Transitioning from driving every day in a small town to taking public transportation in a big city can be a bit of a hassle, but not for someone who is looking to save some extra cash.

Pierce on bus. (Cindy Robinson/Neon Tommy)

That is exactly what footwear designer, Pierce Lopatic, does by choosing to take the Metro Rapid every day to work at Creative Recreation from his downtown Los Angeles apartment.

“It makes more sense financially for me to ride the bus than have a car,” said Lopatic as he settles into his less than comfortable seat on the bus. 

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Lopatic is originally from Middletown, Pa. where cars are more of a necessity. 

“Except for the big cities, everybody has cars. In my town there’s like two buses and they only run like every 2 hours, maybe even less,” he said.

With a passion for footwear, Lopatic made his way to Los Angeles to attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising five years ago, but left his car back in Pennsylvania. For him, having a car in California is more of a problem than in his hometown.

“My major concern is parking and what it does to the environment, all that pollution. If I got a car, I’d have to get an electric car or something like that. That’s even more of a [high] price to buy one of those,” said Lopatic.

Contrary to popular belief, traveling on public transformation does not necessarily mean avoiding the horrid L.A. traffic everyone deals with on a daily basis. 

“Riding the bus takes longer anyway because of all the stops. It probably would be even or I would spend less time commuting if I had a car,” he said.

In addition to the timing issue, Lopatic has some concerns about the lack of efficiency with the completion of extending the subway. 

“Well I think they could definitely finish their projects a lot quicker. I just read that the Purple Line extending to Wilshire and Lacienega is not going to happen until like 2018 or something ridiculous like that,” said Lopatic.

A friendly passenger corrected him and said the extension actually won’t be completed until 2023, which causes even more problems when it comes to population.

“Usually this 720 bus that we’re on, it’s usually packed. Like standing like a sardine in a can. That’s another reason why I’m saying it’d be better if the subway was finished quicker because there’s so many people riding this bus down Wilshire,” said Lopatic as he gathered his belongings to get off at his stop. 

(Neha Wadekar / Annenberg Media)

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