Why LA Loves/Hates The Expo Line

#shorts about the Expo Line and it's lack of signal preemption, which makes riding it often feel like a bus stuck in traffic... #losangeles #trains #urbanism

[@technomad9071]

Only in LA would a train get stuck in traffic 😂

[@wturner777]

Ikr?! 😂 Like, why bother building a LRT system if it gets stuck in traffic to where it's never going to be faster than driving?

[@ES-hr6vg]

It doesn’t get stuck in traffic. There are just lights downtown. The time of day has no effect on the speed of the train.

[@mizzury54]

It doesn't get stuck in traffic. That's stupid. It stops at some lights. There is no competition with cars. This guy doesn't know what he is talking about. I actually live here and ride this train.

[@daoudkamal7768]

@@mizzury54kinda missing the point, good designed train tracks aren’t supposed to have conflict points with traffic thus being stuck in a “traffic light” is counterintuitive and unproductive. And thus they are being blocked by traffic by needing to follow traffic rules.

[@jayvonnoelsmith8445]

​@@wturner777I know

[@GaigeGrosskreutzGunClub]

eagerly awaiting the first airport with planes that have to yield to car traffic

[@vrmushroom]

Gibraltar International Airport has this

[@NathantheGreat428]

​@@vrmushroomcars cant cross when aircraft are using the runway

[@Steve.._.]

​@@NathantheGreat428nope planes cant use the runway when cars are using the runway! (Jokes)

[@KingFinnch]

@@vrmushroomthey built a tunnel so the cars can't get on the runway anymore

[@brn12113]

Peak carbrain 🎉🎉🎉

[@obrien6320]

One of the few train systems that has to wait for a red traffic light.

[@JediTev]

Try VTA, up the coast in San Jose. 😅😂😅😂 our signaling system is our Achilles Heel.

[@intreoo]

Exactly. In so many other countries, the light automatically changes as soon as the tram arrives.

[@JCosta-qg9ql]

Same with the B and C branches of the MBTA Green Line…

[@TheLIRRFrenchie...]

Enters Muni Metro....

[@JuneNafziger]

If it’s completely dedicated ROW yeah definitely, if it’s in street running it’s not unheard of. Where I live one line has signal preemption until downtown, and the other doesn’t have it besides a few weird crossings, but it does have priority, it might shorten an opposing green or mess with turns but a driver can’t just send it the whole way.

[@texasjapan4071]

LA, the only place in the world where a fucking train doesn’t have right of way at a car intersection

[@ianmacpherson6093]

Nah this is pretty standard in many cities in western North America

[@JetsMakeWoosh]

San Diego has the same problem it’s insane

[@MasonJuarez]

Seattle has entered the chat

[@Otamaleh]

@@ianmacpherson6093 No it isn't. Only California has trains that stop at red lights. Oregon's MAX has signal pre-emption everywhere.

[@jamesrusselleriii8284]

Seeing a LRT getting held up because it doesn't have signal preemption is truly bizarre. The stated reason (traffic concerns) doesn't make sense. Here in Utah, TRAX crosses several major arterials and has pre-emption at all of them - some of them even had traffic lights recently installed to stop traffic for the train.

[@noahshields507]

Comparing Utah to LA is laughable

[@AlanKor]

@@noahshields507​​⁠​​⁠ yeah comparing a relatively small state with a smaller economy (~185.2bn) that HAS rail crossings on its public transit with just LA, a city with about a trillion in GDP is very laughable.

[@birdo1180]

@@AlanKor Huh? Do you think it costs more money to build a rail through urban LA or Utah or do you seriously believe its the same cost and logistics?

[@lolasonne1772]

​@@birdo1180 But the train is built. There is absolutely no significant extra cost to the solution discussed here.

[@Musicrafter12]

@@noahshields507 Indeed, Utah is a red state and the transportation agency is statewide. Somehow they're managing to outdo California on both TOD, transit investment, and even just doing basic transit things like preemption correctly, despite being smaller and more conservative. The comparison is, indeed, laughable.

[@mendopolis]

Metro & the City of LA need to implement signal priority for trains on the entirety of the EXPO line. It’s a no brainer.

[@ES-hr6vg]

It isn’t a no brainer. If it was, they would do it. Cars would likely get stuck on the grade crossings and it would create serious traffic problems on Western, Normandie, Vermont and Crenshaw. Take a look at Barrington now and see how train prioritization has affected flow on Olympic. It’s been a disaster.

[@gatleystone2480]

@@ES-hr6vg good point that its not a no-brainer, but dont put in a train if it has to stop at crossings. now that the train is in, make the cars stop at the crossings, and maybe some of the people in the cars will start to take the train

[@greg.anywhere]

​@gatleystone2480 They should have just grade separated those segments from the jump and they wouldn't have this issue, but they instead decided to be cheap about it.

[@comicus01]

@@gatleystone2480 if you are crossing a train track, that means your travel route is likely perpendicular to, not parallel to, the train route. As in: the train is not an option for you

[@comicus01]

@@greg.anywhere they did elevate a few crossings. But that's a lot more expensive and they were already spending a billion dollars a mile.

[@WarrenBowman]

Yes, the drive takes less time, but with the train, you don’t have to worry about parking in crowded downtown Santa Monica or L.A.

[@lej_explains]

I agree most of the time, which is why I take it.. but on average (outside of rush hour of course), I'd say driving/parking is quicker than waiting for our infrequent headways, roll-the-die trip length, and then having to walk/scooter the last-half mile to one's destination if not right next to the station.

[@AkioWasRight]

No, you just have to worry about homeless stank and people feeIin' you up.

[@DJ-xx6fb]

​@@AkioWasRightand getting mugged by a certain culture.

[@jakob7116]

@@AkioWasRight🤦‍♂️

[@julius_the_python]

​@@DJ-xx6fbwhite fentanyl addicts?

[@jjbarajas5341]

Americans really built a train that gets stuck in goddamm traffic 💀💀💀

[@Caption3]

Nah that's a Cali problem 😂

[@tortellinifettuccine]

​@@Caption3Cali is in America, also no it's definitely an American problem

[@Mr1121628]

@@tortellinifettuccinealmost no commuter trains in America use this system. Nearly all of them have signal preemption. Trust me. I have to sit waiting for trains to pass all the time. So no, it’s not an “American problem” lol. 😂

[@ryy4n_]

no its not idiot lmao

[@Intrusive_Thought176]

U from spain? Because this also happens there. No this isn't an american problem either. Just research public transportation in the US next time

[@FrostyShadowYT]

And to think that LA used to have the most extensive tram network in the world, and now can't even do a simple overground metro right :v

[@SpruceOaks]

Lol, no it didn’t. I mean, the Red Car was decent and economical, but hardly the most extensive.

[@FrostyShadowYT]

@@SpruceOaks at its peak LA had a combined track length for trams of about 1900 km, making it one of the most extensive tram networks in the world.

[@captzoom1778]

I've never seen a railroad crossing without a gate unless it was out in the middle of nowher, that's crazy

[@MarceloBenoit-trenes]

LRT is not a railroad, it is more an streetcar

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

You've never seen a tram?

[@stickynorth]

Time to upgrade, LA! Signal priority for trains should be mandatory.... Portland is notorious for this problem as well...

[@trustmeimapotato4708]

Funny how they install em in Santa Monica and not in lower income areas really makes you think about who they actually looking out for and not the actually community that's been here their whole life 😢

[@lej_explains]

Yeah, just look at what happened with the K line. The community in Crenshaw fought for years to get it built underground or above grade, but the city steamrolled them to cut costs and now much of Crenshaw Blvd is blighted and divided by the light rail. Before it was a tree-lined median and full of community run businesses.

[@cordellis8935]

why are urban developments and city planning in such a large city not doing better and learning from the past?

[@cordellis8935]

I just wish we would do better.

[@edwardmiessner6502]

Excellent idea. The city of L.A. should allow for signal preemption where the surface line of the E Train meets regular traffic lights. This is mainly along Exposition Boulevard!

[@charlesphilhower1452]

That has been a major problem in LA ever since General Motors, Standard Oil and Goodyear bought up the trolleys for the purpose of destroying the system, that had many separate right of ways, and could have been expanded into new developing areas, replacing them with buses that get stuck in traffic, to eliminate the competition and efficent transit system would place on selling cars that get stuck in traffic.

[@richardparadox163]

They better get preemption done before the Olympics

[@achimhaun2726]

As a European, this would not be compliant with ANY transport and safety legislation

[@comicus01]

I've been on European trains and trams. I wouldn't call them the most possibly safe system at all. Stations with curved tracks and platforms so you have to "mind the gap" (or the platform and height of the train are off). Lack of handicap access. Lots of stairs.

[@57thorns]

@@comicus01 That is legacy, and those issues are being built. It just costs insane amounts to upgrade subways so it is done when a station renovation is needed anyway.

[@comicus01]

@@57thorns I know those are old legacy stations. But my point still stands that to call European trains "safe", or safer than those in the US, is laughable.

[@57thorns]

@@comicus01 I have to disagree strongly at that point considering the state of US transportation in general. Most of Europe is safer than US, and with very few exception quite safe compared to the death trap that is US traffic.

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

European tram systems almost never have gates at crossings

[@axxxonn]

It took me an hour from DTLA to Santa Monica, plus the 20 minutes it took me from the Norwalk/SFS Metrolink to Union Station. Driving would take me 45 minutes door to SM.

[@hackman-hackman]

The Expo line also doesn’t go to Union Station anymore - which is such a hassle.

[@comicus01]

@@hackman-hackman It never did go to Union Station. It terminated at Metro Center.

[@dasy2k1]

Like every tram system here in the UK has some form of signal preemption Flashing lights bells and barriers not required for light rail though. Just make it so the intersection automatically changes as the train approaches giving the cars a red and the train a green

[@FlyingOverTr0ut]

Great video. Such an opportunity to improve metro service here.

[@TransitAndTeslas]

Signal preemption doesn’t need the arms, it just needs to change the light right away!

[@tylerdotapp]

if it’s getting stuck in traffic than that’s not a train. that’s a Tram in particular what you described is a Light Rail with tramways

[@cerka27]

I was in Inglewood and decided to go to Hollywood, I took over an hour to get there and I had to take multiple trains. Plus, most of the train stations smelled like pee and the trains themselves were unkept. From Hollywood, I decided to take the expo like to Santa Monica but again I had to first make it to downtown and then I had to take the expo line. The expo line was the only nice one. The whole thing took so long that I Ubered back to the hotel from Santa Monica.

[@CantFightRobots]

Pretty decent line! Great not to have to pilot your own vehicle or worry about parking but you're totally right about the train needing to wait for traffic in those intersections.

[@kennethfreeman4041]

Homeless people, drugs, assaults, muggings, and loud and. annoying people.

[@Cheiron19]

The whole of Southern California used to have a great interurban rail line, that would have been a fantastic basis for expansion as the region expanded. Instead, the regions allowed the cities, through various means to prioritize private traffic over the railway. One of those means is similar to what is happening here. no priority at intersections for the railway. Also, cities would pave over the right-of-way to allow cars and busses to drive across the tracks at any point which resulted in accidents resulting in the interurban railway becoming the subject of lawsuits. It was truly crazy the lack of foresight.

[@boris256b]

Short and to the point. Really good transit combines the best of a quality public space with the best of a living room or backyard: you're with other people but are also free to quietly enjoy your trip. In addition to jarring stops for traffic, I would call out Metro train announcements as a quality of life issue: too much unnecessary information, too loud, too disruptive. It's my #1 pet peeve.

[@lej_explains]

Haha that’s something that I actually liked at first (the announcements) but now as a near daily rider it grates on me.

[@boris256b]

@@lej_explains Indeed, it's really only useful for tourists or new riders. If our system allowed for easy spontaneity, maybe I would randomly decide to take that bus to UCLA, but come on. Compare with the aptly named Expo Line in Vancouver! Just the necessary info. I understand we also have ADA requirements to deal with, but a lot of the information is superfluous.

[@JediTev]

And still the dummies on board still ignore the announcements and miss their stops. I'd rather have it loud and blaring than not at all. And I'm a light rail operator.

[@randomizationme]

There just needs to be a visual announcement! Its too loud in the rails

[@nimeshinlosangeles]

Do you watch Save Money Save the Planet? He's another LA youtuber who reached out to me earlier this year about collaborating on a video idea where we would race a car, train, and bike, and discuss the experiences of being on them. Unfortunately, work and life got in the way and I couldn't commit for this year. But if some time next year the stars align, would you be interested in collaborating?

[@lej_explains]

100%, sounds fun and a cool idea. Dm my contact email

[@handsfortoothpicks]

holy shit its happening

[@evanfreund5651]

What? I didn’t even realize that not all grade crossings had preemptive signals. I thought it was a standard or something. This has blown my mind for the worse and shows how backwards LA transit really is

[@PlumbCarton5607]

Fr, i find it somewhat acceptable out in the middle of nowhere but in a big city nahh they tweakin

[@DanielHCantwell]

Express tracks would be a good idea

[@ES-hr6vg]

This is a mischaracterization of the Expo trains. The first segment was built as cheap as possible because everyone wasn’t “on board” with building out the system back then. They had to get the biggest bang for their buck by going for distance over grade separation. The Expo went for more grade separation when public support and better funding came along during the second phase. Money isn’t unlimited. LA is a massive city.

[@theimpaladr]

A murder yesterday on metro one last week and one 2 weeks ago…. Im good

[@Pcheddah]

Los Angeles loves their cars.

[@beeepizzle]

Because, public transportation is a waste of time, energy, and taxpayer resources. #NoProfits #TaxpayerSubsidized #Inefficient

[@compdude100]

​@@beeepizzlethe same arguments can be made with roads

[@robotx9285]

​​@@beeepizzleYou quite literally described the majority of highways. Infact most highways are so costly that money needs to be pumped into them from denser public transit focus cities.

[@StillAnotherStudent]

Yeah, but i still take it cause im a train loving masochist

[@GaigeGrosskreutzGunClub]

chad railfan switching to car when service gets faster because "it's not the same"

[@nimeshinlosangeles]

@@GaigeGrosskreutzGunClub I lol'd

[@darylcheshire1618]

Seems to be like a tram just like in Melbourne, especially the Port Melbourne line where it runs in it’s own reservation but in the Clarendon Street part it runs in the street and stops at teaffic lights. The Port Melbourne line used to be heavy rail with some grade separation but was converted to light rail as a cost cutting measure and downward patronage.

[@rushabhchheda2582]

Trains get stuck in the traffic😂😂😂 Ohhh that’s rich, Muerica😂

[@nicelol5241]

another reason is that is a light rail, it’s slower

[@Bob-hi2xh]

Plus you get to meet some of LAs colorful residences 😂🤣

[@greggross8856]

Sounds like a pennywise-poundfoolish cost-saving measure.

[@mjph89]

Why not just build a fully elevated or full underground train system to avoid being stuck with cars?

[@drdewott9154]

Yeah otherwise known as signal priority. You don't even need the gates for it, you just need a computer system built into the intersection to switch red for cars and green for the Light rail once it detects a train nearby. Like this stuff is already common practise around the world and even in many other US Cities. But even then I doubt it'd make the Expo line that comparable in travel time. I'm from Copenhagen and even though we have a big system of completely grade separated suburban trains that run at 75mph called the "S-train" it still struggles to be competitive with cars on speed, and is downright abysmal on price.

[@MajorReservations]

For me, the thing that shocked me was that there was no sound barrier between the motorway and the train stations. We were waiting at the platfors and the noise of the cars was crazy loud! No sound barriers or anything! Shocking! I feel like we probably have laws against allowing people to be exposed to this high levels of noise like that for prolonged periods of time 😅

[@Matty002]

trains shouldve been grade separated by default, and really they shouldve just had the entire system elevated. if it cant compete with drive time, ridership wont increase

[@A350flyernyc]

The good news is that this feels like a pretty easy fix. Either signal priority or signal preemption should largely resolve the issue. I know there’s always gonna be politics involved, but this seems like a pretty quick fix compared to the issues many other lines/systems face.

[@ciello___8307]

Thanks for fighting the good fight! Great video!

[@lon3don]

If a railway isn't grade separated, it cannot work properly.

[@tux_the_astronaut]

Ye tho for most railroads in America its to costly to grade seprate everything At least the light rails in my state just put gates at every intersection so it gets priority and tries to grade separate over or under the most busy roads

[@qjtvaddict]

@@tux_the_astronautNONSENSE most modern systems are grade separated. Street running streetcars were ripped out for a reason

[@blue9multimediagroup]

​@@qjtvaddictyeah, traffic. Cheaper to remove than to install

[@Tazaman310]

Yeah the blue line Washington corridor is atrocious. Stopped at red lights for the train while all the cars pass you by is insane

[@juviegar3403]

Car lobbyists are strong there..

[@peterpatrickcoyle1779]

I used to go to LA for work at least once a month from PA so I’d usually rent or Uber all the time. I used to take the redline from Hollywood to universal studios, a one stop shot for $2. I tried for a day pass for like $7 where you can take any metro all day. I went from Hollywood to the central station in downtown to Venice beach, took way too long. I couldn’t believe we were stopping for lights. Not just one but like every light, there were no intersections that stopped when a train was coming. I had to Uber back I couldn’t take that long to get back.

[@jaybobd]

LA desperately needs better East West transit but as you pointed out they botched it by having the train stop for traffic.

[@casperas2]

America so car centric that they dont even bother to make a railroadcrossing safe just so that last car can squeeze past

[@bnes9371]

Same with the Orange Line

[@jessemercado4848]

Bay Area BART is a very good transportation railway. Despite being riddled with homeless haha

[@j.g5934]

So true. The blue line from Florence, for some reason goes 10 mph after passing slauson

[@Renault_75-34MX]

I have a similar issue with train/public transport times. If i want to take the train to work, i'd have to be out by 06:20 at the latest to catch the bus to the train station, then take the train and walk the last kilometer to work, and i'm there at 07:20 when DB does decide to be on time. I was often late if there were delays, not to mention asking my parents to give me a ride if the train is cancelled or late. The bus timing on the way home also doesn't allow for delays, so that mean I'd need a ride in that case. But when i take our 40km/h tractor to work. It's not even 30 minutes till I'm there. And that's with a farm tractor. I only need 15-20 minutes with my Škoda Octavia

[@Bluesayshello1]

In the 90s the line was a godsend for my commutes

[@adrianthoroughgood1191]

Though barriers allow the train to pass through faster, you don't have to have barriers to get signal priority, you can just program the traffic lights to turn red as the train is approaching so it can pass straight through.

[@MaxOakland]

They need to improve signal preemption and expand the expo line!

[@eddieflxible379]

People take the cars like myself because the train doesn’t take us to where we need to go. If u been around 30-40 years ago, one bus generally take you where u need to go when it was RTD. Now u have to take a bus to a train to another bus etc and nobody has time for all that.

[@YCNSD]

Driving on the 10freeway is crazy during the morning, afternoon, and around 3:30/6:00

[@andrefalksmen1264]

That was the original problem with the Trolley system in LA to begin with. A lot of people believe in these conspiracy theories about the car and gas industry, when in reality the entire thing was a real-estate promotion scam from the start. They never built elevator the trolley lines, they were built before the city developed to sell plots of land in far-reaching areas. In most areas, there never was sufficient density to support public Transit and, where there was, the trolley cars being at grade simply meant they got stuck in traffic like any other car.

[@cesartapia610]

I think modern technology, with a little bit of creative design, has solved this. Even if LA didn't have graded trolley cars like San Francisco used to have, it is still possible to engineer elevated rail, like the Expo already has in certain areas. A secondary train system like the L in Chicago would have solved this a hundred years ago. Don't forget though, the car companies lobbied to destroy the trolley car companies way back in the day, and that was encouraged by the real estate boom. Those problems likely would have been solved over the course of a century, but look at where we are now with the mess of car-based infrastructure. Today though, signal preemption is an easy fix to the annoying intersections that stop the train for traffic.

[@andrefalksmen1264]

@@cesartapia610 this is not correct again the original developers of Los Angeles, long before the development of the car and the car Lobby, wanted a Suburban sprawling City and did not intend for elevated street cars or a Subway. As the cities grew, and dense areas the trolley lines became ineffective because they were at a great, and the far-reaching lines unprofitable because there wasn't sufficient density. Except for the. During World War when there was gasoline rationing, they never turned a profit.

[@amyself6678]

Americans blaming corporations for laws their voters approved is so silly. They like to avoid accepting their people are awful and like cars. And like drugs. Take responsibility don't just make excuses. In democracy if people are awful then it's not just evil corporations.

[@andrefalksmen1264]

@amyself6678 it wasn't a law so much as incumbency of design. Still, Southern California was designed for single family home, and there's still opposition to density and rezoning for multi-family to this day. Single family homes do not lend themselves to Urban Transport Systems. That is to say nothing of the cost of building a subway, which is the most efficient solution, or elevated rail. Give me the financial condition of America as a country, on every level of government, none of that is likely to happen.

[@amyself6678]

Actually US is in better financial shape than Europe or Asia. We make 2x more a person Japanese or Frenchman. And live to 80 and have KZbin, life in 2020s US doesn't warrant negativity..... Till they ban lawns totally, transit won't work, lawns cut by half the people by station, raise by 2x the distance to a friend or shop (a 10 minute walk is fun, 20 is chore). But people lie and say we can have green lawns for squirels and still demand they can walk or ride train to friend also w lawn, haha......... I'm a nerd so cars puzzled me. But the hidden fact is cars are faster than transit by 3x doorstep to doorstep, in places like Copenhagen, Rio, or Marseilles which push transit, studies show this despite activists denying. So IT PAYS TO GET CAR TO SAVE TIME. If saves 1.5 hours a day, x 250 commuting days, that's 375 hours, and if value my free time $30/hour that's $11,250, which is easily more than avg annual car cost $7000 (payments, gas, ins). If save half-hour a day on personal/family that's 0.5 x 365 so 180 hours, x $30, is $5400 time-cost... And we are only awake 15 hours a day, wasting 1.5 not using car IS WASTING 10% OF LIFE, like living 8 less years just to feel green -- cars are easily wise choice!!!!! In France or Italy or Finland, 70% drive to work, no place has avoided people picking car except the 10% poor or green and the 20% who by luck walk or transit under 2 miles to work or school.. I walk 50 minutes to work to avoid getting fatter, haha, but without 2000s cellphone invention this would super suck , pre2000 noncar life was x3 more sucky.

[@lopezlandscapingandgardening]

I’ve been on the expo line a few times. Every time there were homeless people with their carts and stuff everywhere. You can’t escape the smell of homeless people in the trains.

[@andrecruz4447]

I’ve always wondered why the blue line would randomly stop for 5-10 minutes at a time and now I know why holy shit

[@mohammadislam2324]

He didn’t mention the gangbangers, drug dealers, and junkies that murdered over thirty people on LA trains, about 10 of which on the Expo line. If you’re gonna ride LA metro anywhere in the city, carry a weapon. These channels like gloss over reality vs quirky facts.

[@-Osiris-]

This is why cities should build proper underground heavy rail systems

[@IndustrialParrot2816]

Seattles E line which is a BRT line actually has some Traffic Signal Priority which is Quite funny actually that our Buses are faster than your Trains

[@tt-ch6js]

I opened a small business in West LA. Nice-ish area of town near UCLA. One of our new hires was a little late to work one day: “the guy right next to me was stabbed and yelling ‘I knew they would get me’”. Another time he came in to work and said that a huge chunk of metal fell right in front of everyone waiting for the train….from somewhere in the structure above the station. SF BART isn’t all sunshine and roses either. Recent poll showed that only 17% of people who ride the BART feel safe. So come back to reality, my guy. The “hate” part of the love hate relationship with mass transit is also about, you know…not enjoying getting mugged/stabbed

[@MrJackOfAllTraits]

I know this isnt the best amswer. But to answer your last question. Ots better because i dont have to be operating the vehicle amd im free to do other things. If public transportation is at least equal in time, thats when i take it

[@warrenb8228]

I saw my first person stabbed on the metro. Wasn’t my last… LA is great.

[@sbsk2526]

It’s not the traffic intersection stops that slows it down (as there’s only a few of them), it’s the amount of train stops it has to go through to reach SM or DTLA

[@cian-neural2594]

My answer tends to be blaming LADOT since they operate the stoplights. Especially on the Blue/A's route on Marmion Way.

[@sadie8199]

Someone show this to Metro please 😭😭😭

[@TheMiddlest]

Some of the intersections it has to wait are so insane. Easily 5 of these crossings, the road could get eliminated with literally no bad side effects for drivers either.

[@e.a.corral4713]

Too many homeless people living at some of the stations? Some of them stations just stink to no end? The POLICE do not kick out many of them for not paying the fare or passes? They need to steam clean he stations and the car's as well?

[@Hamish_A]

That's INSANE. Was there lighting against it? This would be fine by default almost everywhere in the world.

[@Nynodon]

Train crissings with car priority... Yep smells like auto manufacturer paradise and hell for everyone else

[@michaelshada262]

A train that has to wait for traffic?! BS!!!

[@ameridesign]

I agree. I also think when metro first started constructing the line, the majority of the line should have been elevated.

[@JakeAoTK]

People wanted more freeways back then.

[@lopoa126]

Downtown MAX in Portland has about the same speed as a brisk walk thanks to stopping at signals. I only take it to matches because my dad is old. I hate it when public transit bows to car infrastructure.

[@DanielMartinez-de2cp]

That’s why I would ride the train for fun or just head to the beach when I got alot of time in my hands never to try to get to work cause obviously I’ll be late.

[@DiamondEyeball]

At this point, LA deserves to be a car dependent hell hole. This is just insane

[@James-vv3dl]

With an unlimited budget you don't make the best decisions

[@JakeAoTK]

This was actually because they had a limited budget. When they first started there was less support. They want to fix this on the G line as well, but they don’t have enough funding to get it done entirely.

[@Greystorm1619]

This is such a great point! I live in South La and always wondered why stops like Crenshaw don't physically block off the rest of traffic. Seemed like a huge oversight. And you hit the nail right on the head. Even though it'd be great to take the train, as there's a station right outside my place of work, it's so much faster and convenient to drive. When in theory, it should be the other way around.

[@lolasonne1772]

Hearing that the time of travel changes depending on traffic lights just blew my mind. Obviously people prefer their cars over that madness. Where I live, it's the standard to travel with public transport and one if the main reasons is that you can actually plan your commute rather than hoping you won't get stuck in traffic and come into the office late. Seeing bankers in their suits next to students and a mum with their small children is the standard here. I can't imagine living in a country where i NEED a car (with all the expenses and stress that comes with it). I would be so pissed that I have to focus on traffic at 7 am in the morning rather than being able to listen to a podcasts with my eyes closed until I arrive at my office.

[@janjanssen9629]

Simply brilliant… have a solution to reduce car traffic and let it be stuck in traffic…. Genius decision…..

[@02Nawal]

Plus it goes right thru the hood

[@randomizationme]

I wish we had an underground transit system alongside the 10 freeway 😭

[@rosiomagallanes5172]

Your right the advantage of this transport your saving gas and parking . In the other they do need to do something about the red lights to the to make it faster this is why it’s a metro. Eventually LA is gonna look like New York with a lot of trains to avoid traffic but like I mention they need to do something with the red lights .

[@robfriedrich2822]

It should be like in other places, where train has priority, also in traffic light programming

[@bareth_]

Metro: expensive seperate right-of-way, lower frequency Streetcar/tram: has traffic lights, low speed E line: we take *both*

[@yaya5tim]

LA is in need of a efficient metro and bus system, we pay so much for our gas tax but our road traffic is shit, metro is shit, bus is shit except a few cities. I don't know why no one in years wouldn't start doing it, LA is second largest city in US, we can't even have a nice metro system is a big joke. If metro is as nice as those Japanese metro system, or just half nice as them, there will be many people give up cars and start using metro, and homelessness problems on metro will just solve instantly. I spent my childhood an Asian city similar to Tokyo, their metro system are so clean and fast enough for everyone's daily commute, 1 hour to cross the entire city, 30 minutes to get to downtown usually, bus system is so accurate, even if it's late, it's usually 3-5 minutes late, and this was 2008! Now they got everything better, the whole metro map expends to another county, it feels like a LA metro system expends to OC from 2008 to 2023. And zero homelessness, the only thing you might see is probably some less traffic stations have some old people spent their entire day in the station for free AC during summer, but that's about it, back in 2008 it's super clean, when I went back in 2022, still super clean, people line up, people won't drink anything on the train, and people give up their seats for elderly people, kids, pregnant ladies, and this is a thing over there since 2000s, they do that in metro, in bus, in everywhere. But citizens in LA or NYC don't have a such quality, our government keep pushing for anti-racism and use it as a bait to attract voters and win every time effortlessly, if they win every time that easy, for sure they're not going to do shit about city development. Living in LA for more than 10 years, I don't feel any progress, I feel we got more illegal immigrants, more homeless people, more drugged dangerous people, racial tension getting more intense than it was back in 2012. And finally this time we got a non Democrats mayor, but we still have a Democrats governor, can we just vote some else better or for a change? Democrats here is killing me

[@snowmochi1373]

Non rush hour in LA is between 1am to 4am lol

[@TheChunkyluver53]

It takes about 20 minutes with no traffic. Over 1hr during rush hour. It's only convenient for that time. If you drive and choose to take public transportation

[@EdwardM-t8p]

The Metro shouldn't just be a public transport and freeway widening authority, it should be a metropolitan district commission and have ownership control and maintenance responsibility for the major arterial roads. This way the traffic lights / signals can treat the light rail tracks as the priority (rail)road. But in the long term the street-running lines need to be grade separated, making the light rail into a light metro.

[@Losangelesharvey]

good points - although some people "use" the expo line, no one "loves" it

[@RinkyRoo2021]

Since when is the 10 ever open? even in 2002 it was a parking lot😅

[@enzmondo]

Forcing a train to stop at an intersection for cars is kookoo bananas. It’s counterintuitive.

[@himbourbanist]

it's like it was purposely built to make no sense, so frustrating. Fixing this and giving it signal priority would improve this line so much

[@Lucrativecris]

The A line does have signal predestino in Compton central la

[@blue9multimediagroup]

Gates aren't necessarily part of preemption. Preemption just means the lights turn red for traffic and green for transit ahead of the traffic. You can have that without gates.

[@railworksamerica]

I love the old trains

[@finned958]

They need to have a separate right of way.

[@JediTev]

For the most part, they do. If LA Metro is anything like VTA, they little control over the traffic signals, they're at the mercy of whatever city or municipality controls the signals. We make complaints and wait months, sometimes a year or more to issues resolved with signals.