I’ve lived in Los Angeles for nearly 10 years.
I recently started riding the bus.
Q: Nobody rides the bus in Los Angeles. Unless they are poor. Or a minority. Or like to be inconvenienced. Which one are you?
A: I am a non-poor white girl. As for being inconvenienced, circling the block in your car and looking for free parking and then giving up and paying for parking can also be inconvenient. (For a more relevant answer, see my blog post “So how much time am I wasting, exactly?”)
Q: I live in L.A. Can you help me ride the bus?
A: Yes. For the basics, check out my how-to guide.
Q: Why did you start riding the bus? Is it because you care about the environment and/or you’re a hippie and/or you think you’re better than me?
A: No, I was a dumbass who got into a car accident. Also, my bike was stolen.
Q: Do you ride the bus because gas prices are so high?
A: No, I was a dumbass who got into a car accident. Although if I were smarter, and not a dumbass, I would have started riding the bus much sooner, because it saves me $70 a month.
Q: How is your car now?
A: My car is fine and completely drivable. But I’m going to keep riding the bus because I am scared to drive, and also because I’m obsessed with seeing all the different ways I can save money by using the bus, and all the different places I can go on the bus.
Q: Be honest: are the people who ride the bus in L.A. scary?
A: Yes; they are like Morlocks. Do not engage them. Actually, no. They are no more or less scary than the people in the cars or the people on foot. They might be smarter, though, because they are saving a crapload of money every day.
Q: Be honest: are the buses in L.A. miserable and hot?
A: There is actually plenty of air conditioning, and the interiors are kept nice and clean for the most part. You might see graffiti scratched into the windows, but it’s not horrible. The potholes in the streets are extremely jarring at first and make the bus jump and crunch, but if you drive in your car it’s not much better.
Q: Why did you start this blog?
A: Because I can’t deal with my feelings.
Q: Is every single post going to be about stupid shit that happened to you on the bus?
A: Probably. I also write book reviews, because I get a lot of reading done during my commute.
2 responses so far ↓
How-to Guide « Riding the Bus in L.A. // July 12, 2008 at 6:33 pm
[...] About / FAQ [...]
tanglad // July 12, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Stumbled on your blog and just wanted to say hey. I’ve been riding LA Metro for a year and a half now, and it’s always an interesting experience. Of course, there are days when I hate everyone on board. But more often, I feel like the bus is for me what those Paris cafes were to Hemingway. So many stories in those things. One day, I’ll write about them. Happy riding!