Regular gas at $4.09 a gallon in Sherman Oaks

This photo was taken this morning in Sherman Oaks by one Gregg Moscoe.

I took the Big Blue Bus and DASH in to school today for a mandatory "Exit Loan Counseling" session, which all USC students who've taken out loans have to go through. During it, the guy leading the session gave the mostly-undergraduate crowd all sorts of tips for saving money relatively painlessly -- you know, the "skip the daily $4 latte" and "pack your own lunch" type stuff -- then talked about how he personally had started taking public transportation and was saving lots of money as well as feeling less stressed out since he doesn't have to fight traffic.

Drivers -- How long will you keep doing this this to yourselves? I'm looking at the Metro rail map (PDF), and it looks like the people of Sherman Oaks have this great transitway that connects to the Metro Red Line --

Thanks to Mary Kathryn Campbell for sending me the photo --

Comments

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This particular gas station is notoriously expensive (it's right next to the freeway exit). Go down one freeway exit and the gas is generally 20 cents cheaper. The orange line is not particularly close to this station, specifically because it is close to the freeway. In fact, I once got off on the orange line stop very close to this photo and it was the first and only time I really wish I had not taken public transportation because of my safety. A man followed me throughout a 15 minute walk to my final destination and attempted to get into the building I was entering behind me (the building had gated access).

This area of the SF Valley is actually an issue when it comes to public transportation. A few of my coworkers live near this photo. I have tried to persuade them to take the train and some have tried it. As it stands, they can get to the orange line, then to the red line and then to the gold line to get to Pasadena. This is the most reliable and sadly the fastest way to get there unless you leave work at 5pm each day and can catch one of the express buses. The trip takes about 2 hours depending on where you live along the orange line and how you get to the orange line. It takes about 30-45 min to drive from this area to Pasadena. For many of the people I have talked to about this, the few extra dollars spent on gas is worth 2 hours (10 hours a week and 520 hours/22 days a year) they have free instead.