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Re:To fix L.A.'s traffic, we need tolls by Balgair on Tuesday March 07, 2017 @05:42PM (#13815840)
I really like that idea. The last mile issue in LA really is a problem, trying to cross streets is like playing Frogger and that would help a lot.

I actually rode the buses in LA for about 2 years (Westside to UCLA). Adding more buses, and I mean a LOT more buses (10x), may actually work. However, the issue with LA buses is not the frequency or the timing of transfers, it is the city and the people themselves. LA is not meant for buses, it is meant for cars. That means you'll have to tear up a lot of road-way to get the proper street design for 10x the buses. Anyone that has lived in LA knows that major road construction is nearly unending and yet is horrific at the same time. Doing that kind of work will not be just 'normal' expensive, but you'll also have to pay for the massive corruption issues along with it. There exists no political willpower to do so and it is unlikely to come about anytime soon as voter participation in LA is abysmal (1 voter for ~50k residents).

Also, have you ridden the Big Blue Bus on an August Tuesday in 90+ degree heat at 5 pm? You will discover the surprisingly rank nature of the human body's ability to produce truly nauseous smells and leave them on the seats. The bums man, they are just plain smelly and stabby and awful. The bums prevent most unaccompanied women from even considering taking the bus, they really are that bad. LAPD gives exactly 0 shits about the bums as long as they don't actually try to kill you. You ever make the mistake of getting onto a piss bus? Whatever is left of that dying human being in the far back seat just makes for horrific smells that will not come out of your clothes, you really have to throw them out. I learned that lesson only once. I was not late to work, but I should have been. You just have to skip that bus and be an hour late or come in smelling of death itself.

So most single women just take their cars. It is a far safer way to get about town.

Re:To fix L.A.'s traffic, we need tolls by sampo on Tuesday March 07, 2017 @10:25PM (#13817610)
> have you ridden the Big Blue Bus on an August Tuesday in 90+ degree heat at 5 pm?

So the buses in LA don't have air conditioning?

> The bums

It seems a bit uneconomical, if a population 10k smelly homeless prevents a population of 1+ million people getting to their work comfortably and efficiently.

Re:To fix L.A.'s traffic, we need tolls by lmm on Wednesday March 08, 2017 @06:15AM (#13819513)
> It seems a bit uneconomical, if a population 10k smelly homeless prevents a population of 1+ million people getting to their work comfortably and efficiently.

It is indeed. Clearly something has broken down somewhere. But do you have any proposal for a politically-acceptable way to resolve it?

Re:To fix L.A.'s traffic, we need tolls by HillaryBriss on Tuesday March 07, 2017 @06:38PM (#13816356)
i agree with much of what you're saying, but -- 1 voter for ~50k residents? huh?

there are about 4 million residents in LA. 1 voter per 50k residents amounts to 80 voters. i must be misunderstanding your comment...

Re:To fix L.A.'s traffic, we need tolls by Balgair on Tuesday March 07, 2017 @06:57PM (#13816486)
You are right. I messed up here. The voter turn out in LA is typically ~10% of the population. Garcetti got ~6% of the population to vote for him in '13.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_mayoral_election,_...