So I bragged about the Los Angeles public transit system a few weeks ago, informing you of the recent award that named Los Angeles number 1 in public transportation. And then I told you to get on the bus. However, I have to take it upon myself to warn you, especially if you're one of the many Angelenos who have never dared the local transit system before:
There are no bus schedules at the bus stops.
I, being a time-conscious city-dweller, personally have very little tolerance for this oversight by MTA. I can't tell you how many times I've been on my bike, pedalling across this mass city of ours, and being tired, have considered stopping at one of the hundreds of bus stops along my path, but haven't, simply because I don't know how long I'll be waiting.
Now, the MTA has a nifty little website, mapquest style, where you can type in your starting and ending destinations, as well as the time you need to get there, and it will find a route for you. This works for most locations, and it really is quite handy. If the internet ain't your thing, you can also dial 1-800-COMMUTE and get an actual person on the line who will look the information up for you. (Note: This number only works for us during business hours. Please, again, take note of this very important detail.)
But all of the above takes planning. Planning is all good and fine, until you find yourself at a bus stop, without a schedule in sight, wondering if you have time to duck into a nearby store for a sandwich, or if it'd be faster to forgo the bus and get there on foot, bicycle, or skateboard.
Now, the Big Blue Bus of Santa Monica, as well as Culver City's bright green machines, have figured out the handiness of schedules at the stops. Yes, in those areas, you will not be left stranded wondering what time a bus will appear (at many of the stops, anyway). So, kudos to them. But as we all know, Los Angeles is much bigger than just those communities.
So, really, why the overlook?
Here are some theories:
1. The schedules that are up get graffitied over so that you can barely read them anyway, so that MTA says, "What good will they do? People can't read them under that graffiti anyway."
2. Being a laid-back type of town, MTA assumes that the time issue that presses upon other metropolises should not or do not apply to we surfer and sunshine types, therefore assuming that schedules at the stops aren't necessary.
3. The buses won't have to run on time if no one knows what time they are supposed to arrive anyway.
4. There isn't enough money to go around tacking up schedules for buses. The money is better spent widening the 405.
5. MTA thinks that no one wears a watch. They have also conspired to have all the clocks in Los Angeles read a different time than the actual time.
In all truth, many of the buses run quite frequently (except the 218 shuttle over Laurel Canyon in the middle of the day), so that really, no one has to wait that long, schedule or no schedule. Still, though, after a night on the town, when one's got an hour bike ride home, it'd be nice to stop, check out the a neat little lit-up schedule, and throw the bike on the nifty little rack supplied on the front of most buses.
In summary, I believe that America's Best could be better. After all, even those who ride buses have people to see and places to go. And wouldn't it be nice if it could be in a timely fashion?
