This week’s post
will focus on the experience of taking the 720 metro bus. As a UCLA student
without a car, I rely on public transportation to mobilize myself. I have taken
the 720 various times whether heading towards Downtown Los Angeles or going to
Santa Monica. Riding the 720 is in itself an interesting feat; the experience on
this bus differs greatly from other bus experiences, such as riding the Santa
Monica Big Blue Bus per se. The 720 takes you through Wilshire Boulevard for
the most part, which is a boulevard that traverses various different
neighborhoods enabling a greater understanding of the neighborhoods in Los
Angeles. Due to the diverse neighborhoods the 720 drives through, it brings
together a variety of people on this bus, which allows for the most fascinating
people-watching.
The 720 metro
rapid is usually red to distinguish from the orange local buses and it is usually
a two-cart bus in order to transport more people. The interior of it is pretty standard;
it has many seats facing all directions, TV screens, numerous large windows and
a few sets of doors. Most of these buses are also a bit more ran down and many
of them have tag marks throughout the bus. The neighborhoods included in the
720 bus route range from the upper-class shopping strip of Rodeo Drive to the
ethnic community of Koreatown to the college-town like city of Westwood. On
this bus ride, I was able to identify well maintained, high class neighborhood
such as Beverly Hills, streets with Korean commercial signs in Koreatown, and
also segments of Wilshire Boulevard where streets are dirtier, not as well
maintained and the architecture does not describe high-end. It is intriguing to
learn that on different ends of the same boulevard there are people from the
extremes of the socio economic divisions and how the wealth of a city does not
spill over to its not so well-off neighboring cities. My observation for this
contrast is to go from the neighborhood of Beverly Hills with world-renown
luxurious stores 2.2 miles east and find a 99 cents store. The proximity of
these two types of stores amazes me because of the contrasting clientele they
target. ![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvEq2lgVhMXftUrWYCe7ZdFOdYqXnEYa7Km3mWasqrIfQBPfL-r7LkBshiZ-OQSyb1slx8IpAStw1dxzMj469aM-H3oX7m2gnFp8RdK5u4XgF5zbujaL9Tqww4qcZlLEM43QQfmSGHQ/s320/720+Map.png)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvEq2lgVhMXftUrWYCe7ZdFOdYqXnEYa7Km3mWasqrIfQBPfL-r7LkBshiZ-OQSyb1slx8IpAStw1dxzMj469aM-H3oX7m2gnFp8RdK5u4XgF5zbujaL9Tqww4qcZlLEM43QQfmSGHQ/s320/720+Map.png)
As a result of
the variety of destinations, the passengers on the bus also vary greatly. UCLA
students can be seen taking the bus to go to their internships, jobs or even
going home, uniformed workers are going to or from work, tourists take it due
to their lack of other mode of transportation, elders are unable to drive or do
not have cars who spend their days wandering from place to place and there is
always the crazy or homeless person on the bus that nobody wants to be
near. Depending on where the bus is at a
certain moment, the crowd starts to shift. For example, as the bus approaches
Westwood, more students are seen on the bus. The metro buses also have a
diverse ridership, therefore different languages are employed on the bus for
the instructions, advertisements or shows aired on the TV screens.
The interaction
among people on the bus is also noteworthy. Only in some few cases do people
strike up a conversation with the random person near you and have a meaningful
chat, otherwise when riding alone on the bus people tend to avoid eye contact
and communication with other fellow bus riders. I also noted that there are a
few people who I will call “bus locals” who are the frequent commuters that
seem to ride at the same time and become acquainted with each other. They tend
to see each other around and eventually become semi-friends. The example that
comes to mind is of a group of Hispanic woman sitting sort of together and
chatting about work (they seem to all work as cleaning ladies) and other
superficial topics on the bus. Neither of them got on at the same time nor do
they get off at the same time and their exchanges seem to be the basic small
talk. As a result, although the bus is mobile, there is still a routine
established within the bus, which enables the comparison of the bus to a
neighborhood.
Riding the bus
has a social stigma attached to it that is imbedded in society that the
majority of the people who take the bus are not able to drive or do not have
enough economic resources to have a car, because that’s the social standard;
while only a small portion of bus riders do so to avoid driving long distances
and worry about parking. In an article published recently by the Atlantic
Cities from the Atlantic Company titled, “Race, Class, and the Stigma of Ridingthe Bus in America” the author goes much in depth about the social connotations of bus-riding and the
reasons for these beliefs. An interesting fact from the article states, “In Los
Angeles, 92 percent of bus riders are people of color. Their annual median
household income is $12,000.” Hence, riding the bus determines a certain
socio-economic status and because most people seen on the bus are of color, all
these characteristics become correlated. Conducting further research into the
bus stigma, I came across titles such as public transport segregation or “loser
cruiser,” “the poor man’s vehicle,” and various others. This reinforced my
perception of the strong existence of this demeaning factor of taking the
public transportation. The conversation below from the 2004 movie “Crash,”
depicts that sentiment:
“Anthony: You have no idea why they put
those great big windows on the sides of busses, do you?
Peter: Why?
Anthony: One reason only. To humiliate the people of color who are reduced to riding on 'em.”
Peter: Why?
Anthony: One reason only. To humiliate the people of color who are reduced to riding on 'em.”
Massey and
Denton discuss about pervasive discrimination and the significance of race in
“The Continuing Causes of Segregation.” Although their focus is on housing
segregation, their analysis underscores the belief of an ethnic hierarchy,
which is also created through the public transportation stigma. These types of
discrimination can only further segregation, which will never concede to an
integrated America.
Lastly, another point
I wanted to make with regards to public transportation in Los Angeles is its
mobility limitation. Ernest Burgess mentions movement and mobility in his
article “Growth of the City,” in which he states that in order to have change
in a place, there needs to be mobility, and mobility will most likely occur
when there is movement. The reason is that only with movement, can there be
opportunity for new experiences, and only with new experiences can there be
stimulation, and with that comes change. Consequently, it can be argued that public
transportation hinders some group’s chances for progress. While the city
expands, people who are able to mobilize themselves will benefit from the
change and stimulation by receiving more opportunities; however, the
communities limited by their mobility tend to fall behind. Therefore, in order
for society to progress as a whole, everyone needs to advance together.
Hi Christina!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading about your ride on the 720 bus, especially since I've personally never been on any bus other than the Big Blue bus to Santa Monica.
I think the fact that the bus goes through a lot of different neighborhoods in Los Angeles shows that social difference in Los Angeles is not a result of geographical barriers, but instead, of social barriers that are imbedded in our culture.
Obviously the bus was created to transport people, but like you said, it now has a negative stigma and a lot of people relate to the bus to lower income families and people who can't afford cars. I consider this to be a "floating signifier" to the the United States, and probably came from a stereotype that was created at some point in our history. I haven't really travelled anywhere where buses had really positive connotations, but I feel like because the United states, especially California is so automobile dependent, that anything different from what's normal is considered "bad."
The quote from Crash also reminded me of the difference between classes in Marxist point of view. According to Marx, factories are big sites where difference is reinforced. The bus can be seen as a modern version of the factory. The big windows may make people feel like they are being judged by the people outside, and there is an obvious "us" and "them."
Lastly, I think it's cool that ou pointed out all the different kinds of people that were in the bus the day that you went on your bus ride. I think it is true that people easily associate the bus, which is seen as a "bad" thing with African Americans, but the fact that there were a lot of different kinds of people on the bus shows that some of the things that we agree on as a culture don't even have a factual basis to them in the present. Instead, these things are probably a result of the racial inequality that is embedded in our history.
Overall, I thought your observations were great and really informative!! have a great weekend :)