Across Town, Up & Down

I recently found myself in a dire moment. I was on one end of the LA metro area- the west side, to be specific- and I needed to get rather far in the other direction- to Burbank, in fact. I did not on this occasion have the benefit of a car. I hoped that I could manage on public transportation, but the three plus hours it would have required was simply not feasible. I would have to find a more creative means of getting to my destination.

I knew I would probably have to resort to a hired car. Although I've had positive results a few times with cabs, they are rather expensive, as you doubtless already know. It was my hope to mitigate the cost. I'd heard a lot about this Lyft thing. Basically regular people offer up their cars to those who need them, and all that is asked is a donation. Generally the expense amounts to two thirds of what a cab would cost. The cabs are naturally fighting this, and I can see their side.

My first hope was to get a Lyft car to take me only as far as the point at which Metro could take over. First no Lyft car could be had. Secondly, when the cab I called was rather late in arriving, I had no apparent recourse but to have the cab take me the entire way, but I thought that at least my worries about arriving on time were over. This way, I would arrive even earlier than I'd dreamed. Regrettably, the universe conspired against me in every way, and even the hopes I'd had of arriving at the very latest acceptable time felt into doubt.

The only thing I had going for me was my driver. He was exceptionally nice and competent, doing his utmost to get me there on time and constantly explaining just why his navigational choices were to my benefit. In the end, he got me there with even a little bit more time to spare than I'd hoped most of the way. I only wish I had been able to better show my gratitude through the duration of the ride, but maybe my tip handled that. At any rate, he was my true guardian angel.