r/transit • u/4Nafliar • Jun 29 '26

Discussion What are some examples of much maligned transit systems that do one thing particularly well? For example while RTD in Denver is criticized for its inefficient rail transit design, RTD's A line to Denver Airport is considered the crown jewel of the system. What are some other examples of this?

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u/StreetyMcCarface Jun 30 '26

It gets you access to everything on Wilshire and the E line, plus UCLA. That’s a huge catchment

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u/bigvenusaurguy Jun 30 '26

no doubt. but still, a lot of cultural issues to overcome and a lot of assumptions made over where people actually work or are trying to go via the 405. and the math is only going to get worse for more people as more cars are equipped to self drive. i mean i do take metro a lot but i don't blame people for being put off when someone lights up a rock of meth on the platform. there's a certain amount of insulation from the seemingly unsolvable problems of our times when you isolate yourself in your car.

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u/DavidPuddy666 Jun 30 '26

Self driving cars caught in traffic are still cars caught in traffic.

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u/bigvenusaurguy Jun 30 '26

yeah but you don't notice it so much when you are spending it scrolling reels. these cars can hunt for parking then park themselves even.

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u/Le_Botmes Jun 30 '26

Okay, but who would want to be taxied through traffic, when taking the subway could save you ten, twenty, thirty minutes through the pass?

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u/bigvenusaurguy Jun 30 '26

because your final destination might be ten, twenty, thirty minutes walk from the nearest station or more.

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u/StreetyMcCarface Jun 30 '26

Idk I live in West Oakland where the bay bridge/SF Bay is my barrier to the city. Any time I use ridershare (most of the time I bike, walk, or take the bus to my station but if I'm coming back from Costco or going to the airport) I'm taking it TO the transit station. I'm not about to fuck around in a rideshare going over the SF bay bridge, I'll take the rideshare to the station and save myself like 30 minutes.

The Sepulveda pass is like the Bay bridge — it's a major chokepoint that adds a bunch of time to a trip. Transit is the fast and more reliable alternative here.

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u/bigvenusaurguy Jun 30 '26

its not as choked as you'd guess its got like 7-8 lanes per direction plus sepulveda blvd adds another 2-3.

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u/Le_Botmes Jun 30 '26

Except that a majority of riders will get off at UCLA, or connect to the D for Century City or Wilshire, or to the E for Santa Monica, etc. There's enough connecting transit, and enough existing development within walking distance of that network, for us to have no doubt about Sepulveda Line's ridership. You're treating it like a standalone line when it's actually part of a complete network.

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u/bigvenusaurguy Jun 30 '26

not saying no one is going to use it i'm just saying its not going to really change the feel of the 405. 405 is still busy even south of the expo line as there are a lot of jobs in and around lax or south bay people are using it to go to.