How to Get Los Angeles' Jewish Communities on the Bus

An article by Joel Epstein begins by noting the massive expansion projects for Metro service currently underway around Los Angeles County, as well as the robust service already available in neighborhoods home to large Jewish communities, "like Valley Village, which benefits from the Metro Orange Line busway on Chandler Boulevard, and Cheviot Hills and Rancho Park/Westwood, which will benefit in a year or so from the Expo Line extension."

Yet, according to Epstein, "the challenge remains getting people to ride those buses and trains. And given the economics of Los Angeles, that challenge is probably nowhere greater than in the Jewish community. With Jews in Los Angeles on the whole better off economically than other Angelenos, many still suffer from the common misperception that buses and trains are not for them."

What follows is a brief survey of Los Angeles development history, from the nadir chronicled by Mike Davis' City of Quartz to the current urban revival at the hyperlocal level in places like Highland Park, Koreatown, and Echo Park. Epstein concludes with an impassioned plea to explore the benefits of public transit: "If you are one of those holdouts who has not been on a bus or train in Los Angeles recently, you are doing yourself a disservice."