‘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: Gerardo C
Occupation: Unemployed
Location: Duarte

Your Transportation Routine:

How often do you drive and for what purpose?

I drive practically all the time – for job hunts, interviews and even for fun.

Where are you typically traveling from and going to?

From my home to employment agencies and job interview locations.

How many vehicles do you or your family have?

4

How long does your commute typically take?

20 minutes.

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?

$100 – $300

Do you use any forms of alternative transportation?

Bicycle.

Why do you drive?

Convenient, fast, direct and no wait time.

Your Perspective:

Why can’t/don’t you take transit?

The cost.  Metro Line 264 is the closest line to my house but it stops running too early. If I take transit, I usually drive to the Sierra Madre Villa Station and get around from there – but I don’t like the TAP card with no paper-ticket option.

Have you tried to use transit before? What was your experience?

I used to work in downtown L.A. and took the Metro Gold Line from the Sierra Madre Villa Station to Union Station and I loved it. As a photographer, I still use transit here and there, to explore and get around great distances and not have to deal with paying for parking time and time again.

What could local transit agencies do to encourage you to take transit more often?

[No answer provided]

How do you feel about buses?

I’d ride a bus if there was a route that served my needs.

How do you feel about rail?

I’d ride rail if it there was a route that served my needs.

Given limited funds, how would you address L.A.’s transportation issues?

1. Monorail. I’m by no means a planner but it seems to me that construction of a monorail would be faster and cheaper and it would take advantages of medians that already exist in most any major street.

2. More affordable transit oriented development.

3. More funds from federal government. There’s far too much money wasted on empire/bases around the world and not enough for social services at home.