This week, TransportiCA has been in Los Angeles covering the American Public Transportation Association's annual meeting and the L.A. Green Festival. With some rare free time, I was able to ride L.A. Metro's Expo Line from the La Cienega / Jefferson station to downtown Santa Monica, with best friend and international rock star, Jay Spears. (Pictured below.)
In a June Tweet, I noted the Expo Line from downtown L.A. to downtown Santa Monica is, well, light rail transit done excellently. Besides being located in a densely populated and massively job-rich area of Los Angeles, the Expo Line bridges the rail divide between the Westside and downtown. Further, with an assortment of transit connections at each station, more non-Westside riders are able to visit the area quicker, and without the worry of traffic affecting even a Rapid line.
While I rode the Expo Line shortly after its May opening, this was Spears' first time, despite being a Westsider. Although traffic to the La Cienega station was horrific, we made it around 17:00, and surprisingly - riding the Expo during the evening commute, the train was not as packed as expected.

Returning to the La Cienega / Jefferson Station on a crowded train - which was good, we discussed the transit renaissance L.A. is undergoing, and the potential for even more transformation, if citizens pass Measure M in November. We also spoke of the Gold Line extension to Claremont, the potential Green Line extension - further south to Torrance and into LAX, as well as, Measure M's plan to assist low-income riders further with critical subsidies.
Upon boarding the Expo Line, I stated to Spears how around 2004 - shortly after the Gold Line's initial opening, I mentioned a rail line on the Westside would probably not happen in my lifetime. Thankfully, I was dead wrong, and I hope other Angelenos ride the Expo Line to see the great destinations it offers, and why it is attracting so many new riders.
No comments:
Post a Comment