Overview
An estimated 10 million souls inhabit the 4,084 miles of Los Angeles County (in case you wonder why this NFT guide is so much bigger than its siblings), and although a railway system does exist, the public transit network is mostly about buses. Most, but not all, of the 300 bus routes through the city are run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Fares and procedures vary between services. The websites for the services are excellent resources for route and schedule information, as well as trip planning. Fares for seniors, the disabled, and students can be as low as 25% of the full fare and differ for each service. Monthly passes offer regular riders a smaller discount. Up to two children (5 and under on MTA services, 4 and under on LADOT services) ride free with each fare-paying adult. Most buses don’t give change, so be sure to carry exact change when boarding a bus. Fare machines take $1 bills, but they don’t give change. If you’re planning a multi-stage trip that involves bus, rail, or even Amtrak travel, the Metro Trip Planner website will get you from point A to point B to point Z; it conveniently details times, fares, and directions. (Check the Metro Trip Planner section on the next page.) You’ll need exact change, for real.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)
800-266-6883; www.metro.net
MTA buses are distinguished by their white color and distinctive orange stripes. Bus stops have a big black M on a white, rectangular sign. A single fare on an MTA bus costs $1.50 (55¢ for seniors/disabled). A transfer to a municipal bus costs 30¢ (10¢ for seniors/disabled)—ask your driver for one when you board. If you’re changing buses again, buy another transfer from the driver when you hand in the first transfer. Transfers are good for
an hour after you receive them. If you plan to switch to the Metro Rail, however, you’ll have to pay $1.25 again; at this point, it might be cheaper to purchase a Day Pass, which allows you to board unlimited times for $5.
Frequent riders can save money by purchasing bags of ten tokens at local stores or supermarkets for $15 (which brings down your per-trip cost to $1.50). If you’re a regular bus commuter, you might consider buying a weekly pass ($20) or regular monthly pass ($75, and $14 for seniors/disabled). Prepaid passes are sold in advance on TAP cards and can be purchased at Metro Customer Centers and at hundreds of sales outlet locations. Tokens can also be purchased at the same locations. MTA passes are valid on Commuter Express, DASH Downtown LA, Community Connection Routes 142, 147, 203, 208, and all Metro MTA rail and bus routes. LADOT passes are not valid on MTA services.
Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)
(213, 310, 323, or 818) 808-2273; www.ladottransit.com
DASH (Downtown Area Short Hop) shuttle system operates buses A, B, C, D, E, and F throughout downtown LA. The reliable service runs every five to twelve minutes, depending on the time of day and route, and costs only 50¢. The buses service downtown and also stop at the city’s major landmark sites, including Union Station, the Convention Center, USC, Exposition Park, and the Garment District. DASH also runs services to many parts of west LA, including Venice, Hollywood, West Hollywood, and Beverly Hills, south to Watts, Wilmington, and Crenshaw, and north to Studio City, Northridge, and Chatsworth.
The Commuter Express is mainly a commuter service for people living in suburbs such as Culver City, Westwood, Brentwood, Encino, Glendale, Burbank, Redondo Beach, and the San Fernando Valley, who work in downtown LA. The fare costs between $1.50 and $4.25. Seniors/disabled pay half the regular fare.
Community Connection serves the needs of city neighborhoods including San Pedro, Terminal Island, Long Beach Transit Mall, Griffith Park, and Beachwood Canyon. LADOT also operates a battery-powered trolley in San Pedro, which departs every 15 minutes. A one-way fare on the regular bus routes costs 90¢, and 45¢ for seniors/disabled, and the electric trolley costs 25¢
per ride.
The new Holly Trolley implements the Bunker Hill buses to carry club hoppers, diners, and other Hollywood explorers between Highland and Vine. For just a dollar, you can catch a ride until 4 am.
Municipal Buses
The Big Blue Bus serves Santa Monica, Malibu, and Venice, and it costs one dollar to race between the beach towns. They also operate an express bus (Line 10) to downtown LA that costs $1.75 (50¢ seniors/disabled). If you buy a Little Blue Card, you’ll save a couple of pennies per ride. The blue buses are instantly recognizable, and the stops are identified by a blue triangle on a light pole marked “Big Blue Bus.” Even Paris Hilton and her little brown dog could figure this one out—that is, if she ever rode the bus. www.bigbluebus.com, 310-451-5444.
The West Hollywood CityLine/DayLine is a shuttle service that covers 18 locations in West Hollywood and costs 25¢ per ride. West Hollywood Dollar Line is a free shuttle service available only to seniors and the disabled, 800-447-2189.
Foothill Transit serves primarily the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys, and fares cost between $1.00 for local trips and $4.40 for express service. Monthly passes cost between $66 for a local pass and up to $160 for a joint Foothills/MTA pass on the most expensive express route; www.foothilltransit.org, 626-967-3147.
Culver CityBus costs one dollar (50¢ for students, 35¢ for seniors/disabled) and travels between Culver City, Venice, Mar Vista, LAX, and Westwood/UCLA. www.culvercity.org/bus
Orange County Transit Authority (OCTA)
www.octa.net, 714-636-7433
Regular fare on OCTA buses costs $1.50; senior and disability fares are a mere 60¢. A day pass entitles you to unlimited use of all local routes (excluding express routes 701 & 721) on the day it is purchased and costs $3 ($1 for seniors/disabled). A local monthly pass for OCTA services costs $55 ($18 for seniors/disabled). The express monthly pass (includes daily service to Los Angeles aboard routes 701 and 721) costs $150. Individual journeys on the 701 and 721 express routes to LA cost $3.75 and $2.50 if you have a day pass. (Metrolink monthly passes are now valid on local OCTA services.)
Ventura Intercity Service Transit Authority (VISTA)
www.goventura.org, 800-438-1112
Fixed bus routes will set you back $1.25 per ride (60¢ for seniors/disabled). Santa Paula and Fillmore dial-a-rides cost $1.50 (75¢ senior/disabled), and the Conejo Connection/Coastal Express is $3 ($1 senior/disabled). Monthly passes vary between $50 and $105, depending on the routes included in your package.
Metro Trip Planner
Search Engine: www. socaltransport.org
This search engine website is one of the best public transport facilities we’ve ever seen. It covers more than 45 of Southern California’s transport networks including MTA buses and trains, OCTA and VISTA buses, Amtrak, Metrolink, MAX, and dozens of municipal services across Southern California.
The search facility prompts you to enter your start point, end point, the day you’d like to travel, the time you need to arrive at your destination, fare category, and special accommodations such as wheelchairs and bicycles. What you get in return is a detailed itinerary, including the type of transport, where it leaves from, the times it departs and arrives, the fare for each sector, and where you need to transfer. For example, if you were going from Universal Studios to Disneyland, leaving your departure point at noon, you would take the Red Metro Line at Universal City Station (12:05 pm—$1.25, get MTA transfer), get off at 7th Street Metro Center (12:25 pm) and take MTA Bus 460 Anaheim/Disneyland (12:32 pm, show driver transfer and pay $2.25). Get off at Disneyland at 2:22 pm and the entire journey will have cost you $3.50. The site even tells you that you should consider buying a Metro Day Pass for $5.00. Always check the return trip separately – it’s not always the first trip backwards.
Start and end points can be addresses (including residential), intersections, or landmarks, and you can also decide whether you want the fastest itinerary, fewest transfers, or shortest walking distance. It’s a good idea to try all three, as the travel times are often similar, and the cost difference can be significant. If it doesn’t recognize an intersection, reversing the street names sometimes helps. All in all, it’s a terrific resource for public transportation users—it’s more clever and efficient, in fact, than the public transport system it tries to decode.
The relentless controversy surrounding LA transit fuels a broad network of feisty, entertaining transit blogs. To dip in, start with http://la.streetsblog.org and sample the links.