HOW TO USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN LOS ANGELES
Many visitors are concerned about how they will get around once they arrive in LA. Unfortunately, one of the most common misconceptions about Los Angeles is that it lacks public transportation and thus requires everyone to drive. This is inconvenient for tourists because most cities in developed countries have some form of public transport, which most visitors use during their stay. It’s expensive to hire a car just to get from one neighbourhood to another, and even in the age of smart phones with GPS, driving around a city you’ve never been to before can be stressful. One of the cool things about Los Angeles is that it is in the process of reinventing itself from a heavily car-dependent city, and it has recently opened several new metro train lines. Finally, tourists can get around LA without a car, so here’s our guide to using public transport in LA.
The first thing to understand is that our public transport system consists of three components: an underground metro system, light rail, and buses. While it is not on par with major European and Japanese cities, it is of high quality and rapidly expanding. It’s also usually the quickest way to get around the city; for example, the B-Line is the quickest way to get from Hollywood to downtown. All of The Real Los Angeles Tours’ tours begin near a Metro station or bus stop.
TRAIN
The Los Angeles Metro has six rail lines that span the city (for more than 100 miles) and two services that run buses on their own dedicated rights of way, with turn-around services. Metrolink, a rail service that serves Los Angeles and the surrounding counties, is also available. As this map shows, the combined systems cover the majority of the major tourist hotspots, including Hollywood, Universal Studios, Santa Monica, and downtown.
BUS There are bus lines that connect all of the major areas of Los Angeles. They aren’t always frequent (they can run three to four times an hour), but they do have free, high-speed Wi-Fi. There are also express buses that are quite fast and can travel quite long distances (for example, from Santa Monica to downtown).
Real money is being invested in the system, as evidenced by the photo of a bus stop on the Sunset Strip below. These bus stops have free Wi-Fi as well as being possibly the most elegant bus stops ever.
Google and Apple Maps both provide real-time information on bus departure points and times in Los Angeles, and there are other apps that will do the same. The Los Angeles Metro also has a trip planner on their website.
A FEW EXAMPLES
From Hollywood to the heart of the city? Choose the B-Line. Because traffic on the 101 Hollywood Motorway is always bad, there is no faster way to get to downtown. You can also take the Red Line to Universal Studios, which is one stop before North Hollywood (the last station).
How far is it from downtown to Pasadena? If you’re in Old Town Pasadena, take the L-Line from Union Station to Del Mar or Memorial Park. The train passes through some of LA’s most beautiful neighbourhoods, including Highland Park, and is an excellent way to see the city.
How far is it from Hollywood Burbank Airport to Koreatown? Easy! The D-Line and Metrolink.
From the beach to downtown? As you pass by on the E-Line, you can smugly observe LA’s famous traffic on the 10 Motorway. This is one of the best public transportation options (or any transportation option) available in this area.
Los Angeles International Airport to downtown/Hollywood/San Fernando Valley/Santa Monica? LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) has a shuttle bus service that connects to the Green Line, and there are direct connections to several other Los Angeles neighbourhoods, including downtown, Hollywood, Santa Monica, and Burbank. You can take the shuttle to Union Station or one of the other destinations and then ride-share from there (around $10pp).