Los Angeles used to have America’s best transit system. Now, its metro is a mess. Riders waste hours on trains that crawl through outdated routes while drivers speed past on freeways. The problem? Government planners stuck with a broken “mono-centric” design that forces every rail line into downtown LA. New York’s subway works because Manhattan is a tight island packed with workers and businesses. LA’s sprawl makes this approach useless.
The city’s leaders copied New York’s subway blueprint but ignored reality. LA’s population isn’t squeezed into one dense core—it’s spread across 500 square miles of suburbs. Taking the metro from Santa Monica to Universal City means a 2-hour trek through downtown. Driving the same distance takes 25 minutes without traffic. Why would any hardworking family choose slow trains over cars?
Experts admit the system is built backward. Instead of connecting neighborhoods directly, lines funnel everyone into a downtown that isn’t the heart of LA’s economy. Jobs are scattered from Hollywood to Silicon Beach, but the metro pretends it’s still 1920. New York’s subway serves a centralized job market. LA’s serves a ghost of its past.
Fixing this would cost billions, and taxpayers know how that goes. California’s high-speed rail project is decades late and over budget. Building new metro lines now means endless environmental reviews, union demands, and lawsuits. Meanwhile, New York’s subway is crumbling under the same red tape—delays, accidents, and fare hikes show big government can’t maintain what it already has.
Conservatives understand: top-down planning fails. Real solutions need freedom, not more bureaucracy. Private buses or ride shares adapt to where people actually live and work. LA’s metro clings to a one-size-fits-all approach that fits nobody. New York’s subway may be dirty and old, but at least it goes where the people are.
The former LA Metro innovation chief wants “local connections” and frequent buses. Too little, too late. After years of wasting money, why trust the same planners? Families need reliability, not empty promises. They’ve voted with their cars—over 75% of Angelenos drive to work.
While elites push trains, regular folks just want to get home. LA’s traffic isn’t perfect, but it’s faster than a broken metro. New York’s subway may move millions, but it’s a relic of big-government thinking. In LA, freedom means choosing your own route, not waiting on a late train.
The lesson is clear: when government monopolizes transit, failure follows. LA should cut red tape, embrace innovation, and let people decide—not force them into a system that doesn’t work. Until then, drivers will keep winning, and the metro will keep losing.
