Take the Metro Red (& Purple) line for LA fun! and other Los Angeles, CA Transportation Tips

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Subway/Metro
Getting TO/AROUND: The Metro Red line is a great way to make stops in downtown and to go to popular destinations in the county- such as Hollywoods, West, North and the original "Ho" area. A major stop on the Red line is Union Station, which is most eastern.

NOTE BELOW!

*From Union Station, there is the option of take the newly defined Purple Line which follows the Red Line route to Wilshire/Vermont stop, THEN heads to a few more Wilshire stops, ending at Western. The RED line, instead, veers off to stops towards Hollywood, eventually to Universal Studios and North Hollywood.

Make sure that when leaving from the Union station stop (or from major stops like Civic Center, Pershing Square, 7th/Metro stops and Westlake/MacArthur Park), that you look to see if the running train will make a trip to Wilshire/ Western (this is the PURPLE line route!) or if it goes all the way to North Hollywood with other stops in between (RED line route!). Know your RED from PURPLE and vice versa! So many get confused with this! I did in the beginning of all this Metro madness!

SEE MAPS:

RED
http://www.metro.net/riding_metro/red_line.htm

PURPLE
http://www.metro.net/riding_metro/purple_line.htm

Check out the map on the website for all Metro Lines!

Photo of artwork by Robert Gil de Montes (1992)

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Website: http://www.experiencela.com/GA.html

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Train
Getting TO/AROUND: The Green line has become my best friend. It has helped me out and can do this for locals and travelers alike a lot connecting to L.A.X and eventually to the Blue Line which goes downtown. One can have good views of L.A. and the greater L.A suburban area along the entire trip (providing that the smog doesn't show its constant ugly face). The ending stop on the Green is Redondo Beach (but unfortunately, the last stop is no way near the crashing waves and sweeping sand.

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Website: http://www.metro.net/riding_metro/green_line.htm

'Mode': TO
Category: Subway/Metro
Getting TO/AROUND: one will see a real part of Los Angeles, that part which is not the fake, idealized part of the city that includes glamorous Hollywood areas. Instead, what one sees outside the Metro side windows is a rough reality of L.A.

The Blue Line is a great connection to travel from L.A. to Long Beach without the car. It must be said that it is not the prettiest. This is the most crowded and, therefore, noisiest ride of all of the Metro rail lines. Also, it is the least scenic line but the convenience of it makes up for the garish views of graffiti, unkept neighborhoods and polluted riverwater.

Metro Blue begins in L.A. at 7th and Metro (or 7th /Figueroa intersection) and ends at the Long Beach Transit Mall. During the trip, areas of South L.A., Compton and Willowbrook are reached which are almost strictly for local interest. A major Blue Line destination for certain tourists is at Artesia, where the Commerence Casino is just steps away.

One will see many garish views off the Blue Line capturing harsh reality in the southern part of the city. It is a good thing to see the full picture of a destination.

*Note: The linked Blue Line Map is a little deceiving. The straight line leading up to 7th/Metro doesn't reflect how the light rail cab actually travels. The cab makes a turn after the Washington stop and another after Grand , heading towards Pico.

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Website: http://www.metro.net/riding_metro/blue_line.htm

'Mode': TO
Category: Subway/Metro
Getting TO/AROUND: Los Angeles has two major sides : east and west. There is a tendency for travelers to go west, which is justifiably more fun and glamorous. However, highlights of the east do get somewhat ignored out of ignorance, fear or both.

So, here, I recommend that travelers go east by way of Metro Gold Line to discover Chinatown and the Southeast Museum (dedicated to indigneous indians) which are both just a few steps away from Gold Line stops. The Chinatown stop is pictured here. From the train, historic Lake Arroyo (Seco) is visible.

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Website: http://www.metro.net/riding_metro/gold_line.htm

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Bus
Getting TO/AROUND: ....And along came the Orange Line in the (San Fernando) Valley of Los Angeles- a godsend mode of getting around in the beloved/hated region. Although mainly of local interest, the Orange Line can be convenient for one visiting the L.A. area.

There is a dedicated lane for the gray-colored Orange Line, cutting east-west into the Valley. At first, the line ran into some problems- literally, a few automobiles! In the first several weeks after it premiered in 2005, there were some vehicular crashes into the bus liner. At different street intersections, there has been some confusion for motorists about crossing and turning lanes. Since then, there has been less incidents but on occasion there are some issues. Street signals alerting an on-coming Orange bus have been added and enhanced to cut down on accidents. However, I think the bigger perplexion about the Orange line is the color scheme of gray and yellow for the actual bus liner and bus stops for the ORANGE Line!!

Perhaps serving as the best stops on the Orange for tourist purposes are North Hollywood(NoHo-see my pages dedicated to this part of L.A.) and Balboa. For NoHo, one is just walking distance to small theaters for the arts, eccletic shopping and dining experience. As for Balboa, the stop is about 20 min walking distance to the main part of Balboa Park, which is great for sports/ recreation including paddle boat and carriage biking.

Once stepping on the Orange, just grab a seat as one would on the rail lines. Travellers do not show a pass to the driver but it is expect to have a pass in possesion. Ticket booths are at each stop.

A very nice, small yet critical thing about the Orange is that at every stop, there is an electric sign that constantly gives the estimate time for the next bus liner to arrive.

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Website: http://www.metro.net/riding_metro/bus_overview/900_999/901.pdf

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Bus
Getting TO/AROUND: Don't assume that bus transportation is horrible in L.A. There are some good routes you can take to look around the city and greater area without worrying about someone turning right in front of you without warning as you drive and no worry over tailgating.

Relax yourself and now spend about $5 dollars (day pass; $1.25 for one -way ticket) per person to ride about town. It was only $3 for a day pass on the Metro buses until July 2007 fare hike. Oh, the times are getting expensive but still, great compared to pumping for gasat least to the wallet.

Drivers tend to be adequate as far as customer service. Comparably, the service is much better in Orange county (on OCTA transit) and on smaller municipal lines of the greater Los Angeles area. There will be those drivers who can be rude, curt or aggressive like a New Yorker but most always they are determined to get the bus moving.

The Metro system is growing even after the unfortunate strike in late '03. The best additions it has made are on the Rapid buses and Metro rail lines, as mentioned in seperate tips.

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Website: mta.net

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Bus
Getting TO/AROUND: in a jiffy! Well, maybe not rocket fast but somewhat convenient is the Metro bus 460 going from downtown LA to steps away from the main entrance of Disneyland. It is advantageous to catch the 460 by 5th and Grand Ave, close to the Bunker Hill Steps to catch a good seat before the crowd stumbles in.

The cost one way is $2.25, a little higher because public transit on the freeway is at a premium in L.A. If you have a $5 Metro pass, you have to pay an extra dollar to board if you want to go on the freeway. However, you can just pay $1.25 or show your pass and ride if staying within L.A. before the freeway (like, for a 5 min trip going to Staples Center by 11th and Figueroa. Warning!: This bus does get packed everyday. Tourists will have to compete with locals on the bus. Often it is standing room only but still the convenience to D-Land or downtown LA (and also to Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park) is worth the jam.

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Bus
Getting TO/AROUND: There is a great, cheap way to know downtown LA and other parts of the city. Take the LADOT buses if you see a stop for it. The LADOT buses include the DASH and Commuter Express. The ride is only 25 cents on the Dash and just 90 cents on CE. DASH buses can get particularly busy downtown with standing room only but this is worth a cheap ride when the feet give out!

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Website: http://www.ladottransit.com

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Bus
Getting TO/AROUND: At Last! If you are coming to L.A. and wondering how best to get to a train from Union Station, be relieved to know that there is a special bus to accomodate this need. It is always important to have an official, swift, reliable airplane-train in a metropolitan sans taxi and multiple Metro connections. Why L.A. is just figuring this out -well, don't ask, just enjoy this! The Green Flyaway buses can get you from LAX, a few miles from the coastline to downtown at the Union Station in about 40 min! Traffic time is cut down, in many instances tremendously, as the Flyway will jet by the slow flowing sea of cars on the freeway. Buses run every half-hour from 5AM to 1 AM and every hour in the night between 1AM to 5 AM. They stop at each LAX terminal so they should be easy to find.

The fare for the Flyaway is now $4, was $3 for an adult. See website for more details.

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Website: http://metrolinktrains.com/lax/

'Mode': TO
Category: Bus
Getting TO/AROUND: Getting into LAX is always a headache- either a little one or a migraine. By car, it can be frustratingly long, tricky and expensive (for parking). If manageable, use the free LAX shuttle, which comes from key points in the outer airport area, namely the Aviation Green Line stop (as pictured). Riding on the Green, I have notice on several occasions tourists taking good advantage of the line, which is about a mile away from the main airport. For now, the Green Line does not go directly in the immediate airport area. There is some talk of changing this, creating an extension of the Green Line-but this is just slow to action, L.A. talk that is more like hot air!

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