica; The Red and Purple Lines; sometimes I’ll take the Gold Line to visit Pasadena or the Silver Line to visit my parents in the South Bay.

How long does it typically take?

It doesn’t take more than 20 minutes to travel between Hollywood and Downtown. A trip to The Westside is generally over an hour.

Briefly, how would you describe your typical transit experience? Love it, deal with it, or hate it?

I deal with it.

On average, what do you spend each month on transportation?

$50 – $100

Why do you take transit?

It’s much less stressful than driving. Since I have no parking space where I live, if my car is parked on a curb that doesn’t require me to move it I won’t. I also hate driving for environmental reasons.

Continue reading →

Why You Don't Ride: JEG, San Fernando Valley

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‘Why You Ride (or Don’t Ride)‘ is a series where you, our faithful readers, share your transportation routines in L.A. and your thoughts on how to make things better – read more about the concept here.

Want to share your story? Take the survey here if you ride transit regularly, or take this one if you don’t ride.

Who You Are:

Name: JEG
Occupation: IT Manager
Location: San Fernando Valley

Your Transportation Routine:

How often do you drive and for what purpose?

Daily, to and from work, errands, drop-offs/pick-ups, activities, etc.

Where are you typically traveling from and going to?

Are you asking:  Home to work and back, School, store, theatre, etc.
Or are you asking:  I live in San Fernando Valley and commute to Downtown LA

How many vehicles do you or your family have?

1

How long does your commute typically take?

35 min. in the morning. 40-50 min. in the evening

Briefly, how would you describe your typical driving experience? Love it, deal with it, or hate it?

I deal with it.

On average, what do you spend each month on transportation?

$300 – $500

Do you use any forms of alternative transportation?

No.

Why do you drive?

Time and Schedule.  I need flexibility and the shortest travel time I can get (don’t we all).  L.A. transit takes 15-60 minutes longer in door-to-door time depending on the destination, if its even going where I need to go when I need to go.  I’m not close enough to the schools for my kids to ride, and with after school activities there are usually pick-ups and drop-offs on the way to somewhere else.

Continue reading →

Why You Ride: ES, Koreatown

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‘Why You Ride (or Don’t Ride)‘ is a series where you, our faithful readers, share your transportation routines in L.A. and your thoughts on how to make things better – read more about the concept here.

Want to share your story? Take the survey here if you ride transit regularly, or take this one if you don’t ride.

Who You Are:

Name: ES
Occupation: Analyst
Location: Koreatown

Your Transit Routine:

How often do you take transit and for what purpose?

To and from work, everyday.

Where are you typically traveling from and going to?

From Koreatown to Santa Monica all the way to Ocean Ave.

What lines/routes do you take?

920/720. [Editors note: the 920 is no longer in service as of 12/12/10.]

How long does it typically take?

40-50 minutes in the morning; 50-60 minutes in the afternoon.

Briefly, how would you describe your typical transit experience? Love it, deal with it, or hate it?

I deal with it.

On average, what do you spend each month on transportation?

Less than $50

Why do you take transit?

Save money, avoid stress in finding a parking spot when driving, go green.

Continue reading →

Why You Don't Ride: NRH, Westlake

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‘Why You Ride (or Don’t Ride)‘ is a series where you, our faithful readers, share your transportation routines in L.A. and your thoughts on how to make things better – read more about the concept here.

Want to share your story? Take the survey here if you ride transit regularly, or take this one if you don’t ride.

Who You Are:

Name: NRH
Occupation: Administrative Assistant
Location: Westlake

Your Transportation Routine:

How often do you drive and for what purpose?

During the week I drive 0.6 miles to work and back and on the weekends I commute to Whittier. I often take spur of the moment trips to the valley or Long Beach to meet friends.

Where are you typically traveling from and going to?

Traveling to work, to see my mother, or to meet up with friends.

How many vehicles do you or your family have?

1

How long does your commute typically take?

7 minutes.

Briefly, how would you describe your typical driving experience? Love it, deal with it, or hate it?

I hate it. There has to be a better way.

On average, what do you spend each month on transportation?

$100 – $300

Do you use any forms of alternative transportation?

Sometimes I walk to work.

Why do you drive?

I drive because it’s convenient, despite having a gas-hog, high-maintenance old minivan. I can choose when I want to travel, where I want to travel, and with a smartphone to map my way, I don’t need to plan ahead.

Continue reading →