Los Angeles Bus Rides

Ever since discovering that a bus easily runs outside of my apartment to Union Station for my work commute, it’s been transforming. I always preferred driving, having the comfort of setting my car to a certain temperature and the convenience of leaving as I pleased. I didn’t realize that my perceptions of Los Angeles are pretty confined to my bubble of grad school friends and USC. It’s fair to say that the group of people I interact with are fairly privileged, not just in comparison to the world but also in LA. Embarrassingly enough, I even have a heated footrest in my private office at work, which is great but makes me feel so far removed at times from my work in developing countries.

When I started taking the public bus, it opened up my eyes to many things that blue collar workers in LA face. If someone has a strict job in which they have to clock in and may get fired for being late, they have to meticulously plan out bus routes. But certain days, to my frustration, busses decide to skip their run and you end up waiting double the amount of time. Or a fight breaks out and everyone has to hop off. Even with my super convenient bus stop outside my apartment and a one shot ride to Union Station where a free USC shuttle runs to the medical school where I work, I spend 3 hours each day I take this commute. Now I imagine if someone had 2 or 3 transfers or what about a family at home.

I remember reading “Nickel and Dimed” where a PhD attempts to work 2-3 minimum wage jobs to see if she can get by like so many people in America. Some things that many middle class and above Americans fail to realize is that those working minimum wage jobs are often super hard working, rarely able to afford a day off even to take care of sick children yet are not able to make ends meet. The Los Angeles public transit opens up this realization for me where I can interact with the rest of the city outside of the privileged buildings of a super wealthy university.