Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 8

For this week's post, I decided to comment on Phillip Lee's blog, "Social Difference in the L.A. Metropolitan Region".  Although this is a comment on Phillip's post about the bus, I chose to document a trip I took on the bus this week in my comment rather than a separate post. 

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Hello Philip,

Thanks for your post on your experience on the Metro bus. Last night, I took a trip using public transportation to Santa Monica, and seemed to have a similar experience too.

I agree with your statement that it is fascinating to see how much people depend on the transportation system. To me, the LA public transportation system seems to be a disorganized, unreliable mess. I can't imagine what my life in LA would be like without having a car to travel with. Although the bus is a cheaper method of transportation, it does not seem to be convenient to me based on my past experience.

A picture of me on the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus (Line 2)!

My boyfriend and I decided to attempt at using Public Transport to get to Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.  What sounded like a quick easy trip turned into quite an adventure.  We first waited at the Ackerman Bus Terminal for about thirty minutes before giving up and going to another stop on Westholme and Westwood.  We then finally spotted a 2 bus and sprinted down Westwood to then figure out it was the 8 line, but got on anyways.  When we got on the 8, the bus driver fussed and fussed until we put in our 4 quarters fare.  After going merely 2 stops, the bus stopped at Hilgard Terminal and all passengers had to get off- we went the completely wrong direction and paid $1.00 for nothing!  Then, we hopped on the correct 2 line and got to Santa Monica around 7:15 pm.  

Most of the people on our bus seemed to be of the lower class or working middle class.  They were all not interested in talking to one another, and everyone seemed to know what they were doing and which line to take.  This is when it became evident to me that using public transport in LA takes experience. One passenger on our bus was rather overweight, and it took her about fifteen minutes to board the bus.  She was yelling at the bus driver the whole time, and the bus driver seemed to already know her name, which made me think she must take the 2 often.   I am not sure where she was going, but she got off only one stop later in an area that didn't look so nice.  

While observing the passengers on the bus, I came to a similar conclusion that you did.  People that use Los Angeles public transportation have the stereotype of being poverty stricken.  For me, using the bus was a hassle and wasn't a fun experience because I didn't know what I was doing. Every time I have taken public transportation, the busses haven't shown up on time, and I end up chasing random busses down the street.  It is not usually a pleasurable experience and causes me more stress than it's worth.