If you’ve lived in Los Angeles long enough, you realize that it is not about distance in miles but approximate time it takes to get from place to place. You also realize that seeking alternative commuting options are scarce and inconvenient and the only option left is to drive an automobile. You learn to accept that a typical twenty mile drive commute to work that should take you 20 to 30 minutes will actually take you an hour or more. This is Los Angeles. A traffic nightmare for those living here within a county that spreads out over a fifty mile radius. All created thanks to GM, the now bankrupt then government owned General Motors company.
Commuter trains for Souther California.
Welcome to Los Angeles! It used to be that Los Angeles had one of the most robust network of public transportation systems in the United States filled with electric trolley routes. These routes have all since been abandoned or effectively made inactive because GM sought to eliminate public transportation in favor of selling automobiles when they bought up public transportation companies. Albeit there are plans to put forth tax payer dollars and using Federal funding to improve the infrastructure, we are starting slowly and any of these plans may not be realized until the end of the first quarter of this century. For now, we get the Metrolink and the Metro for all commuting purposes which really does not have many stations to make this any convenient.
Hmm, our equivalent to the BART in San Francisco. A bit bare to be honest.
One things certain, I do not feel bad for GM. They pumped out crappy cars for the past three decades enabling foreign automakers to dominate the U.S. automobile market. I seriously hope they get on the right track, restructures itself and start introducing vehicles that would make all American’s proud.
There will also be rumors of a high speed rail to be introduced between Los Angeles and San Francisco with Sacramento and San Diego implemented later. Another suggested line or rumor is a high speed rail from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. In my opinion, I would welcome both as it would definitely ease traffic along with the time and headache dealt with traveling to both places. If I had an option to travel by train, I would prefer it over plane or automobile. Automobile requires me to try my hardest to avoid freeway syndrome and there is always the potential traffic disaster that comes with leaving Las Vegas on a Sunday afternoon. Flying is always the quickest route, but it is also much more expensive and going through airport security is not the most inviting aspect to start or end a vacation trip. So I’ll go on a limb and belch out a given, “HELL YES!” for a high speed rail that will connect top destinations as well as a public train transportation on the local level that can get me to the “grand station” to connect to all those other cities.
I can look forward to the future where a high speed rail can take my lazy ass from LA to Vegas in a little over 1 hour and a trip from LA to San Francisco in just under 3 hours. Even if I’ll be 50 by that time, it’ll still be the “green” thing to do.