It seems that at the moment we are neither carless, nor in L.A. (although by the time you read this, we should be just getting home).
As I have noted in past posts, when those times come up that we simply can’t get to where we need/want to be without a car, we will rent one. For example, two years ago, as we were beginning our carless adventure, we had a very sick dog who was too big to take on the bus. So I rented a car to take him to the animal hospital and bring him home after his surgery. It was well worth it. Fred (who was already 15 years old at that point) was with us for another 18 months before he went to his reward.
We also take extended trips by car. Last summer it was a remote section of the Northern California coast. This year, Monterey and the San Francisco Bay area. Although this trip is about family. In any case, renting a car is still cheaper than either flying or the train. There are buses, but I don’t think we’d get to Monterey that easily.
I do think one of my next vacation goals will be figuring out how to get to some of these spots without a car. That could be fun. We’ll have to see. I have to concede driving is fun, too.