Car Beats Transit, Again

I'm increasingly amused by the car vs. public transit battles waged every so often by the L.A. Times' "Behind the Wheel" column. Sorry, MTA, but without fail, the auto wins.

I appreciate the Metro system, and enjoy ever so often hopping the train in L.A. -- mostly for the sheer novelty of it all. But let's face it: As maddening as driving in L.A. can be, riding public transporation can cause even larger headaches.

Most recently, LAT reporter Sharon Bernstein decided to compare doing lunch via auto and MTA. She writes:

I decided to put lunchtime travel to the test. I picked Pasadena as my destination. I would go there for lunch four days running — twice by transit and twice in my car. Would either be worth it? Which would be easier?

The results:

Day 1, driving: She left the Times office at 12:30 p.m.; by 12:40 p.m., she entered the Pasadena Freeway from Third Street. Traffic was sluggish, but she exited the Pasadena Freeway at Fair Oaks at 1:01 p.m. -- when she hit roadwork. Bernstein didn't make it to Saladang until 1:20 p.m.

Day 2, train: She left the Times building at 12:30 p.m. and walked west up 1st Street toward the Civic Center Red Line stop ("The sidewalk reeks of urine.") By 12:39 she's standing in front of the ticket machines for the Red Line, but they don't work. The train comes at 12:45, and transfers onto the Gold line at Union Station at 12:59 p.m. ("half an hour after I set out from The Times a few blocks away"). It takes another half an hour before she hits the Del Mar exit in Old Town Pasadena.

Day 3, car: From Studio City, she leaves her home at 12:43 p.m. Bernstein takes the Ventura Freeway south to California 134 heading east and makes the 16 miles to the Fair Oaks exit in 18 minutes. By 1:07, she's at Twin Palms (Green St. and Raymond).

Day 4, train: She leaves her home at 1:30 p.m., arriving at the the North Hollywood Red Line station at 1:45. The train arrives at 1:50; Bernstein doesn't arrive at Union Station until 2:42. The writer -- who brought her family along -- get on the Gold line. But by 3 p.m., the kids are restless and Bernstein decides to get off a couple of stops early, in South Pasadena. They exit the Mission Street station at 3:07.

The lessons, she writes: Even though public transit in Southern California has improved, car still trumps train. The transit lines are slow and poorly connected, and there are too few routes available. And the ticket machines rarely work properly, at least in my experience.