LOS ANGELES TRANSPORTATION
AIR
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is the 3rd busiest airport in the nation, with two major runways north and south of the passenger terminals, plus iconic flight control tower and the restaurant tower. Tom Bradley International Terminal is on the western edge of airport. LAX features the most flights to Hawaii, Asia and Australia of any American airport. Navigating around LAX is easy, but there is no Automated People Mover (APM) between terminals. So allow 20-30 minutes if you have to walk between terminals. LAX is in the midst of a massive modernization project that will one day include an APM. Taxis frequent Downtown hotels and LA Live, major malls, and major hotels around LAX. Shuttle Services include Super Shuttle (800-554-3146), All American Shuttle (800-310-641-4090), Airport Express (800-427-7483), Car Rental buses shuttle you offsite to Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National and Thrifty.
Depending on where you are headed in the LA Metro Area, you can save 1 to 2 hours of ground commute time by flying to a secondary airport. If traveling to San Fernando Valley, look for flights into Burbank Bob Hope Airport (BUR). If you are headed to eastern Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County or Riverside Countylook, look for flights into Ontario International Airport (ONT). If going to Orange County, fly into John Wayne Airport (SNA). Each are well served by airlines, taxis, shuttles and car renters.
With Moorish-Spanish architecture and Hollywood history since 1939, Union Station was the hub of LA’s 450-mile streetcar system and a grand railroad terminus that once hosted 70,000 passengers a day. Its hub status was ended by the auto, oil and tire company collusion that destroyed streetcars and passenger trains.
Inside Los Angeles Union Station
Times have changed. Union Station has been reinvented as a intermodal transportation center for Amtrak, Metrorail, MetroLink Commuter Rail, Bus Rapid Transit, airport shuttles and taxis hosting 30,000 passengers a day. Located at 800 North Alameda Street, Union Station features these Amtrak routes:
Coast Starlight: Los Angeles-Oakland-Sacramento-Portland-Seattle
Pacific Surfliner : San Diego-Los Angeles-Santa Barbara-San Luis Obispo
Sunset Limited : New Orleans-Houston-San Antonio-Tucson-Los Angeles
Texas Eagle : Chicago-St Louis-Dallas-San Antonio-Tucson-Los Angeles
Southwest Chief : Chicago-Kansas City-Albuquerque-Flagstaff-Los Angeles
San Francisco-Los Angeles is a U.S. High Speed Rail Corridor beginning construction as the backbone of the California High Speed Rail system. For context about how this project fits with national transportation, see Interstate High Speed Rail.
MTA Metrorail is centered at Union Station and runs 5a–Midnight from Downtown to Hollywood, Universal Studios, Chinatown, Pasadena, Watts, Long Beach and El Segundo business district. First opening in 1990, Metrorail trains are fast, safe, frequent and increasingly popular as the system has expanded. Union Station, Hollywood and Universal City Metro stations are so well designed they are tourist attractions. With their own dedicated busways and limited stops, the two Bus Rapid lines function like Light Rail lines for travelers. We recommend that you buy a $6 MTA day pass for the most flexibility. Metrorail and Metro Bus Rapid lines with designated endpoints are:
Purple Line (Heavy Rail): Union Station-Vermont-MidWilshire
Red Line (Heavy Rail): Union Station-North Hollywood
Gold Line (Light Rail): East LA-Union Station-Pasadena-Sierra Madre
Blue Line (Light Rail): 7th Street Downtown-Watts-Long Beach
Green Line (Light Rail): Norwalk-Watts-El Segundo-Redondo Beach
Expo Line (Light Rail): Downtown-USC-Crenshaw-Culver City
Orange Line (Bus Rapid): Canoga Bark-North Hollywood
Silver Line (Bus Rapid): Torrance-USC-Downtown-Union Station-El Monte
Metro Hollywood & Highland Station
DASH Downtown shuttle bus circulates between LA LIVE-Convention Center, financial center, civic center, Alvera Street and Union Station for only a $0.35 fare.
Los Angeles MTA has bigger plans to recreate the nation's largest predominantly light rail transit system, coupled with heavy rail transit, commuter rail transit, bus rapid transit and finally, an Automated People Mover at LAX Airport. More lines begin construction 2011-2012.
MetroLink commuter transit complements Metrorail with their 416-mile regional rail network with two lines that overlap Amtrak Pacific Surfliner route between Oxnard-Union Station-Oceanside. MetroLink train speeds average a 45 mph, twice the average freeway speed during commute hours, while covering these routes:
Ventura County Line: Oxnard-Burbank Airport-Union Station
Orange County Line: Union Station-Norwalk-Anaheim-Oceanside
San Bernardino Line: Union Station-Pomona-Upland-San Bernardino
91 Line: Union Station-Fullerton-West Corona-Riverside
Inland Empire-Orange County Line: Oceanside-Orange-San Bernardino
Antelope Valley Line: Palmdale-Sylmar-Burbank-Glendale-Union Station
Since Metrolink is a commuter rail transit system with long stops in between, the schedule is oriented to business commuter hours Monday-Friday with sparse weekend service.
Anaheim Resort Transit (ART) provides convenient shuttle service from most large Anaheim hotels. Shuttle stops include Anaheim MetroLink/Amtrak Station, Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, Downtown Disney, and Anaheim Convention Center. Fares range from $2 for a one-day unlimited use pass, to $8 for a five day unlimited use pass. Children under age 10 ride free. ART operates every 10-20 minutes, depending on weekend, summer and holiday peak periods.
PHONE: 888-364-ARTS or 714-533-3691
Los Angeles Freeway Network is the world's second largest in mileage after New York, but has more lanes per mile, more carpool lanes, sound walls, well-designed interchanges, metered entrances, and freeway status signs that enable it to carry far more automobiles than any other freeway network in the world. Despite its engineering marvels, crushing demand makes it the nation's most congested freeway network. A numbering quirk is that where Hollywood Freeway and Ventura Freeway intersect, Hollywood Freeway changes number from the 170 to 101 (west-southeast) and Ventura Freeway changes from 101 to 134 (west-east). A scant few ill-considered tollways have been added in Orange County as well. Residents refer to freeways and tollways by these names or numbers:
2 Glendale Freeway
5 Golden State Freeway/Santa Ana Freeway
10 Santa Monica Freeway/San Bernardino Freeway
22 Garden Grove Freeway
55 Costa Mesa Freeway
57 Orange Freeway
60 Pomona Freeway
71 Corona Freeway
73 San Joaquin Foothills Tollway
90 Marina Freeway
91 Artesia Freeway/Riverside Freeway
101 Ventura Freeway - Hollywood Freeway
105 Glenn Anderson Freeway
110 Pasadena Freeway/Harbor Freeway
118 Simi Valley-San Fernando Valley Freeway
133 Laguna Canyon Tollway and Freeway
134 Ventura Freeway
170 Hollywood Freeway
210 Foothills Freeway
241 Foothills Corridor Tollway
261 Tustin-Irvine Tollway
405 San Diego Freeway
605 San Gabriel River Freeway
710 Long Beach Freeway
BLACK CULTURAL TRAVEL MADE EASY