The Metro: A new way to get to school

Since the Metro line was completed in May, students at Samo have another way to get to school. From now on students who live nearby Samohi will be able to be more independent. By taking the Metro, teenagers can move from place to place without having to bother their parents. In fact, the youth community has the opportunity to illustrate their parents how responsible and mature they are. If his family is unable to take him to school on any given day, Akin Gruner (’20) can rely on the metro,“I use the metro because my parents don’t have time to drive me to school,” Gruner said.The metro is most commonly used by students as a way of transportation to get to school, and is a way to have a good time with friends and doing something different.An important issue about either taking the car or the metro is how much time someone can gain in his route in comparison, and the reality is that depending on the distance, going on the metro is worth it.  Javier Relaño (’17) is a daily passenger in the metro who has a strong dependence to it given that his family can’t drive him to school because of their jobs.“I live on 20th street, from there to school with my dad’s car I used to spend eight minutes considering there wasn’t traffic. However, with the Metro I have to get up earlier so I’m not late to school because it takes me 20 minutes from my house to school,” Relaño said.The Metro is useful for everyone, especially for students. However, since the journey lasts longer than going with car, people who take it that have a need to be punctual, must adapt themselves to the situation. Nevertheless, just by checking with scrutiny what this new conveyance offers is honorable. All the positive aspects clear away this negative one.Kingmin Lee (’18), an ASB representative at Samohi, takes advantage of the metro every time he needs it.“For me, the metro isn’t just a way to get to where I need to be, but is also a quiet and comfortable space for me to do work, read and talk to strangers,” Lee said. At less than two dollars a ride, the metro is perfectly affordable, especially for students. On the other hand, there are cheaper options such as The Big Blue Bus but it doesn’t go as far as the Metro. However, it is a better option when it comes to travelling through Santa Monica because it is more laid out.      Daniela Martinez (’19) lives in downtown Los Angeles. She used to spend an excessive amount of minutes on her way to school everyday but since the Metro started going from L.A to Santa Monica, she uses it frequently. In addition, she doesn’t spend as much as she did with car.“Since I take the metro once a week from a distant place the price for me is a great deal,” Martinez said. “I also heard that they want to raise the import 25 cents because some passengers aren’t paying what they should. Therefore the company is losing money and a possible solution to their monetary incident would be to make the passengers who pay, pay even more which is unfair.”Considering how much gasoline costs and the effects of pollution from a car to the environment, taking the Metro is not only more affordable, but is a smarter choice as well.Students’ lives have changed since the Metro was introduced. Thanks to this new form of public transport in L.A, teenagers at Samohi can get to school no matter the how far they live.Art by Kimberly Ng, Art Editor