First time Metro “color line” rider reports in.

July 2, 2008 at 10:00 am in Entertainment, Events, Hollywood, Mass Transit, San Gabriel Valley, Transportation

Bottomfeeders Guide to LA

Berta one of our readers and commenters from Far East LA (West Covina) dropped me a note about a free event they were attending at Hollywood & Highland and how they got there cheap and fast.

She has lived in LA for many years with the exception of a couple of years in New York. While in New York she and her husband learned to rely on their subways to get around fast and cheap. When they returned to LA they missed efficient public transportation.

With the price of gas coupled with the time to get into some events as it is too close to normal rush hours she has turned to looking at the train as a way to get around. With her husband disabled public transit was a bit of a worry. They found quickly that it was no problem and he got a cheaper ticket in the process. Her story after the jump.

“It was our FIRST experience as we boarded the Metro Gold line which we picked up in Pasadena heading for a FREE performance by Pancho Sanchez off of Highland and Hollywood Blvd./NH. When we entered the station in Pasadena I’m looking for a booth and a cashier person only to be assisted by a guard who walked me up to a machine for the ticket purchase…..Day Pass cost me $5.00 (all day) and P.K.’s ticket $1.80 (all day/Sr. Citizen or Disabled)!!!! THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION!!

The ride was a breezeeeeeee and the points of interest along the way (museums and such) were new discoveries. One notable stop was China Town–something to think about as a group. We headed into Union Station where we caught the Red Line which took us foot steps away from our destination. No hassle with driver’s on the freeway, sitting in traffic or paying for parking; a mere investment under $10.00!!!!!! We also ran into folks riding the train that we knew.

The Free concerts are every Tuesday night. It took us about 1hr 30 minutes from start to go…we’ll leave earlier than 6:15 pm next time….there was soooooooooooo much to see …”

Pic by Berta with her camera phone…a trick she attributes to me and used with her permission.

4 Comments »

http://www.fatpinkchicken.blogspot.com fatpinkchicken

Since you live in West Covina, you could have conceivably caught the Foothill Transit Silver Streak by the mall instead of driving to Pasadena and gotten to Union Station and picked up the Red Line that way.
http://militantangeleno.blogspot.com militantangeleno

New Yorkers snub our subway, among nearly almost everything, but one advantage our subway has over NYC’s, especially in your husband’s case, is that since it was built after the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, our rail system is already equipped to accommodate people with disabilities, especially wheelchair users — with platform-level boarding, elevators, wheelchair sections in railcars, and as you’ve discovered, a discount fare.

NYC’s system was built in a day and age when the disabled were considered by mainstream society to be less-than-human and the platform gaps, mis-matched car floor-to-platform heights, fare barriers, winding, narrow connecting station corridors, and, with only a handful of exceptions, the lack of elevators, NYC’s subway system is extremely hostile to people with disabilities.

Of course all the die-hard NYC transplants here will try to justify that.
http://frazgomeanders.blogspot.com frazgo

My takes is that Berta did it and was glad she did. You are right about the New Yorkers attitude but I gave up on understanding it long ago.
berta

Really loved the ride but there is no way L.A.’s transit system can compare to NY! Now, let me clarify that…the NY subways allow for travel 24/7 just about anywhere you need to go and/or flag a taxi on any corner or hop a bus to connect on each and every street (almost) throughout the city and the boroughs…You don’t WANT or NEED a car in the city! Now, as for our Gold line trip it was a pleasure not to have the smells that are so associated with the journey on a NY subway! The interior was fairly neat, clean and I couldn’t find any graffiti! The connections for this event was extremely precise but I’m not familiar enough with the system to judge. I chose the Gold Line merely due to the fact that I see it driving the 210 daily. As for “disability friendly” you are correct…but then any New Yorker will tell you that’s it’s ‘fair ‘when getting around in NY…and that’s not nice! *Joking
I do hope that the transit system will improve especially when you consider the aging of the Baby Boomers & driving issues and the continued increase of gasoline, air pollution, etc…..I plan on doing a lot more activities via these systems!

I did miss the ‘nuts’ of those talented folks that work the cars on the subways…but that’ll come eventually unless I just happened to miss them on the Gold Line ride..
Thanks Frank…..

First time Metro “color line” rider reports in.

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