It truly makes me crazy when I hear people discuss public transportation in cities in Southern Ca. It’s not the lack of demand, it’s not that people won’t use them, it’s just that it’s virtually IMPOSSIBLE to build an efficient system in a city where people are spead out so far. Ever look at a map of LA county? It’s HUGE! How many people live there? Maybe 5-6 million? The population density simple won’t support it and the city planners are well aware of that fact.

I used to live in Japan. In a 30 Km radius of the center of Tokyo (much smaller than LA or SD counties)are the homes of more than 30 million people, approximately 25% of the total population of Japan. The trains are fantastic. I could get fom my home in Yokosuka, about 50 km from Tokyo Station, to anywhere in the city in 45 minutes. During rush hour he trains are so full there is a person on the platform whose job it is to smash as many human beings onto the train as possible. You seriously have to suspend your sense of personal space or you would go insane. There is no way that system could work here. Stop dreaming, and realize that life in this area requires you provide your own transportation.

Personally I prefer to commute by bicycle, but I realize that may not work when I return to San Diego. the wife really has her heart set on the North County, and that’s a bitch of a bike ride to Balboa.