I’d like to join my partner in writing, Steve Hymon, in welcoming you to The Source, Metro’s new online news and features service meant to connect you – the taxpayer, the transit user, the livable streets advocate, the guy stuck in traffic on the 101 – to the agency.

Metro is massive in almost every way, from the geographic area it serves (1,433 square miles) to the number of buses it runs (over 2,000 on an average weekday), and this fact alone makes it seem out of reach to the average Angeleno.  The Source is a chance to make Metro approachable.  By compressing its massiveness down to the size of your web browser and providing daily postings on what’s going on, where your money’s being spent, and how you can get involved, my hope is that The Source will provide a level of accessibility, transparency, and understanding to Metro’s customers and taxpayers that simply wasn’t before possible.

While Steve will be doing the heavy lifting on policy, funding, and all that wonky stuff that makes my eyes glaze over, I’ve been called in to write about the day-to-day realities of living, working and having fun in Los Angeles – you guessed it – without a car.  We’re calling it the Metro Lifestyle, and it’s a lifestyle I’ve been living for the last four years, after I decided in 2005 to get rid of my trusty Honda Accord and all the stress that came along with it.  I loved car-free living in Los Angeles so much that I even started my own blog, MetroRiderLA, which has been an independent resource for the growing group of like-minded Angelenos for the past three years.

My goal is to share with readers ways to supplant some or all car usage with transit and other alternatives — from tips on how to best use the bus and rail system to listing Metro accessible events. I’d really like to focus on the “now”, so if you’re stressed from sitting in traffic or you’re sick of high gas prices you can make the change tomorrow and not in 20 years.  And if you’re already living the Metro lifestyle, pat yourself on the back, I plan on reporting on the ways Metro is working to make your life easier through new technologies and other improvements.

As Steve mentioned in his earlier posting, The Source will not be accepting reader comments, but if you have anything you wish to share related to living the Metro lifestyle, just shoot an email to thesource@metro.net.  Your comments, stories, and suggestions are essential in crafting the content for this site.

Los Angeles may be the birthplace of the car culture, but here at The Source we’re going to show you that it’s not the only way to live.