L.A. Commute Time Beats Bay Area's

By HUGO MARTIN

Nov. 20, 2001 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

For all the guff Southern Californians take about smog and congestion, here’s some information to lob back at those smug San Franciscans--average commute times are lower in Los Angeles than in the city by the bay.

And Anaheim in Orange County leads not just the state but the nation in that supposedly antithetical Southern California act--carpooling.

Those are among the latest findings from the U.S. Census Bureau, which today released a comparison of commuting patterns in U.S. cities with more than 250,000 residents.

Although previous studies have shown that Southern California has the nation’s worst freeway congestion, commuters in San Francisco and Oakland spend more time getting to work--either by rail, bus or car--than their Los Angeles counterparts.

“It’s going to come as a shock to most people in L.A. who are going to say ‘Are you nuts?,’ ” said Alan Pisarski, author of the book, “Commuting in America.”

In Los Angeles, commuters take an average of 28 minutes to get to work, while commuters in San Francisco and Oakland spend more than 29 minutes traveling to work, according to a supplemental survey by the Census Bureau.

The difference is only a minute or a little more, but in the survey rankings that puts San Francisco third and Oakland fifth, ahead of Los Angeles. The city renowned worldwide for its traffic jams ranks 10th in the nation in commuting times.

The longest average commute times in the nation were in New York (39 minutes) and Chicago (33.1 minutes). Newark, N.J., came in fourth (29.5 minutes), Miami (29.4) was sixth, followed by Philadelphia (29.2 minutes), Riverside (29 minutes) and Washington (28.5 minutes), according to the survey.

The Census Bureau said it could not compare such numbers to previous commute times, because the method of collecting the information has changed slightly.

How can Southern California have the nation’s worst congestion and still have shorter commute times than other cities?

Experts say the slower commute times in New York, Chicago and San Francisco are partly due to the higher use of public transit in those cities. Commuters who take public transit may save money and help preserve the environment, but motorists usually get to work a little faster in Southern California, even if it means driving on Southern California’s gridlocked freeways.

In Los Angeles, only 9.5% of commuters relied on public transit. In contrast, 32% of San Francisco commuters and 22.5% of Oakland commuters took public transit.

“Generally you will find that areas with highest travel time are where the use of public transportation is the highest,” said Phil Salopek, a demographer for the Census Bureau. “Cars are still the fastest, most efficient way to get around.”

It is something that even Bay Area transit advocates grudgingly concede.

“If you are just getting in your car and making a door-to-door trip, chances are your travel time is going to be pretty good,” said Steve Beroldo, director of program planning for Rides for Bay Area Commuters, a private nonprofit agency that promotes ride sharing.

Beroldo noted that commuters who ride the Bay Area’s rapid transit system must often drive from their homes to a rail station and then transfer to another rail line or bus before getting to their final destination.

“It all adds up,” he said.

But other Bay Area transit advocates were reluctant to accept that their commutes are longer than those in the megalopolis to the south.

Chuck Purvis, a senior transportation planner for the Bay Area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission, said the Census Bureau’s sampling of 700,000 residents was too small to make a solid finding on commute times.

“It’s too close to call,” said Purvis, half in jest. “We need a recount.”

Still, the census survey shows a connection between cities with high transit ridership and long commute times. In San Francisco, nearly a third of commuters who rode public transit spent between 30 and 44 minutes getting to work, according to the survey. In contrast, less than 15% of San Francisco commuters who drove or carpooled spent that much time traveling to work, the survey said.

But Hasan Ikhrata, transportation planning manager for the Southern California Assn. of Governments, said Angelenos should not be popping the champagne just yet.

He said Southern California has many more job centers than the Bay Area, allowing more Los Angeles workers to live closer to work. What’s more, he said, Southern California’s transit system is still overburdened and its freeways are still the most gridlocked in the nation.

“We shouldn’t be celebrating,” he said.

Leaders in Anaheim were quietly pleased with the revelation that the city leads the nation in carpooling, with 22.9% of drivers sharing a ride to work. That’s more than double the national average.

Disneyland, the city and other large employers have offered incentives to drive up the carpooling rate. Disney representatives said they offer information to match potential carpoolers together and offer “Disney dollars,” which can be spent at the amusement park or in company stores, as an incentive.

Five freeways either border or cut through the sprawling city, with most offering carpool lanes.

“We’re pleasantly surprised with the findings,” Anaheim spokesman John Nicoletti said. “From a location standpoint, we’ve always said Anaheim is the center of everything.”

Times staff writer Kimi Yoshino contributed to this story.

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Average Travel

Time to Work

1. New York City: 39 minutes

2. Chicago: 33.1 minutes

3. San Francisco: 29.6 minutes

4. Newark, N.J.: 29.5 minutes

5. Oakland: 29.4 minutes

6. Miami: 29.4 minutes

7. Philadelphia: 29.2 minutes

8. Riverside: 29 minutes