How to visit Los Angeles without a car

by Mike Barish on

Los Angeles is known for a lot of things: celebrities, beaches, smog and police chases, to name a few. But, when it comes to planning a trip to LA, perhaps the fact that will stick out the most is that LA is a car town (which explains the smog and police chases). Los Angeles is a sprawling city that is really several towns and neighborhoods that are connected by a series of highways that stretch for miles.

As such, when you’re planning a trip to LA, somewhere on your to-do list will be the task of renting a car. But what if you don’t want to spend that money? Or contribute to that smog? Or be chased by police? There has to be a better way! As I prepared to head to LA last week, I decided to skip renting a car. I asked my friends on Twitter and Facebook if I was crazy and received these responses:

“It can’t be done.”
“You’re insane, Barish.”
“People will stare at you if you walk more than two blocks.”

Not a lot of optimism there. Was I crazy? Can you visit LA without a car? Well, I endeavored to do just that. Join me, won’t you?
It’s worth noting that I was only in Los Angeles for two days. While not a lengthy stay, I did have a packed agenda. I needed to attend three meetings, a dinner and a charity event. My challenge: to make all those activities happen without having a car of my own. How did I do it? It was simple really.

Airport Shuttles – Before arriving in LA, I had made a reservation with SuperShuttle. A one-way trip to or from LAX costs $16, and they have discounts if you book round trip or use a discount code. Sure, we meandered to my hotel in West Hollywood while dropping off other passengers, but, 90 minutes after my Virgin America flight touched down, I was in my room. That’s not terrible and and it’s cheap. I took the SuperShuttle back to LAX two days later and arrived with time to spare.

The Internet – First, the bad news: Google Maps and HopStop don’t include Los Angeles in their transit directions. Now, the good news: The Los Angeles MTA website provides detailed transit directions with astonishingly accurate time estimates. It fast became my best friend when I needed to take…

Buses – Yes, people take buses in LA. Despite what my friends and native Angelinos told me, I found the bus routes to be quite convenient. I caught a bus right outside my hotel and, three miles and 30 minutes later, I arrived a half-block away from Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles for my first meal in LA. I transferred between two buses while traveling the 13 miles from my hotel to the Skirball Cultural Center in the Santa Monica Mountains. Sure, it took me an hour, but the buses delivered me practically door-to-door.

Selfishness – My first night in LA, I was staying at the Mondrian. It’s home to SkyBar, which is a bit of a hip scene. So, when I offered to schedule one of my meetings at the other person’s office, she quickly suggested that we instead meet over drinks at my hotel. I quickly agreed and avoided having to commute anywhere. Is this cheating? I had my meeting, avoided all transportation and had some delicious mojitos. Seems fair to me.

Rely on Friends – I had dinner plans with a friend while I was in town and we decided to eat in Venice. In order to get us eating sooner rather than later, she offered to pick me up from my hotel and give me a ride to the restaurant. We used the time in the car to catch up and she was happy to do me the favor. And, at the end of that charity event that I attended, a very nice business contact of mine offered to drive me back to my hotel. It may have been out of pity (or maybe it was because I’m charming), but it got me to where I needed to be and only cost me a profuse series of thank yous (thanks again, Sarah).

Walk – Shockingly, you can walk places in LA. So long as Point A and Point B are in the same neighborhood. I walked the mile or so back from my lunch meeting in Hollywood to my hotel and enjoyed working off the meal. And no one stared at me!

Taxis – I actually wanted to avoid taxis. I had been told that they were expensive and they’re not much better for the environment than just having my own car. But, I had left my sunglasses at the Mondrian (after checking out) and had to be at a meeting in 30. The only way I could manage to be on time was to take a cab back to the hotel and then to my meeting. The four mile, 30 minute errand cost me $27 (including tip) and proved my friends right about one thing: cabs in LA are beyond pricey.

Trains – The LA Metro was great for…oh, who am I kidding? Everyone I spoke to said that the Metro was useless and, as far as I can tell, they’re right.

I spent roughly $33 dollars on SuperShuttle trips, $5 on buses and $27 on a taxi. That’s $65. Or, less than the cost of a rental car for one day (and that taxi fare was only necessary because of my carelessness). I used the time on buses to check email and I didn’t contribute to the smog or get chased by the LAPD.

I will concede that I managed without a car for two key reasons: I was able to isolate much of what I was doing to one neighborhood (Hollywood) and it was a short visit. But I hope my point was made. LA can be done without a car if you plan in advance, impose on some friends and don’t mind getting asked by at least three people if “you lost your license because of a DUI.”

Photos by flickr users biofriendly (top) and stevelyon (bottom).

Britons Bring Bowel Bacteria Onto Buses

by Mike Barish on

I’ve never been much of a germaphobe. I don’t carry Purell with me. I don’t wash my hands obsessively. And I don’t walk around with a mask on. But then I come across a story like this one on the BBC News website and I start to question whether I should live in a bubble. A recent recent study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (is there a better location for the study of tropical medicine?) has discovered that more than one in four commuters in the UK has bacteria associated with fecal matter on their hands.

Dr. Val Curtis, director of the Hygiene Center at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said, “If any of these people had been suffering from a diarrhoeal disease, the potential for it to be passed around would be greatly increased by their failure to wash their hands after going to the toilet.” That, quite frankly, is more than I need from my daily commute. I’m just looking to get from Point A to Point B. Point D(iarrhea) is not part of my plan.

I ride the New York City subways to work everyday and I will admit that I avoid holding onto the bars/poles in the trains as much as possible. If I have to hold on, I typically wrap my arm around the pole so as to keep my hands clean. But sometimes you just have to grab on. However, I’m fairly certain that I don’t have fecal matter all over my hands. Because I wash them after I use the toilet. It’s everyone else who is apparently wiping their asses barehanded and then touching everything.

So, as we approach cold and flu season, perhaps it’s time to remind ourselves to wash our hands often. And use toilet paper instead of just our hands. It’s a great big world out there but it’s the tiny bacteria that will kill you. Or at least ravage your GI tract. Be sure to wave at me when I pass by in my bubble.

A Keyhole into Burma – “Buy the ticket, take the ride”

by Leif Pettersen on

The local buses in Yangon have to be personally experienced to truly be appreciated. This singular ordeal is a grand departure from the otherwise laidback way the Burmese conduct themselves.

Bus drivers careen around town with one foot on the gas and the other foot, seemingly, on the horn. One gets the sense that these men are drafted directly from the outpatient program at the local suicide prevention center and paid with bags of betel chews.

The driver’s sidekick, an only slightly less sadistic announcer/conductor, hangs out one of the “doors” (frequently the actual door has been detached), screaming the bus line number and direction to the people standing at the bus stops as the bus pulls up. He then hastily pulls people on the bus, while simultaneously shoving others off. Age, gender and physical disabilities have no bearing on how one is treated. Often the bus never actually stops rolling.

%Gallery-8268%

The reason behind this crazed, panicky behavior is that Yangon has several independent, competing buses companies working the exact same routes and so, quite simply, the faster they go, the more customers they snatch from the competition. The result is that their precious passengers are crushed, yelled at and manhandled for the pleasure of a death-defying trip across town.

Moreover, violence notwithstanding, actually squeezing into the bus an ironic luxury. Rather less appealing is the alternative of dangling out one of the side or back doors or, at worst, clinging for dear life to the roof or hood. All in a day’s commute.

Leif Pettersen, originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, contributed three stories to the upcoming anthology “To Myanmar (Burma) With Love: A Connoisseur’s Guide” published by Things Asian Press. His personal blog, Killing Batteries, and his staggeringly vast travelogue could fill a lifetime of unauthorized work breaks, if one were so inclined.

Some Wineries are Banning Buses to Avoid ‘Limo Lushes’

by Martha Edwards on

Some California wineries are taking action against ‘Limo Lushes’ — those uncouth hooligans who head for wineries for the purpose of getting drunk, rather than sampling wine. The nerve! Who would have the audacity to go to a winery to get drunk. Um …. well, me, for one. Call me crazy, but I think one of the appeals of visiting a winery is the chance to get a buzz on in the afternoon for free, provided you’re not driving and you don’t get too obnoxious or out-of-control. But then again, I don’t have the most sophisticated palate (I think that much is obvious)

Some wineries are going to start banning tour buses, and they’ll even start charging for samples too. In Long Island, some wineries even have a policy in which they can kick out too-rowdy tasters. Here are suggestions for following proper winery etiquette:

  • Don’t treat the tasting room like it’s happy hour. You’re there to sample, not go crazy
  • Don’t monopolize the tasting counter — let someone else have a try.
  • And for the love of pete, don’t get rowdy and obnoxious. Stealing is not funny. This isn’t your neighbourhood pub.

Perhaps in the future, I’ll choose brewery tours over wineries. I think it’s more my style.

(via Reuters)