Living in Los Angeles without a car is considered by most to be unthinkable. As it turns out, it is possible, and not nearly as difficult as most people imagine. If one lives within walking distance, or even a short bus ride, to work, and near a market, living without a car is actually easy.

The Los Angeles metro has a web site, www.mta.net, that allows you to type in the address you are leaving from, and the destination and then provides you choices of different means of public transportation. It lists the costs and the travel time, as well as the cost if you were to travel the same route by car, demonstrating the environmental benefits and cost effectiveness of taking public transportation. The site gives the traveler the option of taking only buses, only rails, or both.

After traveling a bus route once or twice, and getting the hang of which buses go where, it really isn’t that difficult. The bus is only $1.25, as is the metro. The negative aspect, however, is that unlike in some cities, such as New York City, where you can transfer among any subways for one subway ticket, here in Los Angeles, one has to buy a transfer ticket for each subway line that they change to. It is also not a fast means of transportation, as it takes much longer than using a car, which, in Los Angeles, is saying something.

The positive aspects, on the other hand, are increased exercise, as well as public transportation being more environmentally friendly than driving alone, which often happens, as is evident to anyone on the freeway during rush hour, when most of the car pool lanes remain empty. There is also the additional benefit of public transportation being much cheaper than owning and maintaining a car.