LA County officials are very proud of their public transportation system. They suckered voters into approving Measure M last November, which is a sales tax increase to expand the network.
71.5% of voters went for Measure M, 71.5%! And still, ridership is down.
Subway and light-rail rides went up 4.4%, but that has done nothing to cancel out the annual decline in bus ridership.
That's 8.9% to 304 million, the lowest its been in over a decade.
The LA Times and the MTA are scratching their heads over the drop in bus ridership. Here's what the Times says:
"Where bus riders have gone, and how to win them back, are questions that are vexing Metro officials as they lay the groundwork for the most ambitious rail expansion in L.A.’s modern history."
The answer is simple. People don't want to ride the gross smelly bus filled with creepy people!
There are perfectly decent people who ride the bus and need it. But that experience is quickly ruined drug addicts or gropers who harass riders.
People just want to get to where they're going in peace! That's why it feels safer to drive alone in your car.
Plus, we live in an area built around driving. It just makes sense.
We're sick of nanny Eric Garcetti telling us to ditch the car for the bus or the train. It's just not realistic here. Would Garcetti seriously public transportation every day?
No he wouldn't, because buses suck.