A recent family event took me to my dad’s homeland of southern California. I enjoy returning to my country of birth except for one pesky thing: driving. As a Londoner of 11 years, I am spoiled by British public transport (however flawed some might think it). This time, as I reluctantly checked car-hire options and choked at the price of petrol, a wild idea snuck into my brain.
Might it be possible to navigate California entirely by public transport? On a video call, I told my family I might not rent a car and they scoffed. California is, after all, the land of the road trip. One of the world’s first motorways – the Pasadena Freeway – opened in LA in 1940 and, for many, the defining image of California is of driving down a palm-lined Hollywood avenue in a red convertible.
