Going car-free in Los Angeles is a feasible option thanks to our ever-growing Metro system—love it or hate. Unfortunately, it turns out the "hate it" crowd may have a lot to complain about, statistically speaking.
Metro received a lowly "C" rating in a statewide study by the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. The school's Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) ranked stations according to 11 indicators like ridership and walkability. The Red Line's Westlake/MacArthur Park was the highest ranked stop here while the Blue Line's Wardlow Station, the only one to receive an "F," sat at the bottom.
That disappointing overall grade of a "C," which correlates to the lower 30th percentile, isn't quite as awful as it sounds when compared to the rest of the state. San Francisco, unsurprisingly, came out on top; Muni was the highest ranked with a "B" while BART earned a "B-." Meanwhile, San Diego and Santa Clara both earned a "C-" while Sacramento shares our "C" rating.
CLEE tapped sources like the U.S. Census, H+T Affordability Index, Walk Score, Zillow Index and crime statistics to grade stations on those 11 metrics, which were spread across five categories. The most heavily weighted of those were local ridership numbers and the nearby (within a half-mile) concentration of jobs, housing and destinations, followed by walkability and affordability.
LA's six highest-ranked stations were all in residential areas, followed by five in mixed-use locations. The Red Line is almost a straight "A" student, while most of the other rail lines were all over the place. The study excluded long-range commuter lines like Metrolink, but did include the Orange Line, the Valley's dedicated bus way. Its sub-"B" ratings certainly didn't help to bring up the average.
Westlake/MacArthur Park scored highly thanks to a particularly high percentage of transit use among residents as well as a high walkability rating. An abysmal safety rating, however, slightly lowered its overall score, though it still earned an A+. Oddly enough, safety was the only area the Wardlow Station scored highly in, though the report chalks that up to low ridership.