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Can Los Angeles Metro System Live Up to Its Potential?
12/13/2024In the early 1900s, Los Angeles built the world's largest and most efficient streetcar network. However, in a shocking reversal, the city scrapped its streetcars by the mid-1960s. Realizing its traffic problems weren't being solved by adding more highway lanes, LA acknowledged its mistake and began rebuilding its train network. With the 2028 Olympics on the horizon, the city's public transit expansion gained even more momentum. Before riding the LA Metro, I would read wildly mixed reviews about it. So when an opportunity came about in the summer of 2024, my wife and I spent three days exploring the city by train - from LAX to Norwalk, from Downtown to North Hollywood, and from Long Beach to Santa Monica.
As of 2024, LA has a decent rail system, spanning two subway and four light rail lines. While it’s clearly not enough for a city of its massive size and over 10 million residents, Metro LA is in the midst of its largest expansion since the 1990s.
One thing you need to understand about LA is its enormous size. Even without traffic, a simple highway drive from point A to point B can easily exceed an hour. LA sits in a vast natural valley, surrounded by mountains and the Pacific Ocean. This unique geography creates a pleasant year-round climate, making it an extremely desirable place to live.
Unlike many other major US cities, LA prioritized single-family residences over high-rise apartments. This decision made early in the city's history, played an important role in shaping LA's sprawling nature.
At the end of the 19th century, suburban developers in LA faced a big challenge: how to make their remote neighbourhoods appealing to potential residents? They solved it by building and operating a large streetcar network, which enabled people to easily travel between the suburbs and Downtown LA.
Streetcars were typically constructed along very long, straight roads. They provided easy access to groceries, supply stores, laundromats, dry cleaners, and other essential services. All within walking distance from a streetcar stop.
At its peak, LA had an extensive streetcar network featuring yellow streetcars that provided frequent service between downtown and adjacent neighbourhoods, and red streetcars operated as a high-speed commuter network, linking the suburbs to downtown LA.
As cars became more accessible to the average American, the demand for streetcars went down, and people started to switch from taking public transportation to driving.
In 1945, National City Lines, a General Motors-owned holding company, purchased LA's streetcar network. This marked the beginning of the end, as General Motors was not interested in saving the streetcar system (well, quite the opposite actually) since it was, and still is, selling cars and buses. The last streetcar in Los Angeles was taken off the streets on March 31, 1963. The city became 100% car and bus-centric. Sadly, this marked the end of an era of streetcars in LA, once the largest streetcar network in the world.
It took less than 10 years for LA to acknowledge the mistake of killing its streetcar network. As Edmonton and San Diego successfully launched their light rail systems in 1978 and 1981, respectively, LA was like “Wait a second, should we do the same?” And so the new era of rail transit began.
The first light rail line, now known as the A Line was opened on July 14, 1990. It ran between Downtown LA and Long Beach, ironically using much of the original right-of-way of the former red streetcars. It has since expanded to Azusa and became the longest LRT line in the world with a length of 48.5 miles / 78.1 km.
The other three LRT lines are (1) Line E, which runs from Santa Monica to East LA; (2) Line C, which runs from LAX to Norwalk, mostly in the median of the 105 freeway, and (3) Line K, which currently runs in two separate sections from Expo to Inglewood, and from LAX to Redondo Beach, but the line will be fully connected in 2025.
All LRT trains are Japanese-made Kinki Sharyo built between 2014 and 2020. I really like these trains. They are sturdy, quiet, fast and sharp-looking. Line C's speeds frequently hit 100 km/h (60 mph), providing a satisfying experience as you zip past vehicles stuck on the 105 freeway. Isn't this the ultimate goal of well-designed public transit in cities?
In addition to light rail, LA Metro has two heavy subway lines. Line B runs from North Hollywood to Downtown LA, and Line D runs from Koreatown to Downtown LA sharing tracks between the Wilshire / Vermont and Union stations. Line D is currently being expanded to West LA. The subway cars on these two lines were manufactured by the Italian company Breda at its Pistoia plant in Italy between 1988 and 1997. As you can see, the trains are quite old and worn down, so LA is about to start replacing them with futuristic-looking Chinese CRRC trains.
I’m convinced that the best way to understand the city of LA is to take its metro. Many stations feature local art, especially those in downtown LA and Hollywood. Some like Vermont / Hollywood are very unique and beautiful.
While the LA Metro system has its strengths, it’s plagued by a few issues. In my opinion, safety is the top concern. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the issue, pushing many Angelenos to choose driving instead of taking trains despite the epic traffic jams. Trying to address this, LA Metro introduced Metro Ambassadors, social workers who replaced police officers at stations. Although their presence was meant to reduce crime, the results haven’t been that strong, forcing the city to establish a separate transit police force.
The opioid crisis ravaging California is having a profound impact on LA Metro. Unfortunately, we have seen many passengers struggling with addiction or mental health issues. This inevitably leads to incidents, some of them quite disturbing even to us seasoned travellers. We witnessed this firsthand when a rider under the influence began smoking marijuana on a moving train. We, as many other passengers, quickly changed the cars.
Travelling on Line A between Willowbrook/Rosa Parks and Washington stations and past the Skid Row area was particularly unsettling. This huge area has fallen into disrepair, with visible signs of homelessness, drug use, and neglect, including trash-filled streets and shelters made from old RV vehicles and tents.
During our train rides, we saw vendors selling various goods, including food, sweets, and even socks. I’ve never seen anything like this in North America. This speaks volumes about poverty in this luxurious city and many of its people trying to make ends meet.
We also witnessed many instances of fare evasion, which was surprising given the relatively low cost of LA Metro. With a single ride costing only $1.75 - a fare that can take you from Norwalk to Santa Monica or from Long Beach to Pasadena - and daily and weekly passes available for just $5 and $18, respectively, LA Metro is significantly cheaper than most major North American cities.
Another issue we encountered, particularly on Line C, was the excessive noise. Most stations are located literally in the middle of the busy eight-lane freeway 105 and the lack of effective sound barriers means that you need earplugs while waiting for a train on the platform, sometimes for 20 minutes. And I’m not even talking about being exposed to dust, fuel exhausts, and all kinds of weather.
Line C caters exclusively to commuters from car-dependent suburbs. In our experience, despite staying at an Airbnb just a 1/2 mile from the station, the fence surrounding a huge parking lot adjacent to the station forced us to take a bus, as the alternative walking route would have taken 30 minutes along busy roads.
But it’s not just doom and gloom. I think the LA Metro's future is bright, driven by its ever-expanding rail network and modernized train fleet. By prioritizing safety and increasing service frequency, the system can unlock its full potential, joining the ranks of decent transit networks in cities like New York, Boston, and Washington DC.
Just to end my article on a cheerful note, below are some pictures of the Angel's Flight funicular. It tells a remarkable story of preservation and community triumph. Angel's Flight, a historic site and iconic landmark, was once slated for demolition. However, through the tireless efforts of local activists, historians, and city officials, this beloved gem has been saved for future generations to cherish.
My other posts about the subway systems in the world:
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