Transportation

Contrary to popular belief, LA does have a very comprehensive and even fairly efficient public transport system. Nearly all communities are served by buses, and a fast light- and heavy-rail system hits many of the major area attractions, such as Hollywood and Universal Studios. Still, the automobile remains by far the area's most popular mode of transportation. Before rushing headlong into the bumper-to-bumper melee though, consider all of your transport options.

Although LA is definitely built for cars, it is possible to get around on public transport. The city has four public bus operators: MTA, which goes most places; Big Blue Bus, which serves the West LA area; Culver City Bus, which does Culver City and the Westside; and DASH, a minibus system that runs four routes through Downtown.

Metro Rail trains run between Downtown and Long Beach, Union Station and Western Ave, and Norwalk and Redondo Beach.
The city of LA sprawls over such a huge area that, unless time is no factor or money is extremely tight, you're going to want to spend some time behind the wheel of your own car. Despite the sheer volume of traffic, the city isn't hard to navigate if you stick to the major arterials as much as possible and avoid rush hours. If you want to get down to the nitty-gritty of LA streets, grab a copy of the Thomas Guides map books.

Unlike New York or Chicago, LA isn't a place you can just thrust your arm out and expect to hail a taxi. Except for those lined up outside airports, train stations, bus stations and major hotels, cabbies respond to phone calls rather than hand waves.
Tell an Angeleno, 'I'll just walk' and they're bound to try talking you out of it. In LA, dispersion is the rule of city planning and all but a few strips were developed with motorists, rather than pedestrians, in mind. If you hate to see all those sidewalks going to waste, sections of Downtown, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and central Hollywood are walkable - once you've driven or caught a bus there.