Google completes "la without a car" with "living in la without a car", "la vacation without a car", "get around la without a car", "can you live in la without a car" and, honestly, "dating in la without a car". Here are the real answers.
Can you live in LA without a car?#
Yes, in the neighbourhoods on the Metro rail, and the list is short: Downtown and Koreatown (B and D lines, the densest and the best for it), Hollywood (B line), Santa Monica and Culver City (E line), Pasadena and Highland Park (A line), plus the stretch of Wilshire the D line is reaching. Live there, work there or on the line, and you can do it. Live anywhere else, or work across town, and it becomes a two-hour bus commute each way. Many people manage a year and then buy a car; nobody judges them.
Can you visit LA without a car?#
Yes, with discipline. Base yourself in Santa Monica (beach, the E line to Downtown) or Downtown (the Metro hub, Grand Central Market, the Broad, the B line to Hollywood). Plan one area a day. Use rideshare for the gaps, and accept that the Getty, the Hollywood sign hikes, the Valley and Malibu each cost a rideshare or a long bus. Things to do in Los Angeles has a without-a-car section.
How to get around#
- Metro rail: A (Long Beach to Pasadena and beyond), B (Downtown to North Hollywood via Hollywood), D (Downtown along Wilshire), E (Santa Monica to East LA via Downtown), K (Crenshaw to the airport connection). A TAP card or TAP on your phone.
- Buses: Wilshire, Vermont, Santa Monica Boulevard and Venice Boulevard run frequent lines that beat driving at rush hour.
- Bikes and e-bikes: the Westside is flat and has the beach path; the rest of the city is not built for it.
- Rideshare: fine for a gap, ruinous as a commute.
Where it does not work#
The Valley, the hills (Hollywood Hills, Bel Air, the Palisades), Malibu and the beaches north of Santa Monica, the South Bay beyond the K line, and any job that is not on your line.
Social life and dating without a car#
The honest part. Social life without a car works if you build it within 15 minutes of home, in rooms you return to weekly (how to make friends in Los Angeles). Dating without a car is a known LA handicap: you will be the one who gets picked up, and some people mind. Say it early and pick dates on your line.
The local who drives#
For an afternoon, the fastest fix is a Local Friend on Roavi: an Angeleno at an hourly rate they set (most list $15 to $50), platonic and in public, who in this city almost always drives: the Getty and the Eastside in one day, a hike that is not Runyon, the beaches north of Santa Monica. Agree the driving before you meet. Roavi lists three in Los Angeles; messaging is free. Rent a friend in Los Angeles.
One afternoon with someone who lives here and drives.
Meet local guides in Los AngelesFrequently Asked Questions
Can you live in LA without a car?
Yes, in specific neighbourhoods: Downtown, Koreatown, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Culver City, Pasadena and Highland Park, all on the Metro rail. Outside them, and for most jobs across town, it becomes a daily struggle. Many people do it for a year and then buy a car.Can you visit LA without a car?
Yes, if you base yourself in Santa Monica or Downtown and plan one area a day: the E line connects them, the B line reaches Hollywood, buses and rideshare fill the gaps. The hills, the Valley and the beaches north of Santa Monica are hard without one; a Local Friend who drives solves an afternoon of it.How do you get around LA without a car?
Metro rail (A, B, D, E and K lines) with a TAP card, the frequent bus lines on Wilshire, Vermont and Santa Monica Boulevard, bikes and e-bikes on the flat Westside, and rideshare for the gaps, which gets expensive fast.