Car-Less in Los Angeles

By Hayley Gruenspan, Assistant to Partner at Untitled Entertainment

Whenever I tell someone in L.A. that I don’t have a car, I’m looked at like I have three heads. Growing up in New York City, my need for a car was limited, as the trains and buses could get you pretty much anywhere. I only started taking driving lessons when I was 23; weaving between double-parked cars in midtown Manhattan still haunts my nightmares. By some miracle, I managed to pass the driver’s test on the first try, but I’ve still never driven a car without an instructor beside me. Therefore, since I moved to L.A., I've been determined to last as long as possible without driving.

While L.A.’s metro system is fairly limited – though hopefully the Purple Line extension is completed soon – its buses are more robust than people give them credit for. When I worked at my last job, I was able to take the 720, the express bus, or the 20, the local bus, to work without any issues. The 720 and the 20 go down Wilshire Boulevard, a major thoroughfare in Los Angeles, and can take you all the way west to Santa Monica and all the way east to Downtown, making for great (and cheap!) mobility within the city.

While my new job is not conveniently located on a bus route, I am lucky to be close enough to walk to work and back. I know not everyone is this lucky, and it can be tricky to get to work if you’re not conveniently located on a bus or train route. Uber in L.A. is significantly cheaper than in New York, and while Uber still isn’t cheap in general, when you add up the costs of parking, car insurance, gas, and the car itself, the cost doesn’t seem quite as burdensome. 

To sum it all up, living in L.A. without a car is entirely possible, and isn’t quite as ludicrous as some make it out to be. Even if you don’t live near a train, odds are that you live near a bus that can take you to your destination for $1.75. If a bus route isn’t possible, Uber-ing, or even getting an Uber subscription, can get you where you need to go for a comparable cost to driving. That being said, it’s always helpful to have friends who will give you a ride every now and then. I am grateful to those who have been able to shuttle me around the city over the years, and it doesn’t hurt to thank them with gas money!