Letters to the Editor: They want to ride L.A. transit. This is what’s stopping them

To the editor: Although I have a car, I was a regular Metro commuter pre-pandemic, taking the Gold Line and Red Line downtown for work. I preferred going Metro both to avoid the stress of driving, and to reduce my climate impact. (“With crime up and ridership down, Metro struggles to move homeless people off trains,” April 1)

Once COVID-19 hit, my job became remote, and I switched to driving everywhere else to avoid the virus. Now that I’m vaccinated, however, I’m less concerned about COVID than the ballooning climate crisis. If we’re to avoid climate disaster, more Angelenos must make a habit of using public transit, and I want to lead the way.

But in the times I’ve taken the Metro this year, I have often felt unsafe in a way I didn’t before 2020. The trains seem eerily empty and erratic behavior seems more frequent.

Metro needs to find a way to make the trains feel safe again, and our city as a whole needs to find a way to end this housing crisis and get unhoused riders the support they need.

Marjorie Hunt, Los Angeles

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To the editor: I’m glad that Metrolink is adding more trains, but its schedules are not helpful for people who live in Los Angeles and need to commute elsewhere.

For example, it is impossible to take a train from Los Angeles to Ventura and arrive before 8 a.m. It is likewise impossible to take a train from Ventura to Los Angeles around 5 p.m.

Metrolink’s schedule does not seem to comprehend that not everyone is commuting toward Los Angeles in the morning — and for many of us, it’s quite the opposite.

Jamie Shepherd, Los Angeles