Redondo does not have a guard but it is well patroled and I have never had a problem leaving our car there overnight.

first time I am actually going to leave the car at home and take a cab to the gold line station/fly away-lax 8 days away-repeat.
Since the parking at union station(a bargain at 6 bucks a day btw)would come out to around $60 because of schedule I figure it will be half of that doing it this way.
Now I just have to find a place to store the cat for under $15 a day!

I've parked at the Redondo station overnight once. The problem is that there's only one train that leaves early enough in the morning to make the early flights. All the other early trains start at the Douglas station.

How early do you fly? :o

There is a 4:20AM, a 4:49AM and a 5:02AM train.

Transportation between airport and downtown
 

Hi all, I am planning on a trip to LA next month and I am wondering if there is any cheap transportation (i.e. train) to downtown near the LA convention center?

You can take the bus to the Green Line and either connect to the Blue Line or get off the the Green Line at the Harbor Freeway stop and take the express bus to downtown.

A taxi is a flat $42 to downtown.

Take the nonstop flyAway bus to Union Station (USD 3), then transfer to the Metro Red Line (stops about six blocks from the CC ) or any number of bus lines that will take you even closer to the CC:

http://www.lawa.org/flyAwayInfo2.cfm

Thanks for the info. $42 is not too bad. How busy is the taxi line at the airport usually? I will be arriving on either a Thur or Fri night after 9pm.

Cab lines aren't that long; you shouldn't have to wait very long, plus it's post rush hour so getting downtown should only take about 30 minutes. Cheers.

Supershuttle runs frequently and is 15$+tip which is a good deal in my eyes ^

Since when is the LAXflyAway only 3$ ?? :confused:

Since... always and forever.

Actually, the red line does not go that near the convention center...
(and its a fair walk between the flyAway & the Red line)

....you'd need to take the red line to the blue line (7th Street/Metro Center), and then get off at the first stop, Pico/LA Convention Center.

Frankly, it would be cheaper and easier to take the Bus to the Green Line, the Green Line to the Blue Line, and the Blue up to Pico/LA Convention Center.

If you're looking for a cheap way to get to the cc, the above (bus-gl-bl-cc) is the way to go. It's about a 1/2 block from the Pico/LACC stop on the blue line to the entrance of the cc. I did the gl/bl combo to a convention & now if I just have to attend a cc downtown, I don't bother driving, just do the public transport thing.

Cheers.

I think it was $3.50 OW, $6 RT between LAX and Van Nuys. Then when the Union Station service began, it became $3 OW on both lines.

Honestly, I don't know the Shuttle>Green Line>Blue Line route would be any faster than FlyAway>Union Station>Red Line>Blue Line, because of the 15 stops. Taking the FlyAway would take 4 stops from Union Station.

Another option is FlyAway to Union Station, then DASH Bus Route D, which runs every 5 minutes during commute times M-F, lets you off near the Pico Blue Line station, and also costs only $.25.


In the context of this discussion, why would one talk about LAX-Van Nuys?

The LAX-Union Station FlyAway has always been $3.

For a blend of cheap and easy you could do the Flyaway to Union station and take a cab to the CC. Then again, I am usually only connecting at Union Station, I don't recall if I have ever seen a cab outside but I am sure they are there somewhere. Anyone caught a cab at Union Station?

Great Advice!
 

What a great suggestion the flyWay bus to Union Station was! Last weekend I flew in Friday afternoon (3pm) for a wedding (niece), and was loath to ask any relatives to pick me up. Drive to LAX Friday afternoon -- how ugly would that be. Anyway, I spent $4 on the FlyAway bus, $6.25 on a Metra train, and disembarked really close to my sister's home. If not for this thread, I would not have been aware of flyAway. And, since my relatives are standard "auto-centric Angelinos," so they had no idea.

Not only was this transit inexpense, was amazingly quick. ^^

Downtown LA to Newport Beach transportation?
 

Howdy,

Next month, I'll be arriving to the Amtrak station at 9:00pm and will need to make my way down to the Fairmont Newport Beach. Since I'm travelling alone, I'm looking for the most cost effective method of doing so.

I'm not too familiar with the LA area but have found a couple of options online:

1) Prime Time shuttle, for around $60 on a shared van service.
2) Change to an Amtrak train about an hour later to Santa Ana, then take a taxi.

My conern about the first option is that their last shuttle leaves at 9:35pm, so if the train is delayed from Seattle, I'll be SOL. I imagine Amtrak provides guaranteed connections if booked on the same ticket, so the second option might be safer, and cheaper (how much would the cab cost approx?).

So I am leaving to option number 2, however any advice or alternatives would certainly be appreciated. I looked into a one way car rental (I am departing the next afternoon from SNA at around 3pm) but that was going to be quite a bit more expensive when taking parking into consideration, and it seems that the Union Station rental counters close around 6pm.

Thanks! And if anyone happens to be in the area in the evening of October 4th or during the morning/afternoon of the 5th, I would certainly be up for drinks or lunch.

Fairmont Newport Beach is really more like Fairmont Irvine/Santa Ana. :) It's literally across the street from SNA, a good 15 minute drive from what most of us would consider "Newport Beach."

I'd probably just take the train to SNA, then take a taxi. Taxi shouldn't be more than $20 from the Santa Ana station to the Fairmont. Do your homework, though, and have a few numbers of local taxi services (the OC area is not really public transit-friendly, so you need to be prepared).

Why don't you want to rent a car? How will you get around in the OC? And, how will you get back to wherever you leave from? In the end, car rental is usually the best choice in L.A. area, unless you have lots and lots of time.

Won't need a car in SNA - the Fairmont has a shuttle to the beach and SNA airport where I'll be departing from.

Okay, now I have to ask...why are you taking the train from Seattle? :confused: :)

For fun :cool:

It's part of a longer two-week vacation. Originally I was going to spend a few days with my friend in Phoneix, but when that fell through I started thinking of things that would be interesting that would eat up a few days and decided on the Coast Starlight. Due to some strange quirk of illogical airfare pricing, coming back from Brussels to Vancouver via Phoneix ended up pricing the same as Brussels-Seattle then Santa Ana-Vancouver (also via Phoenix - still getting a dinner in with my friend there). So-loads of extra miles, and a scenic train trip sounded pretty good to me.... I've actually been down to the beach at Newport so may even skip that part depending how I'm feeling and just go shopping around the hotel. My flight isn't until 3:30pm so I have lots of time.

Whatever I chose, I'd leave a lot of leeway in my schedule...

(Hint: They don't call that train the "Star-LATE" for nothing...my bro once arrived in Seattle from LA over 10 hours behind schedule :td:)

Looking at www.amtrakdelays.com, the last three weeks of train 11 arrivals to LA have averaged a bit over an hour late...with two delays in the 4-6 hour range. That's not encouraging when the last Surfliner south to Santa Ana departs at 10:10... Yes, there's a couple of late night motorcoaches to Santa Anna... (12:40 am and 2:50 am), but you could end up sitting around LA Union station for a few hourswaiting for them.

Car!!! You can always drop it off at SNA, which is almost across the street if you REALLY don't need a car in Newport. You're kindof isolated at the Fairmont, so I would consider keeping it, but up to you. Always nice to cruise down to Laguna :)

Well, I decided to take your advice and consider a rental. Unfortunately, the offices at the station close well before the train arrival and, at least with Hertz, "after hours pickup is not available". Budget's website does not state that but will not let me make the booking.

That means I'd have to hoof it down to the airport first, and then rent from there. That really seems like it's a lot more hassle than it's worth.

I think I'll just book the through ticket to Santa Ana. What is Amtrak's policy regarding connections? Would they typically hold the last train a few minutes, or would they just rebook on the bus? I know with VIA up here in Canada, they would generally hold the train for connections if it is not too delayed.

Frankly, I find the possiblity of Amtrak holding the last Surfliner train darn low, unless they knew there was a *large* group connecting (more than a bus load), and it was a short (5-10 minute) hold...

Frankly, if the Starlight was over an hour late, I'd prepare to wait for the late bus...although they *might* call for an immediate bus if they knew there was a large connecting crowd.

I would say take the train to Irvine and then taxi from there, if you can catch the last one.

Tranportation From UCLA to Staples
 

I'm going to a concert at the Staples Center and was wondering what the best form of transportation would be from/to the UCLA area. Is driving myself make sense or getting a limo better?

You can take the 10 down or some of the wider East West streets like Pico or Venice. There's plenty of parking lots nearby. Last time I was there and had to pay for parking in the lots... IIRC I think it was somewhere between $10-20, but keep in mind, this was for a Kings game. I have no clue how much a limo will cost.

All your options involve being stuck in traffic during the week though, so plan accordingly.

You can take the bus down Wilshire and transfer to the subway (at Western?) which will take you to Staples. The subway is fast, the bus depends on traffic.

This avoids a lot of hassle with parking and after event traffic.

Another option is to eat at the Original Pantry and walk to Staples afterwards. The Pantry is historic (for L.A.) and never closes--pretty cheap, too with pretty good food. http://www.pantrycafe.com/ You can usually park for free on the street by the pantry if it is not during the business day.

Good point. I thought about suggesting that; I guess for me it seems like a long bus ride, esp at night, but YMMV.

Anyways, catch either the 720 (ideally), 20 or 21 to Western and Wilshire. Enter the Metro Red Line station and catch any train (they all head downtown). Get off at 7th St. Metro and Transfer to the Metro Blue Line. Take it one station down to Pico. Staples Center will clearly be visible. On the return trip, at the 7th St. Metro Station, make sure to catch a Wilshire/Western bound train and not a North Hollywood bound train. It'll say on the train and the red LED display overhead.

For the round trip, I would suggest getting a day pass as each ride is $1.25, while a day pass is $5.00. I know some folks will say that they don't check tickets on entry for the Metro Rail lines, but skipping fare is 1) bad karma and 2) a big fine if your just unlucky enough to be on train where the PD are checking for tickets.

I'm not sure about late night frequency, so you will probably want to check mta.net for details.

This is a great suggestion, just allow yourself plenty of time as the Pantry can often have a line, especially when there is an event at SC.

Travel time by Car: LAX to SNA
 

At approximately 7pm on a Friday evening... how bad will traffic be?

Google maps is showing an "up to 1 hr, 0 min" in traffic travel time.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=lax+to...ox-a&z=11&om=1

Any advice for the best routing to avoid traffic?

And, don't suggest LAX-SNA on the EMB120. :D

Departing LAX at 7pm on a Friday likely will be about an hour to 90 minutes to go the 45 miles. The problem is too long a stretch of the 405 to say for any certainty. With all the interchanges you pass, any backups on any one of them and it can double your travel time. Going to SNA itself or the area? The 405 is really the only direct route, unless you're going elsewhere in OC.

I'd allocate 90minutes, and agree re: the 405 being the most direct route unless you're going elsewhere in the area.

Cheers.

About 90+ min.
 

I did that exact commute a few weeks ago picking up a friend from LAX and taking her back home of the 405/Jamboree in Irvine. (one offramp further than SNA) Picked her up and left LAX at 6:45 PMish on a Friday. Traffic was slow on the 405 South, but still moving up until you reach the 605 interchange, then it gradually gets back up to speed, about 90-100 min total.

Going NORTH on the 405 towards LAX is a totally different story though.:p


Good luck!
Steve:)

Definitely have to allow yourself a minimum of 90 minutes if you have to be somewhere in OC at a certain time.

You know why we call it the 405 ?
Cause sometimes it takes 4 o 5 Hours to get from LA to OC.

Seriously. For a normal late Friday commute. LAX to SNA. No Carpool.
90 Minutes would be normal. Get a carpool buddy and then 60 Minutes is a resonable estimate. BEWARE. Any major accidents or overturned trucks and all bets are off. Listen to the radio 1070 KNX for tarffic updates.

1070 gives trafic on the 5's i.e. 7:15 7:25 etc
and 980 gives it on the 1's 7:01 7:11 etc.