Exclusive | I’ve lived in LA 19 years without a car. Here’s the secrets I’ve learned and how much I’ve saved

There was a constant refrain I heard when I started telling people I was moving to Los Angeles: “You have to have a car.”

It was seemingly non-negotiable. You just had to have a car. Period.

I didn’t 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.

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. And I could have saved a LOT more.

Why? 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.

Two: I’m incredibly stubborn and I love proving people wrong.

Why? I absolutely hate driving

I was never a car guy. The Corvette is the lone exception. If I ever win the lottery, sell a screenplay or marry a sugar mama, it’s among my first 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.

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. Every time.

And that was in Minnesota, which pales in comparison to LA traffic. A car here would have been a dreadful daily experience, riddled with mild rage and anxiety I wanted no part of.

I hadn’t owned a car in roughly five years when I made the move. I rented a Penske truck and drove west with a 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.

How? 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.

But most of the work was done from my apartment in Hollywood, and many of the premieres I covered were a few blocks away. For everything else, I took the bus or train. That made for some awkward moments at the security gates at Fox, Sony and Paramount while every colleague drove past me.

The decision got infinitely easier once Uber and Lyft arrived in LA in 2012 and 2013, respectively.

The LA Metro train system is fairly efficient for what it is. The problem is that it’s not nearly as widespread as it should be for a city this size. Fares for trains and buses are just $1.75 each way.

That, plus there is often an assault… on your senses.

There is a stench that permeates from a certain class of riders that you ultimately get used to. Sometimes, it smells like bologna.

It’s still common for people to blast (often awful) music through Bluetooth speakers, as if they’re doing us all a 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.

The buses fill the many, many gaps in the train system, but they’re at the whim of LA 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. It takes 45 minutes to an hour each way.

The benefits of a public transportation commute

In almost 19 years of riding LA Metro, I have never been physically accosted. I’ve never had a gun or a knife pulled on me.

I know dangerous altercations happen. A few years ago I took the B line at Hollywood and Vine and saw cops cover a corpse with a sheet.

But trains and buses are by no means the war zones they’re often portrayed as. 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.

Have I seen people vomiting on trains? Sure. 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.

Have I had uncomfortable conversations with homeless people or unhinged randos? Of course.

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. It’s a view you can’t get from any driver’s seat.

I’ve seen adorable babies smile and wave at me from the seat behind. Last week I had a perfectly pleasant chat with two women about the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art after my trip there. I’ve seen arguments devolve into shouting matches and thousands of couples being all lovey-dovey and crap.

I once saw a man turn to me and ask, “Am I ugly, bro?” after a woman ignored his attempt at a late-night bus conversation.

And that barely scratches the surface.

Perhaps the biggest benefit is the time it carves out to read. I’ve been working through the Dungeon Crawler Carl series all year (I’m halfway through Book 8), and fellow “Crawlers” have struck up conversations with me on the train more than once.

A cost breakdown

We reported last month that, in Los Angeles, $20 on gas that will take you 90.6 miles, which is based on the Los Angeles average gas price (as of September 21) of $6.22 per gallon in a vehicle that gets 28 miles per gallon.

Last month AAA released its annual Driving Costs report, putting the cost of owning a new vehicle at $12,863 a year. I’d likely never buy new, so I broke out the individual costs, NOT including any car payment.

Gas: My commute is 8.4 miles each way. Over 260 workdays, that’s 4,368 miles. At 28 mpg and LA’s average gas price of $6.22 a gallon (as of Sept. 21), that’s $970.32 a year, for work trips alone.

Insurance: $1,853 a year (about $154 a month) for average minimum coverage, via The Zebra.

Registration: Up to $500, depending on the vehicle, via Compare Mechanic.

Parking: My apartment complex charges $150 a month, or $1,800 a year. That doesn’t count the Academy Museum ($25), Dodger Stadium ($45) or Crypto.com Arena, which would push it past $4,000. When a friend drove me to the Academy Museum last week, the parking cost more than a week on Metro.

Maintenance and repairs: AAA puts it at 11.7 cents a mile, or $511.06.

Estimated annual cost of owning a car in LA: $5,634.38

Here’s what I actually pay.

Metro and Big Blue Bus: Metro caps fares at $5 a day and $18 a week. I load $18 onto my TAP card every week, and that usually covers all my work and recreational travel. That’s $936 a year, plus $260 in 50-cent transfers to Big Blue Bus, for $1,196.

Lyft: 97 rides in LA from Jan. 1 through Oct. 4, for $2,683. (That one’s painful to look at. Most are rides home from bars, when I’d rather spend money than time.)

Estimated annual transit and rideshare costs: $3,879 (ouch)

Annual savings: $1,755.38

Potential savings if I weren’t lazy and cut out Lyft: $4,438.38

I’m probably making enough now to afford a car. But I’m more than content to skip the traffic and parking and spend my money on travel, sports and beer.

I also realize I say all this from a place of privilege, as an older white guy. A woman riding a bus or train may have a very different experience, and there have been enough violent, creepy or just plain weird incidents to dissuade plenty of people.

Still, I’ve ridden for 19 years and remain largely unscathed, life and limb intact. Here are some tips for the Metro uninitiated.

Avoid the loudmouths: Some people cannot abide silence. Engage once and the tractor beam locks in, and they won’t stop talking to you.

You don’t need a TAP card anymore: As of late May, Metro and Big Blue Bus take credit and debit cards.

Bring your goddamn headphones: You are not a DJ. We are not a willing or paying audience. We do NOT care who you’re listening to.

Hop on a bus or a train and you’ll see a Los Angeles you can’t see from the 405: the real people who make this city tick every day. Good, bad or ugly.

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