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markpb · 06-03-2006, 13:02

My experience from LA is much, much better than Dublin but again, I lived close to the red line.

Integration between the public and private operators is a little confusing because some operators allow cross-ticketing with LACMTA and others don't. When it works, it works beautifully and (until now) without the need for any kind of magstripe or smartcard. Indeed, the entire ticketing system is very simple.

All the staff, without exception, are incredibly friendly and helpful. The only downside are the metro drivers because they're actually worse than dart drivers when it comes to understanding what they're saying.

Buses, on selected routes, run all day and all night and are 1/3 cheaper at night. Between 9pm and 5.30am, buses will stop for drop-offs everywhere, not just at bus stops.

Security on buses ans trains is fantastic with the police, sheriffs, transport police and MTA security all doing regular checks. I felt safer on the blue line in Compton than I did in many of the buses in Dublin at night.

The red line stations (not sure about the others) in North Hollywood all have huge carparks, great integration with MTA buses. All of the stations are beautifully decorated and maintained and usually themed to go with the local area. Strict enforcement of the no littering, nofood, no spitting, no loud music rules ($250 on the spot fine) makes using the train a pleasure unlike the 13/13A buses in Dublin.

The system maps on the website show the exact routes of all the buses, per route, per area and (in the train stations) of the entire city. The journey planner on the website and on 1800 commute is a fantastic tool.

I'm sure there are outlying areas of LA where public transport isn't as good but where its good, it blows the socks of Dublin.

The only major advantage that Dublin (Dart) has over LA is that the metro system lacks a real-time system. It's offset by the fact that trains in LA are actually regular and frequent unlike the Dart and, like most tunneled systems, you can feel the train coming when its a few minutes away.

06-03-2006, 13:02	#8
markpb Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 541	My experience from LA is much, much better than Dublin but again, I lived close to the red line. Integration between the public and private operators is a little confusing because some operators allow cross-ticketing with LACMTA and others don't. When it works, it works beautifully and (until now) without the need for any kind of magstripe or smartcard. Indeed, the entire ticketing system is very simple. All the staff, without exception, are incredibly friendly and helpful. The only downside are the metro drivers because they're actually worse than dart drivers when it comes to understanding what they're saying. Buses, on selected routes, run all day and all night and are 1/3 cheaper at night. Between 9pm and 5.30am, buses will stop for drop-offs everywhere, not just at bus stops. Security on buses ans trains is fantastic with the police, sheriffs, transport police and MTA security all doing regular checks. I felt safer on the blue line in Compton than I did in many of the buses in Dublin at night. The red line stations (not sure about the others) in North Hollywood all have huge carparks, great integration with MTA buses. All of the stations are beautifully decorated and maintained and usually themed to go with the local area. Strict enforcement of the no littering, nofood, no spitting, no loud music rules ($250 on the spot fine) makes using the train a pleasure unlike the 13/13A buses in Dublin. The system maps on the website show the exact routes of all the buses, per route, per area and (in the train stations) of the entire city. The journey planner on the website and on 1800 commute is a fantastic tool. I'm sure there are outlying areas of LA where public transport isn't as good but where its good, it blows the socks of Dublin. The only major advantage that Dublin (Dart) has over LA is that the metro system lacks a real-time system. It's offset by the fact that trains in LA are actually regular and frequent unlike the Dart and, like most tunneled systems, you can feel the train coming when its a few minutes away. Last edited by markpb : 06-03-2006 at 13:14.