Complex multimodal regional, national and international hub for passenger and freight traffic
Los Angeles
has a complex multimodal
transportation
infrastructure, which serves as a regional, national and international hub for passenger and freight traffic. The system includes the United States' largest port complex; an extensive freight and passenger rail infrastructure, including
light rail
lines and
rapid transit
lines; numerous airports and bus lines;
vehicle for hire
companies; and an extensive freeway and road system. People in Los Angeles rely on
cars
as the dominant mode of transportation,
[1]
but since 1990 the
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
has built over one hundred miles (160 km) of light and heavy rail serving more and more parts of Los Angeles and the greater area of Los Angeles County; Los Angeles was the last major city in the United States to get a permanent rail system installed.
Intercity
[
edit
]
Transportation in Greater Los Angeles
is a complex multimodal
transportation
infrastructure, which serves as a regional, national and international hub for passenger and freight traffic. The transportation system of Greater Los Angeles includes the United States' largest port complex, seven commuter rail lines, and Amtrak service. With many highways, it is integrated into the
Interstate Highway System
.
Air transportation
[
edit
]
The Los Angeles metropolitan area has five commercial airports and many more general-aviation airports.
The primary Los Angeles airport is
Los Angeles International Airport
(LAX). The seventh busiest commercial airport in the world and the third busiest in the
United States
, LAX handled 28.8 million passengers, 2.3 million metric tons (2.5 million short tons; 2.3 million long tons) of cargo and 380,000 aircraft movements in 2020.
[2]
Other major nearby commercial airports include:
LA/Ontario International Airport
(serves the
Inland Empire
);
Hollywood Burbank Airport
(serves the
San Fernando
and
San Gabriel Valleys
);
Long Beach Airport
(serves the
Long Beach
/Harbor area); and
John Wayne Airport
(serves the
Orange County
area).
The world's busiest general-aviation airport is also located in
Los Angeles
,
Van Nuys Airport
.
Santa Monica Airport
is also located near Los Angeles.
Intercity train services
[
edit
]
Union Station
is the major regional
train station
for
Amtrak
,
Metrolink
and
Metro Rail
. The station is Amtrak's fifth busiest station, having 1.4 million Amtrak boardings and de-boardings in 2019.
[3]
Amtrak operates eleven daily round trips between
San Diego
and
Los Angeles
, five of which continue to
Santa Barbara
via the
Pacific Surfliner
, the only service that runs through
Los Angeles
multiple times daily. Two of those trips continue to
San Luis Obispo, California
. The
Coast Starlight
provides additional service on the route and beyond to the
San Francisco Bay Area
,
Sacramento
, and on to
Seattle, Washington
. Amtrak motor coaches connect from
Los Angeles
to the
San Joaquin
Route in
Bakersfield
with frequent service through the
Central Valley
of California to
Sacramento
and
Oakland
, and eastward to
San Bernardino
and
Las Vegas
.
There is also daily service to
Chicago, Illinois
on the
Southwest Chief
, and three times a week to
New Orleans, Louisiana
on the
Sunset Limited
. Due to the effects from
Hurricane Katrina
, Sunset Limited service between
New Orleans
to
Jacksonville, Florida
has been discontinued, although
Amtrak
is required by current federal law to develop a plan to reinstate the service. The
Texas Eagle
is a second train to
Chicago
, which operates thrice weekly.
Sunset Limited
and Texas Eagle trains operate as one train between
Los Angeles
and
San Antonio, Texas
before splitting off towards their respective destinations.
Amtrak
Pacific Surfliner
trains stop at several locations in
Los Angeles County
, including:
Glendale
,
Bob Hope Airport
in
Burbank
,
Chatsworth
, and
Van Nuys
.
Due to the large volumes of import freight that flow into the city's port complex,
Los Angeles
is a major freight railroad hub. Freight is hauled by
Union Pacific Railroad
and
BNSF Railway
. The now-defunct
Southern Pacific Railroad
once served the
Los Angeles
area before merging with Union Pacific. The
Alameda Corridor
, a below-grade rail corridor connects the port to the city's main rail yards and to points further north and east.
In the future, the
California High-Speed Rail
will begin operations and connect Los Angeles to
San Francisco
and
San Diego
via the
Inland Empire
. Additionally, the
Brightline West
will serve Los Angeles to
Las Vegas
via
Rancho Cucamonga
.
Intercity freeway
[
edit
]
The major freeway routes providing intercity connections are
Interstate 5
(which goes north to
Sacramento
and south to
San Diego
),
U.S. Route 101
(which goes north to
Santa Barbara
and
San Francisco
), and
Interstate 10
(which goes west to
Santa Monica
and east to
Phoenix, Arizona
).
Intercity bus services
[
edit
]
Greyhound,
FlixBus
, and various smaller bus lines provide intercity bus services. Greyhound connects directly to
Bakersfield
and from there into the
California Central Valley
,
San Diego
, Las Vegas, and the San Francisco Bay area. It departs from Los Angeles at its main station located in southeast downtown Los Angeles
[4]
[5]
and from a secondary terminal located in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles.
[6]
[7]
Harbors
[
edit
]
The
Port of Los Angeles
is located in
San Pedro Bay
in the
San Pedro
neighborhood, approximately 20 miles (30 km) south of
Downtown
. Also called
Los Angeles Harbor
and
WORLDPORT L.A.
, the port complex occupies 7,500 acres (30 km
2
) of land and water along 43 miles (69 km) of waterfront. It adjoins the separate
Port of Long Beach
. There are also smaller, non-industrial harbors along L.A.'s coastline. Most of these like
Redondo Beach
and
Marina del Rey
are used primarily by
sailboats
and
yachts
.
The
Port of Los Angeles
and
Port of Long Beach
comprise the largest seaport complex in the
United States
and the fifth busiest in the world. Over 11 percent of
United States
international trade (by value) passes through the
Los Angeles
region, and the
Los Angeles
customs district collects over 37 percent of the nation’s import duties.
[8]
The port includes four bridges: the
Vincent Thomas Bridge
,
Henry Ford Bridge
,
Gerald Desmond Bridge
, and
Commodore Schuyler F. Heim Bridge
.
Ferry services
[
edit
]
There are ferries serving the offshore island community of
Avalon, California
; they are mainly used for day excursions and to move supplies to
Catalina Island
. There is no regular vehicle ferry service to Avalon, since the city restricts the use of cars and trucks within its borders.
[9]
Intracity
[
edit
]
Freeways
[
edit
]
There are a dozen major
freeways
that crisscross the region. California's first freeway was the
Arroyo Seco Parkway
segment of
California State Route 110
, also known as the Pasadena Freeway. It opened on January 1, 1940 and links downtown Los Angeles to downtown Pasadena. From Chavez Ravine north to
Pasadena
it can be quite dangerous because there is no
shoulder
, the lanes are narrow, the turns are sharp (not always properly banked), and the ramps are quite short and offer little room for acceleration to freeway speed; all of this is because the freeway was designed for much slower cars and much less traffic volume than exists today.
[
original research?
]
Commercial vehicles over 6,000 pounds (2.7 t; 2.7 long tons) are prohibited from using this freeway. Newer freeways are straighter, wider, and allow for higher speeds.
Major freeways in Los Angeles include:
Major highways in Los Angeles include:
Angelenos
are noted for referring to freeways with the definite article ("The 101"), in contrast to most other areas of the United States, who omit the article. Referring to freeways by name, for example "The San Diego Freeway", is essentially a holdover from the time when the freeways were built, and is diminishing. Nevertheless, freeways continue to be officially named; for example, State Route 118 was christened the Ronald Reagan Freeway.
Rush hour
[
edit
]
Los Angeles has synchronized its traffic lights.
[10]
[11]
[12]
The mean travel time for commuters in Los Angeles is shorter than other major cities, including
New York City
,
Philadelphia
and
Chicago
. Los Angeles' mean travel time for work commutes in 2006 was 29.2 minutes, similar to those of
San Francisco
and
Washington, DC
.
[13]
Rush hour
occurs on weekdays between 5 am and 10 am, and in the afternoon between 3 pm and 7 pm (although rush-hour traffic can occasionally spill out to 11 am and start again from 2 pm until as late as 10 pm, especially on Fridays). Traffic can occur at almost any time, particularly before major holidays (including
Thanksgiving
,
Christmas
, and three-day weekends) and even on regular weekends when one otherwise would not expect it.
Streets, street layout, the boulevards, and street problems
[
edit
]
The city has an extensive street grid.
Arterial streets
(referred to as
surface streets
by locals, in contrast with freeways which are usually grade-separated roadways) connect freeways with smaller neighborhood streets, and are often used to bypass congested freeway routes. Consequently, most of the surface arterial streets in Los Angeles have various forms of congestion control.
Some of the more common means of maintaining surface street traffic flow is the use of loop-sensors embedded in the pavement allowing for intersection traffic signal timing adjustments to favor the more heavily delayed roadways; the use of a traffic control system allows for the synchronization of traffic signals to improve traffic flow (as of October 2009 this system is currently installed at 85% of the city's signalized intersections, more than any other US city); restrictions on vehicle turns on roadways without designated turning lanes during rush-hours; and the extensive use of rush-hour parking restrictions, allowing for an extra lane of travel in each direction during peak hours (weekdays excluding holidays generally from 7-9am thru 4-7pm, although hours vary by location) by eliminating on street parking and standing of vehicles, with violators being ticketed, and in the case of priority routes known as "anti-gridlock zones", immediately towed by specialized enforcement teams dubbed "tiger teams" at steep cost to the violator.
1st Street divides the block numbering grid north and south, and southwest of the Los Angeles River, Main Street divides the city east and west. Northeast of the river, block designations are divided east and west by Pasadena Avenue and North Figueroa Street.
From downtown Los Angeles to Long Beach, in a straight-down vertical pattern, east–west streets are numbered (starting with 1st Street in downtown, to 266th Street in
Harbor City
), and north–south streets are named. (1st Street is one block south of Temple.) There are many exceptions to the numbered streets, but the above pattern is generally used. This same numbered pattern is not mirrored north of Temple. Addresses are then numbered east or west stemming from Main Street (a major north south artery). Therefore, the landmark Watts Towers at 1765 E. 107th Street is approximately 107 streets south of 1st Street, and on the 17th street east of Main Street. Although the numbered streets are sequential, they do not necessarily equal the number of blocks south of 1st Street, as there are streets such as 118th Street and then 118th Place.
Many of the numbered streets also continue into neighboring cities, but some cities, such as Manhattan Beach, have made their own numbered street grid. Also, some districts of Los Angeles, such as Wilmington, San Pedro, Venice, and Playa Del Rey have their own numbered street grids.
Many arterials have been labeled as
boulevards
, and many of those mentioned below have been immortalized in movies, music, and literature.
Major east–west routes include:
Roscoe
,
Victory
,
Ventura
,
Hollywood
,
Sunset
,
Santa Monica
,
Beverly
,
Wilshire
,
Olympic
,
Pico
,
Venice
,
Washington
,
Adams
,
Jefferson
,
Exposition
,
Obama Boulevard
, and
Martin Luther King Jr
(formerly Santa Barbara Avenue), and
Century Boulevard
. The major north–south routes include:
Topanga Canyon
,
Crenshaw
,
Reseda
,
Lincoln
,
Sepulveda
,
Van Nuys
,
Westwood
,
Beverly Glen
,
San Vicente
,
Robertson
,
La Cienega
,
Laurel Canyon
,
Glendale
,
Avalon Boulevard
, and
Main Street
.
There are many other famous L.A. streets which carry significant traffic but are not labeled as boulevards. Examples include:
Broadway
,
Bundy Drive
,
Barrington Avenue
,
Centinela Avenue
,
Fountain Avenue
,
Mulholland Drive
,
Slauson Avenue
,
Pacific Coast Highway
,
Century Park East
,
Avenue of the Stars
,
Century Park West
,
Normandie Avenue
,
Highland Avenue
,
Melrose Avenue
,
Florence Avenue
,
Manchester Avenue
,
Vermont Avenue
,
La Brea Avenue
,
Fairfax Avenue
,
Western Avenue
,
Van Ness Avenue
,
Figueroa Street
,
Grand Avenue
, Huntington Drive,
Central Avenue
,
Alameda Street
, and
Imperial Highway
. West Los Angeles has many streets named after states that run east and west. Somewhat confusingly, adjacent Santa Monica uses a few of the same state names for different streets of its own.
Potholes
are a notorious problem in Los Angeles and frequently cause severe damage to all kinds of vehicles. In 2008, then-mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa
made "Operation Pothole" one of his top priorities for that year and pledged to fill 1 million potholes.
[14]
However, due to the city's poorly managed budget, the city's Bureau of Street Services has only a single dedicated pothole-repair truck to cover 275 miles (440 km) of streets (meaning that the backlog is still bad and getting worse).
[15]
Many city streets, such as
Wilshire Boulevard
, were engineered when cars, trucks, and buses were much smaller, and desperately need to be torn up and rebuilt from scratch to handle the weight of today's larger vehicles.
[15]
Furthermore, due to its severe budget problems, Los Angeles is one of the few California cities that does not use
raised pavement markers
on its streets. Thus, Los Angeles drivers must be vigilant not only for potholes, but for other drivers drifting out of lanes due to the lack of tactile feedback normally provided by such markers.
In congruence with the assertion of a popular song that
"nobody walks in L.A."
,
[16]
only 3.5% of Los Angeles residents commuted to work by walking in 2016
[17]
and Los Angeles residents walk for exercise at rates similar to those of other major U.S. cities.
[18]
[
failed verification
]
There are a number of commercial areas in nearby cities that have been redeveloped in the past two decades specifically to accommodate
pedestrian
traffic.
Old Town Pasadena
was redeveloped in the late 1980s by moving parking off
Colorado Boulevard
so as to make the street pedestrian-focused. Likewise, the
Third Street Promenade
in
Santa Monica
was closed off to vehicular traffic altogether in 1965 and revitalized with improved pedestrian amenities in 1988.
[19]
Downtown Los Angeles
has numerous public
escalators
and
skyways
, such as the
Bunker Hill
steps
[20]
to facilitate pedestrian traffic in the traffic-laden and hilly terrain. Downtown Los Angeles is one of two neighborhoods in Los Angeles ranked as a "walker's paradise" (with walk scores 90 or above) by
Walkscore
. The other is Mid-City West, which encompasses the area of the city immediately south of
West Hollywood
and east of
Beverly Hills
.
[21]
Nevertheless, much of Los Angeles remains pedestrian unfriendly. A large percentage of sidewalks in the City of Los Angeles (43% or 4,600 miles (7,400 km) of the 10,600 total miles (17,100 km)) are in ill repair stemming from the
City Council
decision in 1973 to use the federal money they had to take over the responsibility from the adjacent property owners. Previously they had conformed to California law which puts the responsibility for repair of sidewalks on the property owners. As certain popular species of trees accelerated the damage caused by roots, the council failed to concurrently allocate funds for continuing city repairs of such sidewalks. Voters were unwilling to approve funding repairs with a tax or a bond measure. The city again began dedicating funds for sidewalk repairs in 2000 but defunded the program during the
Great Recession
.
[22]
In 2015, the city agreed to a landmark legal settlement that would fix the backlog of broken sidewalks and make other improvements to help those with disabilities navigate the city. The biggest agreement of its kind in U.S. history would settle a lawsuit on behalf of people in wheelchairs or others with mobility impairments who argued that crumbling, impassable sidewalks and other barriers were a violation of the
Americans With Disabilities Act
since they were prevented from accessing public pathways.
[23]
[24]
Bicycle travel
[
edit
]
Bicycling accounts for approximately 1% of Los Angeles commuting and has almost doubled in the last ten years. People in Los Angeles commute to work by bicycle about twice as frequently as the US average
[25]
There are extended stretches of bicycle paths such as the
Los Angeles River bicycle path
, which runs from Burbank to Long Beach, with only a brief hiatus through downtown.
Mass transit
[
edit
]
The primary regional
public transportation
agency is the
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
(LACMTA), commonly referred to as Metro or MTA. The agency, which operates bus, light rail and subway services, averages 767,000 transit trips per weekday.
[26]
It is the third largest transit agency in the United States. Other municipal transportation agencies in Los Angeles County (
LADOT
,
Long Beach Transit
,
Montebello Bus Lines
,
Norwalk Transit
, Redondo Beach,
Santa Monica
's
Big Blue Bus
,
Santa Clarita Transit
,
Torrance Transit
[27]
and
Foothill Transit
) have an additional 405,000 average weekday boardings.
[28]
In February 2008, LACMTA introduced the
Transit Access Pass
(TAP) universal fare system. The TAP smart card allows bus and rail passengers to tap their cards on the farebox for faster boarding. TAP readers are installed on bus fareboxes and on turnstiles and standalone validators at rail stations. Because not all Metro Rail stations have turnstiles, it operates on a
proof-of-payment
system: as such, Metro's fare inspectors randomly check to make sure TAP users have validated their card by using a wireless handheld unit. TAP is now accepted on a number of different transit systems in Los Angeles County.
Buses
[
edit
]
The extensive bus system operated by LACMTA includes the
Metro Local
,
Metro Rapid
, and formerly
Metro Express
services. Local buses tend to be orange, rapid buses red, and express buses blue. Rapid bus route numbers usually begin with a 7 and express bus numbers begin with 4 and 5. The buses have an estimated 1.3 million boardings on the weekdays.
[29]
Including other municipal bus operators, Los Angeles County averages 1.7 million bus boardings per weekday,
[28]
accounting for approximately 5.9% of the 29 million daily trips originating in Los Angeles County.
[30]
LACMTA has two
bus rapid transit
lines: the
G Line
and the
J Line
.
The G Line runs from
Chatsworth station
to
North Hollywood station
and began operations on October 29, 2005 as the Orange Line. For the entirety of its 17.7-mile (28.5 km) length, the 60-foot (18 m) articulated buses, built by
North American Bus Industries
and dubbed
Metro Liners
, operate on bus-only lanes that follow an old railroad
right-of-way
. Portions of the route parallel Chandler and Victory Boulevards, and Oxnard Street.
[31]
The J Line runs 38 miles (61 km) along
Interstate 10
and
Interstate 110
between
El Monte Station
and downtown
San Pedro
.
[32]
Foothill Transit also operates a bus rapid transit system called the
Silver Streak
, which runs from
Montclair
to
Downtown Los Angeles
along the
El Monte Busway
on Interstate 10.
[33]
Other bus systems:
Metro Rail
[
edit
]
Between its
light rail
and
heavy rail
systems, Metro Rail has 107.4 miles (172.8 km) of rail, averaging 308,653 trips per weekday,
[29]
and accounting for approximately 1.1% of the 29 million daily trips originating in Los Angeles County.
[30]
The network includes four above-ground
light rail
lines (the
A
,
C
,
E
, and
K
lines) and one underground
subway
with two branches (the
B
and
D
lines). The Los Angeles Metro Rail ranked by daily ridership as the
ninth-busiest
rapid transit system in the United States. Ranked by passengers per route mile, however, the system ranks
sixth
, transporting 8,846 passengers per route mile,
[29]
more than San Francisco's
Bay Area Rapid Transit
or the
Chicago "L"
.
The Los Angeles Metro Rail system connects areas across the county, including
Long Beach
,
Pasadena
,
Norwalk
,
El Segundo
,
North Hollywood
,
Inglewood
and
Downtown Los Angeles
. As of 2023, four additional rail expansion projects are under construction, and various other projects are under study. The timing of their construction will depend on the availability of funding. These projects include:
Commuter rail
[
edit
]
Also serving Los Angeles and several surrounding counties is
Metrolink
, a regional
commuter rail
service. Metrolink averages 42,600 trips per weekday, the busiest line being the San Bernardino line.
[28]
Los Angeles public transportation statistics
[
edit
]
The city of Los Angeles has, a low rate of public transportation use compared to similar sized American cities, with only 7.7% of commuters getting to work by this means in 2021.
[34]
The city's average one-way commute was approximately 29 minutes in 2021.
[34]
31% of public transit riders ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 20 minutes, while 38% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 6.9 mi (11.1 km), while 30% travel for over 7.5 mi (12.1 km) in a single direction.
[35]
Vehicle for hire companies
[
edit
]
Vehicle for hire
companies face numerous regulations in California.
[36]
Taxis in Los Angeles are regulated by the Board of Taxicab Commissioners. There are 9 taxi companies in Los Angeles that operate more than 2,300 taxis. Some of the largest Taxi companies in Los Angeles are LA Yellow Cab, Bell Cab, and United Independent Taxi. RideYellow, Curb and Flywheel are three of the most popular
mobile apps
providing taxi service in Los Angeles.
[37]
[38]
Uber
and
Lyft
operate in Los Angeles.
[39]
Superbloom street lights
[
edit
]
In November of 2019, Los Angeles
Chief Design Officer Christopher Hawthorne
launched L.A. Lights The Way under the supervision of
Mayor
Eric Garcetti
, an open competition to design and fabricate a new, improved, and multi-use standard
LED
powered
street light
to be installed and supplant the 220,000 existing less efficient
high pressure sodium
street lamps and the current single-function, utilitarian,
LED-operated
CD953 model streetlight that has been standardized throughout Los Angeles since 2009.
[40]
[41]
According to Hawthorne, the L.A. Lights the Way initiative serves as an opportunity "to reconnect with the city's 'rich tradition' of streetlight modernization,"
[42]
a potential way to "mitigate the unequal distribution of the city's 'most beautiful' streetlights, which are currently concentrated in the wealthiest neighborhoods,"
[42]
and as an avenue through which to establish
Smart City
infrastructure throughout Los Angeles. Additionally, the timeliness of the design competition echoes the larger, city-wide efforts to refurbish and modernize the city’s public environment in preparation for the
2028 Olympic Games
(though the L.A. Lights The Way initiative is not explicitly included in Garcetti's
Twenty-eight by '28
transit infrastructure plan).
[43]
On September 3, 2020, Hawthorne announced via
Twitter
[44]
that of the over 100 anonymous global entries, the winner of the contest’s $70,000 prize was the Superbloom concept, coincidentally created by the L.A.-based design studio Project Room.
[42]
The Superbloom street light is a
modular-designed
system that, according to project leader Sandy Yum, employs
biomimicry
in the form a bouquet of flowers, with each metal tubular “flower” serving a distinct technological or physical feature. Yum describes the design focus of the Superbloom concept was, "to take the ever increasing number of things we demand from our streetlights ? shade, traffic sensors, telecom, EV charging, wayfinding, banners, the list goes on ? and translate that into a form that is uniquely LA."
[45]
The Superbloom concept, according to Project Room, embodies a
systems-based
approach to engineering
municipal infrastructure, and that the Superbloom system anticipates and invites future innovations given that extra “tubes are built in to the design for future use. Additional arms can be quickly and affordably fabricated. The streetlight expresses its purposes as simply as possible and yet remains open to change and to the future.”
[46]
The proposed Superbloom system is designed to incorporate features that have the potential to mitigate the detrimental effects of the various
environmentally racist
modern urban design phenomena, such as increasing the amount shade to combat
urban heat islands
that are disproportionately found in low-income communities of color. However, concerned citizens, media outlets, and other advocates of
environmental justice
have also noted the potential racial and class-oriented implications of
security lighting
, claiming that such an interconnected, municipally owned system has the potential to expand and streamline the LAPD's preexisting practice of mounting "security cameras, gunshot monitors, and other surveillance tools,"
[47]
thus increasing the potential for the over-policing and subsequent racial profiling of lower-income or racially/ethnically homogenous neighborhoods.
[48]
Commuting
[
edit
]
In 2021, of the 6.8 million workers who commuted in the Los Angeles-Long Beach metro area, 81.6% commuted to work
driving
alone, 10.9% commuted by driving in a
carpool
and 2.7% commuted on
public transportation
.
[49]
In 2006, 64.9% of public transportation commuters were non-white, 70.2% were
Hispanic
and 67.6% were foreign born. 75.5% of public transportation commuters earned less than $25,000. However, only 32.7% of public transportation commuters had no
vehicle
available to them for their commute.
[13]
In the same year, for the City of Los Angeles, of the 1.4 million workers who commuted, 74.7% commuted to work driving alone, 10.7% commuted by driving in a carpool, 7.7% commuted by public transportation, and 3.5% walked. The percentage of population using public transport in Los Angeles is lower than other large U.S. cities such as
San Francisco
,
Chicago
and
New York
, but similar to or higher than other western U.S. cities such as
Portland
and
Denver
. 63.8% of public transportation commuters in the City of Los Angeles in 2006 were non-white, 75.1% were Hispanic and 73.9% were foreign born. 79.4% of public transportation commuters earned less than $25,000 and 37.6% had no vehicle available to them for their commute.
[13]
Driving alone has increased at the expense of public transportation in recent years, with the most marked decline occurring between 2019 and 2021 due to commute pattern changes coincident with
COVID-19
. According to the American Community Survey, only 70.6% of workers who commuted in the City of Los Angeles did so by driving alone in 2006, and 11.5% used public transportation. The percent of workers commuting by public transportation had slowly fallen to 9.5% in 2019 before falling further to 7.7% in 2021. The number of commuters by public transit fell from 177,099 in 2019 to 106,300 in 2021, as the number of workers working from home increased from 130,409 to 432,722.
[49]
Concerns
[
edit
]
Air quality
[
edit
]
Los Angeles is strongly predisposed to accumulation of
smog
, because of peculiarities of its geography and weather patterns. The millions of vehicles in the area combined with the additional effects of the
Los Angeles
/
Long Beach
complex frequently contribute to further
air pollution
. Los Angeles was one of the best known cities suffering from transportation smog for much of the 20th century, so much so that it was sometimes said that
Los Angeles
was a synonym for
smog
.
[50]
In particular, the entire area in between Los Angeles Harbor and
Riverside
has become known as the "Diesel Death Zone".
[51]
The
American Lung Association
's 2023 State of the Air Report ranks the Los Angeles-Long Beach metro area as the most polluted in the United States for ozone. However, for year-round particulate matter, the metro area is outranked by three metro areas in the
San Joaquin Valley
, namely
Bakersfield
,
Visalia
and
Fresno-Madera-Hanford
. For short-term particulate matter, it is outranked by those same three metro areas as well as number of additional California metro areas such as
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland
, as well as
Fairbanks
,
Alaska
.
[52]
Sidewalks
[
edit
]
The city has about 9,300 miles (15,000 km) of sidewalk. Many are perilous or impassable due to lack of maintenance to those who have disabilities that affect their mobility. In 2015, the city committed to spending $1.4 billion over the next 30 years to resolved a class-action lawsuit citing violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act by fixing other barriers to full and safe access to city streets.
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See also
[
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References
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External links
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