To Beat LA Traffic, Buses Need Priority
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ส.ค. 2024
- There isn't enough room in Los Angeles for everyone to commute at the same time in their own personal automobile.
MARTA - • Extended BRT Case Stud...
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That bike clip at the end was mind blowing. Never realized how much quicker a bike could move through congestion...
it was also kinda scary! no wonder people dont want to bike in some areas, no protection
@@GuthanSlayermakes me want to install a train horn and start biking
I'm so glad Justin Timberlake understands the importance of transit planning
Many drivers are like, "I hate traffic", without realizing that they ARE the traffic.
The only way to 'fix' traffic is by reducing them.
When there are alternatives provided (e.g. a good transit system and active transportation infrastructure), people who loving driving can still drive, but for others who just want to commute in an efficient way, they can choose their mode of transportation rather than being forced to drive.
EXACTLY!! Guilty!
Nooooo we need automatic cars that drive perfectly coordinated... just kidding of course
Yes, this is exactly it. "Everyone else contributes to traffic that inconveniences me. Therefore, we should stop building new housing or God forbid mixed use structures."
I agree but if we go this route we need more cities that allow conceal carry or trained armed guards on the buses and harsher punishments for assault/battery charges with DAs willing to throw the book at offenders. Opioid addiction and temperamental aggressive behavior is on the rise in America, cramming 100 people together on a bus with that in mind is a recipe for problems.
@@Redditor6079 I've witnessed more violent road rage with cars than assault/battery on busses in my experience. Is it a big problem in other cities?
Not only is BRT a good step forward, it can eventually spur higher density if made more frequent and potentially even converted into a tram.
I’m looking forward to the BRT line that they’re building to connect Noho and Pasadena. I love being in Pasadena but I HATE the drive there because it’s such a gamble.
Sometimes it takes 20 minutes and sometimes 60! And there’s no time of day that it’s reliably clear traffic. I can’t wait to just hop on a bus instead and putz around on my phone for 30 minutes while someone else does the driving for me :-)
A BRT (which shouldn’t even be a term, all buses should have fast frequent service to nice stops as a given so using this term is actually counterproductive because it implies the service we see rn in most of the U.S. is sometimes acceptable; it’s not.) is never going to spur density. The reason why developers invest around rail lines is because they likely aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Not to mention how much more efficient they are compared to electric buses.
There’s the train 🚊 the red line
@@StLouis-yu9iz I Completely agree All buses Including the buses in LA should have their own dedicated lanes. We only have the bus lanes on Wilshire and I think that it should go to the rest of LA Including the rest of the US.
@@CityBuilder568 Great idea! (Although I vote we build more trolleys again instead) Anything is better than car lanes though!
Hi Nimesh I love that you are fighting the good fight in L.A. One topic I find to be missing in everyone's urbanist content is how to actually interact with and pressure local city governments to adopt measures like bus and bike lanes. I think a few videos on that topic are warranted. Things won't change until city governments are educated and pressured to do the right thing.
Simply emailing them is a great first step and can often be surprisingly effective.
In one of my upcoming videos I mention how my current bike route to work is good enough for me but not safe enough for retirees and young children to use…so I shot off a random email to my city council about it.
Amazingly enough, the vice mayor and a councilwoman actually responded! They said they were forwarding the comments to the appropriate committees and gave their reasoning on why they liked my proposed solutions.
I’m not expecting them to change it by next Friday, but it’s still always surprising how willing they are to listen when you simply email them.
This is why I personally love climate town. Rollie ends all of his videos with a call to action (his recent one about fossil fuel ads actually worked) and I think it would be a welcome addition here too!
Please add more air filters on bus. Ride every morning and you know lasquasha be ripping noxious coffee farts from that plus size booty.
My son told me about a TH-cam meme that goes “just be rich!” So, to that end: “are you frustrated with your city’s crappy bike and bus policies and infrastructure? Looking to pressure the council to make changes and make your city better? Then, JUST BE RICH!”
Sorry, I’m old and cynical. 20 years of on and off advocacy has taught me that politicians, especially at the local level, only care about or listen to wealthy residents or their donors and lobbyists. The rest of us are a bunch of ungrateful sods to be treated with disgust and contempt. Only the rich matter.
@Jeff D this is true and RepresentUs has good videos on how broken the US political system is. If people with a lot of money want something to get passed, it has a big influence. But whether 100% or 0% or anywhere in between of the general public supports an issue, it has no impact on whether it will get passed. How the general public feels about an issue has no impact on whether congress will act, with our current first past the post, two party system.
I've had this same experience on the bus on Santa Monica Blvd. It's ridiculous to let buses sit in traffic. If buses flew past car drivers, many people would opt to leave their car and take the bus since it's faster, and that would take cars off the road which lessens traffic for car drivers. Car drivers should be clamoring for dedicated bus lanes.
Yes but in the short term the drivers would get mad at how there's a whole lane just for the bus and start screaming at the politician who only cares about short term
@@maYTeus murica
@@tankman_tv9332 to be honest that also happens in canada. also happened in europe. people in general do that, it's just part of being human really
@@red2theelectricboogaloo961 of course its common among humans
@@red2theelectricboogaloo961 that's why we need to explain things.
If some one thinks they need a car, they should celebrate free public transit subsided by congestion charges. "The poor folks" drive in full buses, while "I need a car guy" can drive on a lane freed from "all the poor folks and their old cars". One a side note, the elderly and children get around town on their own safely.
The fact that an f-150 is now a “car” is part of the problem. The larger part being the personal vehicle I agree
It's worse in most of the rest of the country. Small cars got caught in a no-advertising -> poor sales -> withdrawal from the market loop while it's always Truck Month somewhere because automakers are junkies addicted to the huge profits of huge, crudely engineered rigs.
@@nlpnt Yes, and here in Tennessee they've decided to add an electric vehicle tax because it's "not fair" that they don't pay gas taxes, instead of taxing heavy vehicles in general (electric or mostly not) that damage the roads the most.
If you need a pickup truck for your business, that's fine. What I find odd is that my fuel sipping 4 cylinder sedan cars have seen more gravel backroads in Northern Ontario than a lot of these trucks that are rarely if ever off pavement. I personally think a lot of people have too much money.
Not Just Bikes actually has a great video about this, if you're interested.
@@nlpnt Its cause the fuel economy restrictions on bigger trucks are much less restrictive. This incentivises car producers to just go through the less effort route which in turn makes the bigger cars get pushed. Theres a reason why theres always been those big ford f1050s but the smaller ford rangers went away.
Here from Reddit. Love this! I'm a dedicated LA Metro/bus rider and really wish more people took it. (Though, man, post-pandemic, the trains are kind of a mess)
And they cut a ton of bus lines in 2022 making bus travel even more slow and inconvenient than it already was
For such an environmentally conscious state, the states emphasis on cars is ludicrous. I life in the Bay Area and BART was never great before, but it did get you from A to B. After the pandemic it’s been abysmal
Glad to know there's some sane urbanists in SoCal. Every legislative session it seems like it's just a war between NIMBYs there and everyone else, which is really sad because LA has *so much* awesome potential destroyed by car infrastructure. Keep up the good work!
Los Angeles has the perfect weather and terrain to make it one of the most walkable/transit-oriented places on Earth, yet we're stuck with this overreliance on personal vehicles and concrete jungles.
@@joanoliva8623: Without safe bike lanes on every street, the use of scooters and electric bicycles on the sidewalk has reduced my quality of life as a pedestrian in downtown L.A. I've had scary close calls from those silent machines! There is zero enforcement.
And the most interesting stuff is that NIMBYs themselves create traffic jams and complain about them
Excellent video! You explained the absurdity of bad traffic so well. Rail transit is great but I think buses with dedicated travel lanes will be what inevitably makes LA a good transit city in the future because buses have such a wide reach. Seattle has a great network of freeway express buses and a bus rapid transit system called RapidRide. If we could basically copy that in LA, it would be amazing.
However I disagree with your dismissal of congestion pricing. It’s something that absolutely needs to happen, and the money it generates could be used to fund fast and frequent express bus service. Improving existing buses with dedicated lanes will only have marginal effects on overall traffic due to induced demand. I agree it’s a hard sell at the moment, but congestion pricing would open up so many mobility options for people if they aren’t stuck in traffic, whether that's on a bus or in a car. For many people, paying a few bucks a day to avoid being stuck in soul-crushing traffic is worth it, and it discourages non-essential trips that contribute to traffic in the first place. Also, Commuter Benefit systems and carpooling can help make congestion tolls more affordable, especially in fields like medicine where people work odd hours that make it even harder to take transit.
I can sympathize with people who argue "we can have congestion pricing after we get a good public transit system", but congestion pricing can be an incredibly valuable tool for creating a good public transit system in the first place.
This is a great point. I actually had one more part in my script that talked about the Express Lanes in San Francisco, where buses go through for free and cars get charged based on congestion levels and number of occupants and how that incorporates the best of both worlds. I didn't end up filming it just for brevity's sake. I guess I'll have to make a part 2 at some point!
@@nimeshinlosangeles We actually have a couple of those express lanes here in LA county on the 10 and 110 freeways! A TH-camr called Trains Are Awesome made a really cool video called "Why do these buses run on the left? The El Monte Busway in LA" which showcases the bus service that runs on the expresslanes and is funded in part by the tolls. Totally get that it's hard to show all the nuance in a short amount of time though.
Looking forward to your next video!
You can take that trip on an electric scooter, zip past traffic, and average just under 15 mph
The more I live in LA the more I think our solution is rail and bus trunk lines on major corridors, and bike lanes and local busses feeding into the trunk lines.
Congestion pricing should only happen after there is a very large amount of transit options in the area it is implemented first. Do it the other way around and you will just piss everybody off.
You have a really good way of describing this stuff. "The same predictable route", where "predictable" is the key word that makes someone think train or bus. And quantifying the space that someone consumes with a personal vehicle, which articulates just how wasteful it is, especially when you throw the engine into the mix. And I love how you mentioned people with certain disabilities face barriers to driving - I'm one of them, and it can be frustrating to hear things like "people with disabilities need to drive!", when it is really dependent on the type of disability.
Great video.
Thank you for the nice comment! I purposefully word my script that way for the very reasons you pointed out, so I'm glad to hear your feedback that everything was clear. One thing I could have made clearer was that different disabilities may require different modes of travel, including personal automobile, as you pointed out. I'll keep that in mind for future videos.
The footage at the end of you smoking everybody by riding in an empty bike lane is beautiful
The final shot of you passing the cars tells so much, really powerful. Well made Nimesh
I’ve seen LA do this but very slowly. Dodger Stadium for example is a drivers nightmare because you are stuck in traffic, pay 30 or more dollars for a very bad designed parking lot that stripped away an entire community, and get to the gate by the 3rd inning and missed out the free bobblehead of a player who will leave next season for a ridiculous amount of cash to a less superior team. But the best kept secret about the Dodgers is that they got something called a Dodgers Express where you are able to hop on the metro, head to Union Station, pregame around that area, and hop on the bus to the stadium. It’s free and has its own dedicated bus lane that takes you to the main entrance of the park. It also cost 3.50 instead of well a lot and you’ll have a way better experience. Last season I was able to save time and money (well not really used that for alcohol) whenever I went to a Dodger game on metro. Just a good example how a bus lane can have better flow than just bumper to bumper driving. I’ve seen people packed in those buses and seem to be more excited than those just driving to the game.
I'd rather give money to beer companies than oil companies.
I wish we could get a light rail connection from the stadium to the Chinatown station 🥺
@@choco1490 it’s not possible unless parts of the parking lot is converted to a housing, job centers, entertainment center, or mix of those three options. Metro rail won’t be built unless there’s a 365 day reason to do so. For now we’re stuck with the Frank McCrook gondola.
Not to mention less inebriated drivers on the road
My parents went to see Elton John perform at the Dodger Stadium. I advised them to take the bus, they didn’t feel like it. After the show, they were in their car for two hours just waiting to leave the parking lot/structure.
Yes! As an epileptic I get picked on for not being able to drive to work here in suburbia. It really sucks.
Hang in there. Be strong. I really admire you.
I see a lot of car-brained takes about how some people with physical disabilities rely on cars for transportation, so therefore it's ableist to de-emphasize car travel in favor of public transit. I want to ask them, how about the blind? The elderly? Those with epilepsy like yourself? Prioritizing cars over everything else is the most ableist way we could do things! People will find any excuse to pretend their preferences are noble instead of selfish.
I'm so happy you're making informative videos like these! I find it so difficult to communicate these urbanist principles to my friends and family back in LA, since they've been so brainwashed by car centricity. One factor that is sometimes overlooked is the negative connotations associated with transit use or non car ownership in LA and the US in general, that is the fact that you're viewed as a second class citizen or impoverished. That and the worry of the dangers associated with transit use put off a lot of potential transit users, and it's really unfortunate. I've honestly given up on talking about anything pertaining to urbanism to LA people as its so frustrating, like talking to a brick wall. Also, a lot of people talk about the "freedoms" associated with driving a car, like how siting in bumper to bumper traffic is somehow freedom.
One other thing is the sheer polarization this transit vs cars issue is in many peoples minds. They think that us advocating for more transit and micro mobility use is calling for the complete ban of cars and for them to be forced against their will to use transit (a ridiculous conclusion), when in reality these decisions would make their experience as a driver more pleasant. I don't get why it's so black and white in their minds, maybe its a lack of critical thinking skills? Anyway, great video and keep it up!
LA has had a strong car culture but hopefully more people see the importance of public transportation.
Bring back Trams! They were so cool. Until then maybe get better more modern international standard buses which have exclusive lanes and traffic priority. Also bike lanes 🤲
Totally agree! Trolleys < buses every time.
I just recently learned that LA used to have the world's biggest tram or streetcar network in the early 20th century.
@@antonnurwald5700 True, StL was a close second though. ;]
It seems like you could also use some separated bike lanes, that painted bike lane looks kind of terrifying. Considering the weather and relative flatness I would expect biking to be a good option for the area, with better infrastructure.
Maybe less frightening if the cars barely move. :)
@@jiecut that is a good point , although I wonder then why there appears to be so few bikes in the bike lane. Perhaps the intersections are the main problem.
LA and a lot of southern CA could be a biking paradise if they would bother with the infrastructure for it.
@1:56 the scooter driving by all the traffic. - Smart. Ways. To Live.
One of the few use cases where painted bike gutters work, is when there's constant bumper-to-bumper traffic.
The Beverly Hills bike lanes on Santa Monica are just painful...especially when you consider there's a linear park with a true bike path right next to them for most of the route. Golden example of what happens with a city that doesn't care about non-car infrastructure decides to implement "Complete Streets" without any real muscle behind the standards.
@@kilodeltaeight I have lived in cities like that, but now live in a city with one of the best cycling networks in the world. Just search "winter cycling Oulu", where you will see schools where children cycle when its -30'C.
Babe wake up! New Nimesh in LA video just dropped
Same
Excellent video. Loved the bit on loneliness. It is a fantastic start to my day when I get on a bus and either see a remarkable act of kindness or experience a party like atmosphere where regulars have become pals and everyone joins in.
I've found that also while riding on a bus or train and wisely leaving the car at home.
It's interesting to see how public transport works in other countries. In the UK buses also have priority lanes which regular cars can't use.
Great video! Bus lanes are also great because it allows the resources already allocated to public transit to be used more efficiently by preventing bunching.
Great video,
I'm in culver city and it looks like our city council is looking to tear down the bus only lanes in our small downtown area. It feels ridiculous considering it'll not only make the traffic worse, but that there is a huge 6 lane stroad right next to it on Venice Blvd. They could just use that but then again its always jam packed with traffic.
1:42 I feel similarly with my daily commute where I drive to a transit center then park and ride a bus. Technically, it “adds” about 15 minutes to a 30ish minute commute, but to me it gives me back 30 minutes each way from a physically and mentally tasking chore. I already spend time each day reading articles and emails; I may as well combine that with the commute. Even on days where I listen to music and stare out the window, that’s quality introvert quiet/reflective time that I wouldn’t get while driving.
I've been waiting for your next video! I'm so glad to see more transit and urbanism advocates all over TH-cam. I know these videos are very time intensive to make, so thank you for all you do, Nimesh!
Angelinos are basically offended if you suggest the ride a bus. It's wacky.
Being the total LA stereotype that I have become, I've been puttering at the coffee shop working on a screenplay. In it, the main character is a time traveler from the apocalyptic future who comes back to the present. Her number one dream is to save up enough money to get a bus pass so she can ride in a "giant vehicle" that was stuff of legend in her time. So far, nobody who has read it thinks it makes any sense, ha ha.
I think its the fact the bus sucks. You got no real personal space, there is the risk of nasty people or conditions being there, and you're on someone else's schedule.
Its a truism everywhere in the US
Transit in LA has a really bad safety reputation and it is pretty true. My wife under no circumstances would take the bus by herself and I don’t blame her.
6:02 on the topic of loneliness, I’ve also found that I have the chance to chat with people on transit who I wouldn’t normally run into otherwise.
Don’t get me wrong, for the most part I just want to be left alone, but sometimes you notice something which just gets the conversation flowing. Like when I noticed a sticker for an environmental group on one guy’s bike while he was leaving. Fast forward a couple weeks and I ended up at a protest with him…all because we happen to commute on the same public transit route!
that is so awesome!
Until you get harassed a bum or a bedlam that is.
Giant leaps forward with every video, Nimesh! Can't wait for the next one.
I was a dedicated subway taker when I lived in North Hollywood. I’d walk to the Red Line and take it to Downtown and be there in 20 minutes. If they expanded the subway in LA it would answer A LOT of traffic issues, and then add dedicated bus lanes like the Orange Line in the valley. It cuts so much time as well as pollution
Agree with everything except:
-Congestion pricing being unfair to low-income people -> a flat tax might be more unfair in LA than in Sthlm, but that's why you should apply different rates depending on your income like Citynerd suggests + reinvest all of the congestion tax into public/sustainable transport
-Bus lanes are good as a first measure, but you should aim higher in the long run -> use the congestion tax not only to build back mostly grade-separated trams on some corridors and fully grade-separated trains on others, but also to take away all those parking spots along stroads and give that space back to pedestrians and/or protected bike infra
Cheers from Stockholm, thanks for the great video!
/jnt
These videos are amazing, man. I'm from Chicago and live in LA, and I walk and take the train / bus everywhere,. All of your videos have spoken to my soul lol. Please keep em coming.
This video is fantastic! I really appreciate you getting the message out about the poor situation in LA, and I hope that you are able to make a legit impact on the city with this channel. The more people who learn about and understand transit, the better we can make our cities in the long run.
Cheers!
I love using the public transit in LA to bet around and I can put up with traffic if I have to. The only thing I have an issue with is how dangerous it has become. I’ve been yelled at, pushed etc. and it got to a point where I wanna buy a car because I get insane anxiety having to use the train (red line). I can’t really afford a car if I’m being honest but I’m ready to eat less just so I can avoid the subway. There’s too many crackheads who use the trains to smoke meth or shoot up heroine. I think that’s another huge reason why ppl will pay any gas prices just so they don’t have to use the public transit.
In Russia, the Moscow metro is very prestigious with its clean and beautiful stations. I think it's because the Soviet Union wanted to make Moscow very impressive.
Crazy story...I had issues with anxiety for a long time. It developed into pretty bad OCD and went into paranoid delusions sometimes. I was still functional, and my therapist suggested I start taking the bus to work.
Within a couple months my issues had come down to a much more manageable level, and I was able to tackle the smaller stuff to get back down to good baseline mental health. Driving quite literally drove me insane.
I regularly take Metro buses down Colorado Blvd in old town Pasadena, and the traffic is so slow that sometimes I can hop off the bus, walk a couple blocks, and catch a transfer to another bus that had already passed. Another vote in favor of dedicated bus lanes here!
Problem: thru traffic blocking the intersection. I promise it makes everything worse. We have the same problem here in Hawaii, which depending on who you ask, has the worst traffic in the US. At EVERY intersection they have to put a sign reminding everyone to not block. But hey! Important people have important business, and important placed to be. I have driven in every major city in the US. Trust me, LA is far from the worst.
Did you watch Not Just Bikes's last video? :)
That's where you need proper enforcement. Get traffic cops to ticket anyone blocking the box, the revenue goes right to the city. Drivers will learn real quick. And to be fair, this is needed for bus lanes too. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people in Baltimore use the bus lanes on North Ave as passing lanes. Because there's no one to stop them but one's own self of shame right now. We need a lot more bus lanes but we also need municipalities to commit to enforcing them.
We need to convert more streets to bus express ways
Adding trolleys would be better.
I'm glad, here in Tokyo, the trains sometimes are late, for only some minutes
Ohh SNAPPP. The Doctor just dropped a new video! Love how you bring so much personal experience in what you're sharing. Only your third video and really smashing it out of the park! Bravo!
Bro I love your channel, keep it up 💪🏾
You are one of my new favorite creators in the New Urbanism space. As someone in the Bay, I watch in both horror and with curiosity, feeling a tinge of familiarity as you talk about LA's transportation issues. I may even move to LA soon, so it's all the more useful to me. Thank you!
You already have BRT in LA. The Orange and Silver Lines which use dedicated bus lanes. The Orange goes between North Hollywood and Chatsworth.
BRT seems like the way of the future for US transit, if done correctly. Florida got its first truly BRT in St. Petersburg, called the SunRunner, that connects downtown to the beaches with 15 min headways. It seems to have positive feedback from users since its launch too! LA desperately needs BRT to reduce congestion along a few other corridors that aren't aligned with the metro lines.
It’s the same in Nashville. Traffic congestion is so high that I would rather take the bus and take a nap than drive around Nashville in my own personal car.
That sequence at the end was amazing. Nothing better than blowing by a huge column of stopped cars
I live off of Santa Monica Blvd and work in century city. I stopped driving and just take the bus too. Waiting for the purple line to be finished
This is your best video so far, on a channel full of thus-far only good videos. Keep up the good work.
That bike gutter excuse for bike lane is also begging to be used. Imagine going from 9mph to 18mph on ebike. Also thank you for mentioning the elephant in the room. The city does not have enough space for everyone to commute using their personal 2000lb vehicle. Its a geometry problem. Plus the discrimination against people who can't drive due to financial or health issues. Right tool for the right job people.
Thank you for being a doctor that actually cares about physical and mental well-being of people and understands that our built environment can do so much more in promoting better health and livelihood. You got yourself a sub sir :)
If you ever run for public office, you’ve got my vote
The dedicated bus infrastructure in London is so cool. My favorite is north of Elephant and Castle, they have a dedicated bus lane that goes in the opposite direction on a 1-way street and offers a routing a car could never do! All while entering a congestion pricing zone!
Also it's nice to see others in medicine interested in how transit impacts health and and healthcare.
I was just thinking about this channel yesterday and did not panic when I had not seen a new upload because just as I had suspected it was indeed worth the wait!
found your channel a few weeks ago. super glad to see you uploaded again. very informative and funny. great work :)
With its near-perfect year round weather, LA should have the best bike infrastructure in the world. (Edit, I just checked out the rest of your channel and saw that you have an entire video on exactly that. Cool)
Drought isn't perfect man
real, small steps such as BRT can be a massive aid for a lot of people and will eventually increase demand for public transport service
I think you have a good point that car incentives/disincentives do little to fix traffic when the existing infrastructure for things like transit and biking are underdeveloped.
I need to comment because I assumed this amazingly crafted video was produced by a one of those big production team channels. You will gain a following sir don't even stress that's a promise.
Love your content. I used to live in Hollywood and commute down to Century City so I was very familiar with the Santa Monica traffic pain. I actually made the switch to bus despite the fact that I have to walk close to 1 hour roundtrip (20 minutes in Hollywood and 10 minutes in Century City) because I would be so drained from work and traffic that I often didn't have energy to properly cook or go to the gym by the time I got home. There were definitely times in traffic where I thought "there could be a light rail or BRT here."
Thankfully I was hybrid and only had to go in twice a day, but I still longed for more efficient public transit.
Excellent Video! As an Urban Planner, I appreciate your in-depth knowledge in planning and provide the health benefits from a Doctor's perspective!
This video deserves so many more views! Well done man! 😊
Wow, your video is not only super informative, but it's edited so well. Keep up the great work!
Thanks for sharing some common sense! Another video says that in a few weeks, Culver City's current city council is trying to vote to get rid of priority lanes for busses and bikes to "ease traffic". The lanes were just added a few years ago with the help of some far sighted council members. Hope people can let some of the current dumb culver city city council know that we do not want to give those lanes back to car traffic.
Thanks for everything, Nimesh. Love the channel & super happy to see new content like this popping up all over - especially in California. Awesome video!
Discovered your channel today, and have watched each of your videos twice. You absolutely rock, and are fighting the good fight.
I live in Melbourne, Australia, where there's a decent framework of public transit and cycling infrastructure, but a lot of gaps to still be filled in. Really appreciate you noting the health benefits/implications of vehicle transit, and looking forward to future videos.
Thank you so much for making these videos, and I love your perspective on the effect of car-centric urban planning on health! I am also a physician (practicing in Nashville) and it is appalling to see how much healthcare is disrupted for people who don't have a car, can't drive one, can't afford gas, miss appointments due to traffic jams/wrecks, or lose access to a car midway through a long treatment course. I love researching and learning about new treatment options, but the benefit is significantly dampened when so many are "lost to follow-up" due to lack of access. Also, I love your sense of humor!
Wow. The algorithm blesses me today with recommending this. You have an AWESOME style and I can't wait to see more.
Great video, Nimesh! I always take Metro and other agencies to work and school every week, and although I rarely come across traffic (since I'm outside LA's city limits) seeing major LA streets not having dedicated lanes is an absolute joke.
Still blows my mind. I grew up in Paris and Zürich and we've never needed a car for anything inside of a city, it's crazy that popular city like LA has such horrible public transit. I remember I went there for 7 days for a 3 day conference and decided to spend the last 4 days inside the hotel since getting around was so horrible.
I'm very much appreciating your work! You're an inspiration for me to start my own channel about transportation in socal!
Great video! I’m saving this one to share. It seems like such a shame that a city with such stable weather year round doesn’t have more separated safe bike infrastructure as well. So much potential for improvement.
The production quality of your videos is insane.
I envision a time when all doctors will be able to take the buses without their motives being questioned.
went to LA for the first time a couple of weeks ago and the fact the city needs more bus lanes was PAINFULLY obvious (especially the one time I found myself on the 720 bus at 5:30pm) (as a tourist I was mostly able to avoid rush hour though, and then the buses were mostly fine)
LA built crazy wide streets everywhere so they could do a real-deal BRT system with ease!
Holy shit that bike lane at the end was insane!! If that was protected and not just a painted gutter there'd be tons of people riding that! If that's not already a part of a larger network (continuation from intersections and the ability to reach destinations from there) then it wouldn't be super useful but it's a start. Great video by the way man, I've subscribed and look forward to seeing more from you! Always love urbanism content
Got to experience the bus only streets in brooklyn and it was an incredibly smooth experience! Definitely the next step for LA to increase public transport usage and lower traffic
When my husband was living in and going to college in Los Angeles, he had to take the bus to and from school. It took 3 hours each way. Classes started at 9am. That's when he started drinking coffee.
Great job, Nimesh. One quick note, you said "stuck in traffic" at 7:22. Cars on the freeway are not "stuck in traffic". They ARE traffic. We need to think about it that way.
This video is put together really well. There is a lot of benefits to expanding bus accommodations. Reducing space on the roads, being able to get work done without paying attention to the road, and allowing people to easily socialize with other commuters.
Great video! Can’t wait to follow along with your future videos. I live in San Francisco and am a big public transit nerd.
I live about 12 miles from where I work, but some days it takes as much as 2 hours to get there via the bus. Going home it's a bit shorter but requires 2 buses and a train. I would LOVE to see dedicated bus lanes in the LA area. It would make such a difference
LA's most humiliating story is when they lost their street cars
I literally do this in Korea. If I ever need to go to Seoul, I don't bother taking my car cause there's always traffic like LA, and parking in Seoul is a nightmare. There are dedicated bus lanes, and the subways will get you where you need to go quickly! Wish we could have more infrastructure like this in the US outside of the few cities that do have it.
Great video. Congestion pricing can work if it funds public transportation. This is what London did. Use it to pay for trains
Thank you for bringing up that disincentivizing car traffic requires comparable methods of transit to exist.
The next great in the pantheon of urbanist youtubers. Our numbers grow
Yeah, man. I realized, over the years, I dislike driving long distance plus the cost of it; tolls, traffic fines, pumping gas. So, I started using the public buses to make quick visits on cheap 2-way long trips($2.25 if I can get it within 3 hours via bus teansfer). With public transit usage, I feel more alive and healthy. I still use my car to haul groceries and make multiple quick visits. Though I got to invest in a moped or an electric scooter.
Hi,
this is a comment for the algorithm and to say that this is a great video 80% on the problem and then 10% on the proposed solution and 10% saying go watch this better video which is an entry point into the rabbit hole of videos on horrid north american street design. I loved the formatting and the editing, particularly the bit with your channel name on the bus. however I don't suggest uploading in the middle of the night when no one is awake, yes i'm awake but, I'm not your target audience, I'm not in LA. I suggest uploading around 5PM pst on weekdays so that people either watch this at work within the last 10 minutes when their doing nothing or see it when they get home, either way, your video being seen in the proximity of them having to deal with the problem you pointed out will heavily boost your exposure, points if you upload in the first half or middle of the week because then they are thinking of this all week during their commute.
not to say that the marta video doesn't provide a good perspective on brt, but the context behind why it exists is valuable to understand. for a long time, marta promised a light rail line along the so-called "clifton corridor," connecting a number of important areas in the northeastern part of the city, including emory university and the cdc, to the existing heavy rail system. there was broad consensus that light rail was the appropriate mode for that corridor, particularly given the presence of the large job centers at the university and the cdc (so much so that it was included on the original plans for the marta rail system that were drawn up in the 1960s). a couple of years ago, marta reneged on the light rail plan, announcing that brt would be the new mode used along the corridor, to widespread frustration. marta's response was to release a series of brt propaganda content, including the video you reference, to try to woo the public onto the idea of brt for the clifton corridor. since then, the promises made for the brt system have gradually declined in quality, with the currently proposed system likely to be a poor brt implementation, while they continue to push the brt propaganda. i don't think the video frames brt in a misleading way, but i think it's important to understand that it was created in the context of trying to mollify an upset public who had been promised rail transit.
Thanks for giving this context. It's funny how things are usually more complex than they initially seem.
the algorithm gods have blessed me with this video-love everything about it, keep up the great work!
I gotta say for a town not regarded well for mass transit, those buses look really nice. Like they even sound modern and sleek instead of rumbling worse than a truck and like a piece is about to fall off any second.
Yes! This is one thing I wanted to get across but couldn't find anywhere in my script to include it, so I hoped the visuals would do it justice. The buses in LA are actually clean and nice (though don't be fooled, they are still a little loud). The rail, on the other hand, is luck of the draw if you'll have a clean experience, but it is generally quiet.
What's amazing is that you have so much space on your roads to dedicate a specific line for bus only.
100% Spot on - bus lanes are MAGICAL. But, San Francisco has one thing that Los Angeles lacks and desperately needs: Jurisdictional Unification. In SF, one agency (SFMTA) runs the busses AND controls the entire street. In LA, a single bus on Santa Monica crosses ~5 different cities along it's route, event though it stays on just one street. Metro runs the bus, but for a bus lane (or even bus shelters) you'd need to get Santa Monica, LA County, LA City, Beverly Hills, and West Hollywood ALL to agree. Good luck with that.
Ultimately, fixing transportation in LA will require taking away some local control of streets and putting it in the hands of a regional agency that has both the motivation and ability to make things better. Until we do, just the administrative burden alone of coordinating multiple cities (to say nothing of managing their politics - Beverly Hills had a stroke over a subway line, imagine how they'd freak out about a bus lane!) will make real progress impossible, and piecemeal at best.
There are lots of ways to do this, of course, but with a region like ours the easiest route is probably to do something like London's TFL, where one agency runs (or at least coordinates and integrates) transit AND major regional roads. On London's "Red Routes", TFL can ban parking, designate bus lanes, even widen sidewalks and control signal timing - and while they only make up ~5% of London's roads, they carry over 30% of the traffic.
We could easily implement such a system here - and we really need to do so. Give Metro the ability to control their own destiny, and they will.
I lived in Europe for several years and despite the weather not being as nice as California I didn't care because quality of life was much better. Germany is rainy but I loved it.
Nice videos, man! You are really showing how great of a city L.A. can be. Hopefully, one day everything you bring up will eventually be rectified. Keep making these videos!
oh. i see why the YT algorithm sent me here. i was just watching the exact Girl With The Dogs video! but hey, really cool educational video with neat editing. subbed!
Your video quality is miles ahead of the usual early channels! Looking forward to more. Maybe some thoughts on the South Bay and suburbs too!
Your videos are so great and it makes me glad to see this kind of content focused on LA
I don’t live in LA but my best friend does yet I still find these videos interesting. A conversation that needs to happen
Thanks for the really high quality videos which are based on knowledge not bs. Keep up the good wor!