Acting on his terms.

September 13, 2017 by Reed Alvarado in Metro, Rider Stories

Devon Graye has had a long run getting to where he is in Los Angeles. "It feels like it's been several different cities because it's so spread out. Every neighborhood has its own flavor," Devon says as he puts together the timeline of his thirteen years in Los Angeles. Before arriving in DTLA two years ago, Devon had experienced almost every type of L.A. there is from the far flung suburbs of Thousand Oaks and Van Nuys to the city center (but still car-centric) neighborhoods of Miracle Mile and the city of West Hollywood. When Devon came to L.A., he moved from neighborhood to neighborhood trying to find a place that reflected his lifestyle while also allowing him to see friends that were stretched out all over the county. "There is such a strategy in finding a place to live in L.A...if I decide to move to Venice I can say goodbye to all my West Hollywood friends...but that's why I love downtown because the transit down here can take me into every different neighborhood or at least somewhat near it. That's the ideal way to keep my life going," he says as we walk to 7th & Metro, a nearby walk from Devon's apartment.

“I realized, maybe 3 and a half years ago, that I hated the car and was developing a severe anxiety of driving. Every time I got behind the wheel of my car, especially on freeways, it was getting progressively worse. I don’t why or what it came from.”

Devon started his career in L.A. the way most actors do. He found an apartment, an acting class, and his Toyota Corolla. As an actor, many will say having a car is obligatory. Beside the obvious need to race from Burbank to Santa Monica on any given day for an audition, Devon, like many actors, used his car as personal office and changing room darting between auditions and side jobs. Eventually, Devon recognized he had a problem, "I realized, maybe three and a half years ago, that I hated the car and was developing a severe anxiety of driving. Every time I got behind the wheel of my car, especially on freeways, it was getting progressively worse. I don't why or what it came from."

“People sometimes tell him that he needs to “fix” his feelings around driving to survive as an actor in L.A. but Devon doesn’t accept that. Devon is a person living in a city of four million, and with a valid reason or not, it is irresponsible for a city not to provide options for transportation.”

While there isn't a single moment Devon can point to for his anxiety behind the wheel, it started when he moved here and slowly crept its way up to becoming a larger issue. "I got to the point where I couldn't do freeways at night, then it turned into not doing freeways at all, then I couldn't do side streets at night, and I can still do side streets during the day but I really hate it. I went to therapy for it but it didn't really work. So I would still drive and reluctantly get in the car if I had to go to the valley and I'd find side streets to get there so I wouldn't have to take the freeway. I'd panic if I saw a freeway onramp in front of me and there was no way to get anywhere else...it was stressful." Like many, Devon thought it was unrealistic to be an actor in L.A. without a car. It wasn't until Devon left town for a month and arrived back to a note on his car from a cement truck driver who regretfully informed him that he smashed the back end of his car. "With the car totaled...I took it as a sign from the universe I was never to drive again, " he laughs, though I could tell it wasn't a joke.

“...that’s why I love downtown because the transit down here can take me into every different neighborhood or at least somewhat near it. That’s the ideal way to keep my life going.”

Until recently - especially with the expansion of Metro and the added reliability of ride-share with Uber and Lyft - this was the kind of thing that would send an actor running to New York. Devon, despite the odds, has made it work, and as we walk on to the Expo Line to get to Santa Monica for a voice over recording I realize Devon isn't regretting a single thing about going car-free. "It's limited me in that I need to plan a little bit more in advance; I have to get creative with what I can fit in a backpack, and I find I get a ton of time to work on my writing, my lines for auditions, I just find that my days are nicer." Prior to moving downtown, Devon used Lyft exclusively to get around the city when he lived in West Hollywood. He used Lyft Line to save money but would often find it hard when you would get ninety percent of the way there and then side tracked by a last minute pick up. Moving downtown was a game-changer. Suddenly, at a fraction of the cost, Devon was connected to North Hollywood in twenty-five minutes, Santa Monica in an hour, and Hollywood in twenty minutes without the fear a suprise detour.

As we pass USC and start heading west Devon says, "I have this theory that people move to L.A. a lot of the time because they were told in their towns that they were the most special and most talented...and you see that when people get behind the wheel of their car...everyone feels like they are the most important people getting the most important thing and that causes accidents...after all the cities I've gone to and driven in, by far L.A. has the most inconsiderate drivers." Using Metro, Devon has been able to get out of his own bubble. People sometimes tell him that needs to "fix" his feelings around driving to survive as an actor in L.A. but Devon doesn't accept that. Devon is a person living in a city of four million, and with a valid reason or not, it is irresponsible for a city not to provide options for transportation.

“I feel like we are all sort of trained as soon as we get here to live in an insular bubble and not really connect with people, and many already feel that in a entertainment industry that is rampant in a feeling of exclusivity”

"I feel like we are all sort of trained as soon as we get here to live in an insular bubble and not really connect with people, and many already feel that in an entertainment industry that is rampant in a feeling of exclusivity," Devon says and adds how that is the opposite of what a community of artists should be striving for, some actors that might work, but my philosophy is that you should be as open as possible...if I spend my time on a train with people from all walks of life I'm going to be way more open when I walk into that room and share myself so much more freely rather than living in a cocoon."

This made me curious as to Devon's experience of arriving on foot at one of the many studios spread throughout the county. "Universal is easy because the Red Line goes right up to it even though you walk in through the driving entrance. Sony is great...it's a twenty-minute walk from Expo...but it's in a cute part of the city. 20th Century Fox has a big metal fence and you feel like they are going to pat you down; it's harder, I feel like I can't get there on transit." I let him know about the 728 Rapid that goes from DTLA through Century City, he said he wants to try it but has never heard of it. It highlighted to me how beyond the allure of rail versus buses, bus routes are hard to understand for many. The iconography of the Metro map is what most people are used to, and they don't feature bus routes. For a system that relies so heavily on buses, Los Angeles could do a far better job of advertising where their buses actually go.

As for the Expo Line, it does not need any explanation. After opening in 2016, it has already reached its ridership projections for 2030 at 64,000 riders a day. We step off at 17th St/SMC Station and walk the three blocks to the small studio where Devon will record, of all things, voice over for a car commercial. Go figure. Unlike Metro, car companies have mastered the art of selling the experience of getting there even when it isn't entirely accurate. Both residents downtown, we joke about how often we see commercials of cars racing through an abandoned DTLA care free. The lens is a powerful thing: it slyly eludes the numerous cop cars and fellow drivers that have blocked the street to make that dream a reality.

One Stop.

September 06, 2017 by Reed Alvarado in Metro, Rider Stories

It's 6:30 on Monday morning, and while most of the work force is sleeping in on Labor Day, Maria Akis is walking out her door. She lives on the edge of MacArthur Park and is going to her job as a restaurant server at a hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. Considering it's a holiday, and Metro schedules usually run on an abbreviated schedule, I'm a little worried that we aren't going to make it to her job downtown by 7, but she assures me, "Metro takes half an hour." Even I – who prides myself on my confidence of in the Metro – seems skeptical, but we venture forth.

As we walk, sun still rising, I ask Maria what it is like to have always lived in LA without a car, (she moved here only a year and a half ago from Pittsburgh) and she admits, "It's sometimes annoying to get to places where you have to talk multiple trains or buses. Uber's are expensive, I was at the Annenberg seeing this show called "Generation Wealth"...the Uber was $17 from my house, and surging, I walked part of the way to get home...there isn't much shade in L.A. once you get off transit." This feeling of walking in a pedestrian wasteland is particularly strong coming off the week-long heat wave. In too many areas of the city, particularly around the Annenberg Space for Photography, heat coming off the wide boulevards of black asphalt and low concrete buildings offering little shade for cover makes pedestrians feel alone and unaccounted for.

However, MacArthur Park couldn't be more different. Even at 6:30 AM on a holiday, the streets are activated. This dense population of over 103,000 people in under 3 square miles makes it the second largest neighborhood by population in Los Angeles. Very few buildings have parking options and it's all centered around a large park that dates back to the 1880's. "I love MacArthur Park like it is. I would hate to see the chaos taken away. What's really nice is the breeze that comes off the lake, the little bit of grass, it makes a difference," she says. She talks about how even though she doesn't spend a lot of time physically in the park it affects the environment of all the apartments that face it, she even laughs about how she has a hummingbird that sometimes visits her on her balcony when she has her morning coffee.

“I love that about my neighborhood. I’ve thought about moving to other parts of the city but having both lines here is amazing. The train comes every four minutes toward Downtown in the morning.”

“I also love how each of the stations are different! The blue and orange tiles of the MacArthur Park Station...when my best friend was in town we did a photo shoot in the Pershing Station because of the different neons.”

It only takes about three minutes to walk to the station that she uses to get to her two jobs downtown. While many neighborhoods on the Eastside are transit-friendly, MacArthur park is the first that I've seen that is almost anti-car; there just isn't any room left to add parking. There is no parking at Maria's building and very few nearby lots. Transit here is the best way in and out, that's probably one of the reasons why there is such a vibrant market of vendors at the entrance of the station. In fact, as we are walking I realize my fear of making Maria late is unfounded, I forget that MacArthur Park station is served by both the Purple and Red Lines so trains run frequently even on a holiday. She says, "I love that about my neighborhood. I've thought about moving to other parts of the city but having both lines here is amazing. It comes every four minutes toward Downtown in the morning."

As we get down to the platform I ask her what aspects about her commute she wished could be improved and she quickly brings up that her second job has her coming home from Pershing Square station and the lack of seating there is disappointing. She assumes it's because of the large transient population that hovers around that station causing Metro to resist adding seating but as we look around at the station we're in, another preferred stop of the homeless population in LA, there is plenty of seating. Whatever the reason, it's an unfortunate truth however that the Pershing Square station feels barren despite its cavernous size and multiple entrances. It does not have the vendors of MacArthur or the volume of 7th & Metro.

Stepping on the train, she says that beyond seating she doesn't have many qualms with her daily commute, "I can rely on it...It's honestly interesting to me seeing the different vendor's and peddlers on Metro...there is an incense guy...I asked him how business was going once and he said it was good!" The interaction is one I know well. I too have had meetings with the incense man, while sometimes pungent, he's a nice guy doing his thing and I am often amazed by the number of people looking to buy the scented sticks. As we step out at 7th & Metro, only one stop later, we cut through the new entrance via The Bloc and Maria remembers, "I also love how each station is different! The blue and orange tiles of the MacArthur Park Station...when my best friend was in town we did a photo shoot in the Pershing Station because of the different neons." I admit that while used to think of them as superfluous when I first saw them, and still think a few are strange (the flying people at Civic Center is very unnerving in my opinion), and yet I have seen tourists enjoy them...I chalk it up to quirky L.A. charm.

Even though we had only gone a single stop, we walk up into a different world. Downtown L.A. with its high-rises and smaller population it is a vastly different place than its neighbor. Maria talks about how she fears gentrification may risk the city becoming more homogeneous one day and she hopes Los Angeles can figure out a way to keep neighborhoods intact even as new people move in. One thing MacArthur Park has the going for it is that the lack of car accessibility, slowing the influx of change. While the neighborhood will inevitably evolve, as all neighborhoods do, one can hope that whatever happens we can find a way to keep the vibrancy, the vendors, the life.

“I love MacArthur Park like it is. I would hate to see the chaos taken away. What’s really nice is the breeze that comes off the lake, the little bit of grass, it makes a difference”

However, not all change is bad. As for Downtown, along with all the new high-rises, one improvement she hopes to see is additional green space and trees just as she has in MacArthur Park. Her own neighborhood is a good example that density doesn't mean one must forego nature. Walking through the neighborhood of construction zones you can see the newly planted tree's and rising towers but only time will tell what they will bring. By the time we reach the front door of her restaurant a few minutes later I look at my clock and realize the whole trip took twenty-one minutes. Not bad for an L.A. commute.

The Evolution of an Angeleno.

August 09, 2017 by Reed Alvarado in Rider Stories, Metro

Morning walk to the Red Line through Virgil Village.

Picture this. Rene wakes up every morning, leaves his apartment, walks a couple blocks to a subway station, goes four stops, walks about five more blocks and is at work in roughly 30 minutes. Door to Door. If that was the only information I gave you, where would you say he lived? Perhaps Midtown Manhattan. Another option is Virgil Village, a neighborhood along the Red Line, sandwiched between Silverlake and East Hollywood. Rene moved here about 3 years ago, but was raised nearby in Thousand Oaks, a city about 15 miles past the northwest border of Los Angeles. Throwing even more LA mass transit stereotypes out, Rene doesn't take the train because he has no other option, Rene has a car. I ask him how often he uses it and he semi-jokingly says, "twice a week. Moving it from one side of the street to the other...for street cleaning. I think I'm going to sell it soon."

“Therefore, on top of savings gained by not parking, not only does Rene save $4 a month commuting to work, any other time he uses Metro, he’s saving money.”

Always ask your supplier if they have B-TAP.

It surprised me that Rene wouldn't use the car he has. "It's too expensive. Every time I drive it's like $10 for the day (at a parking lot near Ace Hotel)." He has the option for a monthly parking space, but at about $100 a month, it isn't a solution for him. A more appealing option is the subsidized TAP card the hotel uses through a program with Metro called B-TAP. This gives him an unlimited monthly TAP card for about $66 a month. A standard monthly TAP card is $100 a month. He learned about the option in an orientation that new hires at Ace Hotel take. It's a great option, which allows you to use it 24/7, not just while commuting to work. If Rene payed for single use rides he would be paying $3.50 round trip each day. Thats $70 a month. Therefore, on top of savings gained by not parking, not only does Rene save $4 a month commuting to work, any other time he uses Metro, he's saving money. That's a great reason to work at Ace Hotel. Only a handful of companies currently are enrolled in the B-TAP program, but for many companies it makes a lot of sense. It's not just an advantage for Rene, Ace Hotel took over an old office building from 1927 built long before the private automobile engineered how we designed our city. The cost of providing parking for all of their employees would be far too high, a predicament many companies see. More and more companies, and even cities (See what Columbus, Ohio is doing), are finding new ways to get their employees to work.

Growing up in Thousand Oaks, Rene didn't use mass transit. He hadn't even tried Metro until 2012, while going to UCLA, when he found his way first to the Expo line and then on to the Red Line to go out one evening. Prior to that night, he didn't really think of it as a viable option. As we are getting on our train he says, "I didn't really think about it at all...it existed, but my whole life was on the Westside. I didn't try."

“Five years after his first ride on Metro, Rene lives in a place where his car sits parked on the street.”

Video monitors display when the next train is coming.

Five years after his first ride on Metro, Rene lives in a place where his car sits parked on the street. He gets around via Metro, and when time is of the essence he supplements his transport by ride sharing services like Lyft (a service which he spends about $25 a week on). He takes an average of four Lyfts a week. Having an unlimited TAP Card has made it more desirable for him to pick mass transit. I wondered how he got here. He wasn't raised to take mass transit. He isn't forced to take mass transit. Often in Los Angeles many assume that there are only two types of people who rely on Metro: the one's who can't afford private vehicles, or the transplants from more urban cities like New York or San Francisco that are used to the lifestyle of underground trains and shared spaces. Rene is neither. He's just an Angeleno who has chosen to participate in LA's great 21st century experiment: Can this city have more than one option for how we move around? Rene wants something different than the normal LA commute. He wants more time to do what he wants to do. He wants to be able to get around without a car. "It's made me write and read more, even though I have only about 10 minutes on the train." It gives him a reason to get a book started or brainstorm a project.

"I love walking into these stations and imagining what they are going to look like in the future." It's an interesting thought. Will there one day be enough traffic or political will power to justify the in-station concession stands we are used to in other cities? Will there be more digital visuals or art? More entrances and exits like the one that recently opened at 7th and Metro he uses to make his way to work. The new portal saves him two minutes on his walk. These are all valid questions. Our rail system is relatively young. The Blue Line, Metro's oldest line that streches from Long Beach to DTLA, only opened in 1990, a year before Rene was born. He remarks that he feels enjoyment that he's part of the big experiment of bringing rail back to Los Angeles.

The interesting thing about talking to Rene is that he wasn't seeking to change the way he lived his life to survive in LA. He just made choices that made economical sense and gave him the ability to use his time the way he wanted. He wanted less time in traffic and more time with friends. He tries to encourage his friends to use mass transit to varying success, he did manage to persuade his roommate to get a TAP card. When we think about what growing up in Los Angeles means we usually have a few ideas that come to mind, but it's important to remember that this city is changing fast and those idea's might become more of an option rather then a rule.

“What would happen if we introduced mass transit education into schools the way we teach DMV handbooks?”

There are thousands of children growing up in LA today who have had an operational rail line within a mile of them their whole life. They might have already used their first TAP Card. What would happen if we introduced mass transit education into schools the way we teach DMV handbooks (as Seattle Mayoral Candidate Nikita Oliver recently stated)? How would this effect the next generation and their perception of transit? Would it be normal to them? Will they grow up and have to move to SF or NY if they seek a more urban life? Or might our future Angelenos just have to move to another part of town. As I walk up to the door at Ace to conclude our talk, Rene notes how he wishes the subway to Westwood had been built when he was in college, 25 minutes from DTLA to Westwood/Wilshire. Can you imagine?

Rene's Commute from Virgil Village to DTLA. Provided by Citymapper.