L.A. Subway Ridership Spikes in 2008

With gas prices rising beyond the comfort zones of many drivers, ridership on L.A.'s train system has seen record highs in the early months of 2008. For many in the city, the price is prompting a major paradigm shift in terms of mobility.

1 minute read

May 25, 2008, 7:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


"You see - like most people here - I would rather stick pins in my eyeballs than hop on a bus or a train."

"That is not because I am a snob, but because America's second largest city is a sprawl. Fifty-two suburbs in search of a city, so the old saying goes."

"And the prospect of sitting in grid-locked traffic on one of the labyrinths of freeways, only to pay the equivalent of a small dowry for the right to park, may sound miserable, but given the distances involved, it is still invariably quicker than public transport."

"Yet certain things have happened here which have prompted some in this car-crazed city to question their betrothal to the internal combustion engine and weigh the possibility of a trial separation."

"Although motorists in Europe would give their right arm for petrol at nearly $4 (£2) a gallon (assuming of course they steer with the left), here it is nothing short of the end of the world as we know it."

Friday, May 23, 2008 in BBC

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

A road in north eastern Nebraska with power lines on either side, and grassy fields.

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.

November 6, 2026 - Grist

A rendering of a mall turned living space. People walk around a green space surrounded by apartments.

Malls are becoming the midtowns of the future

Mall and office park redevelopments are a generational opportunity to create new nodes of urbanity.

October 29, 2026 - Ben Schneider

Members of the Smoketown CLT gather for a photo

One Kentucky town’s secret to affordable housing

The Smoketown Community Land Trust has already built seven affordable homes for community members.

15 minutes ago - Reasons to Be Cheerful

Two people stand under mesh coverings shaped like petals

Houston gains petal-shaped cooling infrastructure to make streets more ‘delightful’

The city has installed the pavilions along 15 blocks in Houston.

1 hour ago - De Zeen

A drawn rendering of the light rail passing through a tree-lined neighborhood.

After years of opposition to light rail, this L.A. city wants a $200 million station

Cerritos officials want the Southeast Gateway Line, a planned 14.5-mile light rail route through Los Angeles County, to stop in their city.

2 hours ago - Los Cerritos Community News

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.