An author living in Los Angeles for nearly 19 years without owning a car shares their experience and savings. They estimate saving around $1,750 annually by not having a car, totaling over $33,000 since moving to LA. The article details the reasons behind this choice—primarily financial constraints and dislike of driving—and how they navigate the city using public transportation and rideshares like Uber and Lyft.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-10,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
There was a constant refrain I heard when I started telling people I was moving to Los Angeles: “You have to have a car.”
asserted
You → be → car
You just had to have a car.
asserted
You → have → car
I didn’t listen.
asserted
I → listen → ?
I moved here without a car almost 19 years ago and I’ve never owned one since, relying largely on public transportation to get around — and I’m not even a ‘transit baddie’ influencer.
asserted
I → move → transportation
A conservative estimate indicates I’ve saved roughly $1,750 a year, or upwards of $33,000 over my tenure in the City of Angels.
asserted
I → indicate → Angels
And I could have saved a LOT more.
uncertain
I → save → LOT
One: I was broke, moving out here for what I thought was a great job that wasn’t going to pay me a ton of money.
asserted
that → move → money
Two: I’m incredibly stubborn and I love proving people wrong.
asserted
people → ’m → ?
I absolutely hate driving
asserted
I → hate → driving
If I ever win the lottery, sell a screenplay or marry a sugar mama, it’s among my first purchases.
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it → win → purchases
But driving itself started annoying me well into my 20s, partly because of the cost, partly because of my Irish temper, which flared up more in the driver’s seat than anywhere else.
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which → start → seat
Every cut-off, every slow driver in the left lane, every person who backs into a parking spot like they’re preparing for a quick getaway from Target irked me.
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they → back → me
And that was in Minnesota, which pales in comparison to LA traffic.
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which → pal → traffic
A car here would have been a dreadful daily experience, riddled with mild rage and anxiety I wanted no part of.
asserted
I → want → part
I hadn’t owned a car in roughly five years when I made the move.
asserted
I → own → move
I rented a Penske truck and drove west with a friend.
asserted
I → rent → friend
That 1,600-mile trip in January 2008 was the last time I was behind the wheel, and I don’t miss it one bit.
asserted
I → miss → it
Public transportation, with an assist from rideshares
The job I moved here for, writing for an entertainment news website called MovieWeb, paid $30K a year in 2008 ($46K in 2026 dollars), and I didn’t get a raise for years.
asserted
I → move → years
But most of the work was done from my apartment in Hollywood, and many of the premieres I covered were a few blocks away.
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I → do → premieres
For everything else, I took the bus or train.
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I → take → bus
That made for some awkward moments at the security gates at Fox, Sony and Paramount while every colleague drove past me.
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colleague → make → me
The decision got infinitely easier once Uber and Lyft arrived in LA in 2012 and 2013, respectively.
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Uber → get → 2012
The problem is that it’s not nearly as widespread as it should be for a city this size.
asserted
it → ’ → city
There is a stench that permeates from a certain class of riders that you ultimately get used to.
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you → be → that
Sometimes, it smells like bologna.
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it → smell → bologna
It’s still common for people to blast (often awful) music through Bluetooth speakers, as if they’re doing us all a favor.
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they → ’ → favor
And on the B line to Hollywood I regularly see the cigarette guy, the sock guy and the incense guy with a conical hairdo I can’t even describe.
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I → see → hairdo
The buses fill the many, many gaps in the train system, but they’re at the whim of LA traffic.
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they → fill → traffic
Thankfully, the two I use for my commute to the California Post run efficiently: the Metro 20/720 west on Wilshire Boulevard, then the Big Blue Bus 7 west on Pico.
asserted
I → use → Pico
It takes 45 minutes to an hour each way.
asserted
It → take → hour
In almost 19 years of riding LA Metro, I have never been physically accosted.
asserted
I → rid → Metro
I’ve never had a gun or a knife pulled on me.
asserted
gun → have → me
I know dangerous altercations happen.
asserted
altercations → know → ?
A few years ago I took the B line at Hollywood and Vine and saw cops cover a corpse with a sheet.
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cops → take → sheet
But trains and buses are by no means the war zones they’re often portrayed as.
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they → portray → means
Most of the people I encounter are just like me: on their way to or from work, the bar, the movies or the Dodgers game.
asserted
I → encounter → work
Have I seen people vomiting on trains?
asserted
people → see → trains
A few weeks ago, on a Sunday afternoon A line train out of Pasadena, a man unleashed an amount of vomit practically Biblical in its scope, spreading throughout the car with every turn.
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man → unleash → turn
Have I had uncomfortable conversations with homeless people or unhinged randos?
asserted
I → have → people
But that’s part of living in this city and truly seeing it, the good, the bad and the ugly, from an unpadded bus seat.
asserted
that → ’ → seat
…and 34 more, not listed.
The Aporia
