Transit in LA: Getting around LA without a Car

Los Angeles is known for being an autocentric city, but what happens if you decide not to rent a car? I did just that and I'm happy to report that the transit investments in Los Angeles have paid off and that having a car, while still convenient, is no longer mandatory. Transit in LA, at least for everywhere that I went, was a robust and accessible system that let me put more money to my trip instead of into the tank of a car (which is a lot because a gallon of gas is $4 to $6 right now in Los Angeles).

The map above is the full system map, with every bus and train listed. There really is a bus going everywhere, even if it's not very frequent. Within this network is another network of just those lines that run every 15 minutes or less. The dark red lines are for the "Metro Rapid" service, while the yellow lines are for "Metro Local", both of which are bus based services. The difference is that the "Metro Rapid" lines stop at fewer bus stops along the way, making them express buses.

Also visible on the map below are the heavy rail components of the system. The bright red, purple, and turquoise lines. These are traditional subways for the red and purple lines and modern light rail running on the surface for the turquoise line (which is actually the newly opened expo line that will one day reach Santa Monica). The slim green lines are buses that are operated by other municipal agencies, in this case the Big Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus and Rapid Service). In total, there are 44 additional transit agencies that are represented on their main system map.

After the break, we'll get into a nitty-gritty overview of the system and show off the newest pieces of my transit pass collection.

All I want for Christmas...

Dear Santa,

I would like one of these cufflinks, maybe the New York or SF ones. And world peace.

...but focus on which ever is less trouble for you.

Thank you,

SeattleFlyerGuy

[Uncommon Goods]

Transit Pass Collection: Istanbul (Updated)

A little while ago, I posted about the the Akbil, which was the mass transit pass for public transit in Istanbul. Recently, I went back to Istanbul and found out that they've updated their systems! As a result, I got a chance to get the new card and take a few pictures of it.

 The card is basically what we see in most areas that have made the jump to RFID. It's no SUICA (then again, that's Tokyo. Nothing is quite like Tokyo, where you can buy donuts in the train station with your card). This one uses an ePurse which is drawn from to pay for rides, but I didn't notice any major discounts over using the tokens of Akbil.

 A transit nut too? There are close ups of the token after the break...

Goodbye Viaduct

This last Saturday, WSDOT opened up the viaduct for one last hurrah before shutting it down for the first part of demolition. Between the hours of 9:30 and 12:30, anyone could come down and walk up and on the viaduct and being a bit of a transit nut, I decided to go down and look at the structure from a new perspective (as well as claim my chunk of the viaduct). It was an appropriately wet Seattle day, but even with that over 3,000 people turned out to say goodbye.

The viaduct may be an ugly, 1950 concrete wall on the Seattle waterfront, but what everyone came out for is this: The view. On a nice day, driving on the viaduct is the best introduction you can give a person to Seattle. On the right, a close up of the city and on the left the ferries, Olympic mountains, and the Sound. In terms of a comprehensive, easy to access, and beautiful scenic drive this is about is good as you can get in the city itself.

After the break, more photos from the event, including the people, their goodbye notes, and the structure itself.

Transit Pass Collection: Istanbul

When I touch down in a place, nine times out of ten I'm going to be getting on some form of public transit to get where I need to go. I rarely rent cars and love taking the train or bus perhaps more than most, which also means that I end up with a lot of transit passes over my travels. Today I want to share with you one of the most unique I've seen thus far: The Istanbul AKBIL.

The AKBIL, which is a shortening of "Intelligent Ticket" in Turkish is a keychain pass which functions as either an e-purse (stored value) or time limited pass. It's pretty comfortable to hold, and gives you a substantial discount on transit trips in the Istanbul network. Most notably, when you use this you can transfer between services, while normally you pay every time you step onto a vehicle. It also works on rail, bus, and boat.