Los Angeles is slowly expanding its rapid transit network, but residents probably won’t be too surprised to hear that a new report indicates that the city still lags far behind the rest of the world in terms of transit accessibility. The report, released by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, shows that only 24 percent of Los Angeles residents live within a kilometer of a Metro, light rail, or rapid bus stop.
That number pales in comparison with percentages in most of the 25 cities studied in the report; by comparison, in the top four cities on the list—all in Europe—more than 90 percent of residents lived near transit stops. In fact, in Paris, stations are easily accessed by a full 100 percent of residents.
Not surprisingly, the most transit-accessible US city analyzed was New York, where 77 percent of residents are within a kilometer of a stop.
Things look even bleaker for transit fans in the broader Southern California region. In the LA metropolitan area, only 11 percent of residents live near transit stops. For the record, that’s the second-lowest number for the 25 cities studied. The very bottom spot went to Johannesburg, where under 10 percent of residents are within close proximity to stations.
Of course, Metro projects currently in the works will expand the area’s transit options significantly, making stops accessible to thousands more residents. LA’s standing on future lists like this will likely depend heavily on whether or not voters approve Metro’s proposed half-cent sales tax increase in November. If passed, the tax bump would fund future projects more than doubling the size of the area’s transit network.
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