The Metro in LA

[Cookson]

I doubt anything ever really happens ON the train. Now, if you would get off at Compton, I'm sure your chances of something happening increase. Yes, the areas probably ARE bad... but the chances of anything happening on the train through the area is probably low.

 

When I say I'm 25, I don't mean I'm gonna be punching people in the face etc....I just have the energy to carry the luggage to a certain point etc... I also doubt people would care to bother us.

 

EDIT: Just so you know, we haven't 100% commited ourselves to the metro YET. I'm just kind of defending it. It will be the Metro or Taxi. Honestly, after looking at the reviews for the Super Shuttle... I don't want to deal with them... I'd rather know we're going straight to the pier with a pickup rather than picking up others.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I would like to add a few things about the public transist system in LA' date=' as there's the tendency for people to forget that we Angelenos are trying to give the best advice to those coming here for the first time.

 

Those who use the Metrolink live here. They know which areas are safer than others. And believe or not, one neighborhood can be a "safe" one, and a few blocks away, there could be one that is gang-infested. We even have that problem here in the suburbs.

 

Another thing to remember about the Metrolink, it's not practical if you have luggage. Again, it's primarily used by commutors (many who are middle class, but have a long commute that they rather not use their cars for) and people without cars. These riders would not appreciate it if someone comes aboard schlepping baggage.

 

I did use the public bus system to get from home (at the time, Encino in the Valley) to a part time summer job at UCLA back in my college days, but that was just a few times a week, and I had the luxury of time for the commute. My hubby also tried Metrolink when it was pretty new to get to work downtown LA, but he decided to join a vanpool instead.[/quote']

 

The native Angelenos would be amiss if we are giving advice based on "maybe's." Yes' date=' maybe you have been lucky. I just wouldn't want to tell someone unfamiliar with this area that just because I or you or anyone else hasn't had a problem, they should go ahead and stay at a hotel in a dicey area or travel through a dicey area. Not gonna do it...and then read a report from them later on that they got off at the wrong stop and got robbed or otherwise had a major problem that would have been avoided if we were straight with them. Yes, any location here (even Beverly Hills) can have risks, but why play "Traffic Roulette"?[/quote']

 

I quoted a couple of my posts to add my concerns to Steve's. I grew up in LA too (first 17 years in the relatively safe Valley), lived in Mar Vista, West Hollywood area too. Also went to grad school in Columbia, MO, where I would feel safe about taking the bus there and even walking around late at night (I worked did some graveyard weekend shifts at the hospital). Only trip to St Louis (other than to catch trains or flights) was when I stayed with a East St. Louis family for a weekend (I was the token white chick) so my roomies and I were taken care of while we went into town for fun. I have taken the Washington DC metro and been on the Seattle buses, but then I had carefully mapped out the routes.

 

And my MIL of blessed memory would often take the Metro to go from Van Nuys to downtown LA (usually the Central Library), but she knew the area. And she was a kick ass type of bubbe (you wouldn't want to mess with her). But she was careful to know where she was and avoid getting off in dicey stops. When my daughter decided to ditch going to her middle school culmination and hubby dropped us off in Little Tokyo, around the corner where he works. We walked around for some hours, but I wasn't about to jump on the bus and risk getting us in a bad area.

 

As I said in one of my posts, many of the Metro riders are commuting to work or school. Rush hour is really more rush hours and if you are boarding a crowded vehicle with a suitcase, you better be wearing armour for all the mental arrows being shot your way. You may not care, but it's not really be considerate in my book.

 

Super shuttle isn't that bad. You're probably reading comments from those getting off of a flight and sharing a shuttle with others, and maybe not being the first, second or even third dropped off at a hotel. But most likely if you're being picked up a hotel and being taken to the port of Long Beach, the odds are, you may not have to share with others or very few. Just pad in the time for a few extra stops. But that should be much less time if you are boarding public transit in LA.

 

I haven't checked out your link about crime stats, but as others have said, statistics can often be misleading (I live in a very safe area, but a few miles away from here, there was a bank robbery yesterday...and today, there was some criminal who was barricaded in a hotel for a few hours; and last month, there was a four-person killing in an illegal boarding house). If you want a direct trip to Long Beach, book a private service (Super shuttle has Execucar, but there's plenty of others) or have the hotel desk call you a taxi. Or reconsider where you're going to stay and just reserve one of your pre-cruise days for touring Hollywood. Even if you're not worried about crime, you still could be spending more time than necessary getting to your ship. And if it was me, I would rather be checking out the buffet at 1pm on sailway day, then trying to navigate a bus or train stop.

[Cookson]

Honestly, I'm not too worried about the metrorail, but my wife wants to just take the taxi. So taxi it will be. Might be costly, but that's alright if that's what my wife wants. I'll just tell the taxi to get there as fast as possible to reduce price!!!! lol

[Bruin Steve]

Honestly, I'm not too worried about the metrorail, but my wife wants to just take the taxi. So taxi it will be. Might be costly, but that's alright if that's what my wife wants. I'll just tell the taxi to get there as fast as possible to reduce price!!!! lol

 

Again, to circle this back, I would DEFINITELY take the Execucar option over the taxi...set price over the running meter...

[Rosefloater]

EDIT: Wait I think I get it now. TAP cards are only sold WITH the fare included. So we would buy the card and the one way fare at the same time... the card that comes out will have that $1.50 on it for us to travel on the red line. Once at 7th Street, we re-load it again for a one way $1.50 amount. So, total it would be $8 for two of us. Is the one-way fare a option for the TAP card?

 

Hope I can clear some things for you about the TAP cards.

 

At the station, go to a kiosk to buy a TAP card. At some point during the transaction, you will be asked how much money you want to add to the card. (When I bought my TAP card ($1), I loaded $10 onto the card. The total I had to pay the kiosk was $11). The money is now loaded onto the card. Before you get on a train, make sure to tap your card at a tap station near the rail platform.

 

If you can, go either the day before or give yourself some extra time at the kiosk. The card and amount is good for 3 years.

 

Here is the Metro website: http://www.metro.net/

 

And here's the website for the Metro fares: http://www.metro.net/riding/fares/. On the right side of this page, click on the Gate Locking Info and the Tap Users Guide buttons.

 

If you have any problems figuring out how to use the kiosk, there might be a security guard or someone to ask or there are dedicated phones near the kiosks to talk to a metro person.

 

On the Blue Line, there are a few seats that face toward the aisle. We try to sit there with our luggage. It is hard with luggage sitting in the forward facing seats. The largest suitcase we take is a 22" and a tote/backpack.

 

To get to the Passport C bus (free bus to the Queen Mary): When you get off the Blue Line in Long Beach, go down the stairs and turn right & cross the street. The stop is in front of the Rock Bottom Brewery on the West side of Pine Street. Try to be one of the 1st people on the bus in order to get a seat on the lower level.

[SadieN]

Honestly, I'm not too worried about the metrorail, but my wife wants to just take the taxi. So taxi it will be. Might be costly, but that's alright if that's what my wife wants. I'll just tell the taxi to get there as fast as possible to reduce price!!!! lol

 

Bummer-Thought I could get someone over to the dark side.:D

Rosefloater is part of my crazy family that takes the metro.:)

 

Have a wonderful time in the LA area.

[kenish]

Good you're choosing a taxi- Never argue with your wife. :)

 

A few comments on this- my entire family are LA natives. If I took the Blue Line, I would dress down, leave my watch at home, and keep my wallet secure. Someone mentioned "pedestrians who don't understand crossing gates". What they meant is there are occasional collisions between Blue Line trains and cars or pedestrians. They are often fatal and shut down the line for a few hours. Not likely that would happen to your trip, but if it does you will have to get off the train and find your way on buses through rough areas of the city.

 

Check out the Human Development Index report for California: http://measureofamerica.org/california/ there's a great interactive map on the same website. As Bruin mentioned, some of America's best and worst areas are a few miles apart in LA and Metrorail visits both.

 

Last aside- my brother was on temp assignment in STL for 5 years. He and his family would take transit there, when convenient, but won't take the Blue Line. We understand the nuances of life in LA which is a moshpit of widely varying and sometimes colliding cultures and communities. Like a concert moshpit, if you don't understand the nuances of the music and band you risk getting unintentionally or intentionally hurt.

[Cookson]

Yeah, and like I was saying, the chances of anything actually happening on the train is probably very slim. But the choice has been made, and taxi it will be.(wife knows best lol)

[SadieN]

Steve's 'problem' isn't being so much an elitist as the fear of the unknown. None of the newer cross-LA area bus/rail lines are in his area. It's easier for him to drive to where he wants to go. The Blue Line does travel thru the toughest LA neighborhoods.

We figure we are taking it so early that the 'bad' people are still asleep.

FWIW the homes and streets are well maintained along the tracks.

 

For years we didn't take the metro to Long Beach because we had no place to long term park our car. Too inconvinient to schlep suitcases over a mile to a railstop.

 

We are taking it in three weeks to Long Beach. Mom & Sis either take Metrolink or the Orange line from Chatsworth. I take the San Bernardino Metrolink Line and we meet at Union Station. Last cruise DH and I took the Orange line from Chatsworth. We had free dog sitting and parking.

 

We drive to San Pedro because parking is cheaper and not easy with public transportation.

[Cookson]

 

On the Blue Line, there are a few seats that face toward the aisle. We try to sit there with our luggage. It is hard with luggage sitting in the forward facing seats. The largest suitcase we take is a 22" and a tote/backpack.

 

We saw those seats on a video and said those would be perfect. I think in the morning going south(at 7th street), those seats probably aren't that hard to get since everyone is going NORTH on a monday morning for work. My wife and I are 50/50 again on taking the taxi or metro. Yeah, it's probably more comfortable etc. just calling a taxi or whatever, but we figure that we'd save over $100 for something on the cruise.

[Cookson]

Steve's 'problem' isn't being so much an elitist as the fear of the unknown. None of the newer cross-LA area bus/rail lines are in his area. It's easier for him to drive to where he wants to go. The Blue Line does travel thru the toughest LA neighborhoods.

We figure we are taking it so early that the 'bad' people are still asleep.

FWIW the homes and streets are well maintained along the tracks.

 

For years we didn't take the metro to Long Beach because we had no place to long term park our car. Too inconvinient to schlep suitcases over a mile to a railstop.

 

We are taking it in three weeks to Long Beach. Mom & Sis either take Metrolink or the Orange line from Chatsworth. I take the San Bernardino Metrolink Line and we meet at Union Station. Last cruise DH and I took the Orange line from Chatsworth. We had free dog sitting and parking.

 

We drive to San Pedro because parking is cheaper and not easy with public transportation.

 

Please post your experience on the blue line when you get back!

[Cookson]

I found this image:

 

Is the passport bus pickup literally that corner from the transit mall station?

[Rosefloater]

Is the passport bus pickup literally that corner from the transit mall station?

 

Refer to my post #55 for directions to the bus stop.

 

Here is a map of how to get from the Blue Line to the Passport bus stop. The blue circle is the Blue Line and the red circle is the Passport C bus. Follow the green line.

 

The Blue Line platform is in the middle of the street. Need to cross half of the street and then walk down to the bus stop.

 

 

At the end of the month will be our 3rd time taking Public transportation down to LB. You do go thru some interesting areas and there are some "interesting":rolleyes: people on the Blue line, but during the day there is no problem. Once you get to the Watts area, you will notice a difference, but no one has ever bothered us because we look like tourists with our suitcases.

[SadieN]

We saw those seats on a video and said those would be perfect. I think in the morning going south(at 7th street), those seats probably aren't that hard to get since everyone is going NORTH on a monday morning for work. My wife and I are 50/50 again on taking the taxi or metro. Yeah, it's probably more comfortable etc. just calling a taxi or whatever, but we figure that we'd save over $100 for something on the cruise.

 

Yeah---Those seats are primarily 'reserved' for HC or the elderly. Big sign says so.

 

I'll report when we get back. Not anticipating any problems.

 

ETA--Long Beach Transit no longer calls it the Passport C, just the Passport.

[skandls]

I am another born and raised in LA person. Please check out your shuttle, taxi and limo options for transportation to the port. The public transit system in Los Angeles is still in its really early years. Some is good some not so good. You are on a hard earned vacation - why deal with public transit when it is less than good. We have started to use the public transit in the last two years but it is not something I would recommend for an out of towner. We use it during the day and are very careful about where we travel. This is not so much an its safe or dangerous as an issue about convenience and time spent waiting and distance to get to the stops.l

[Husky61]

I doubt anything ever really happens ON the train. Now, if you would get off at Compton, I'm sure your chances of something happening increase. Yes, the areas probably ARE bad... but the chances of anything happening on the train through the area is probably low.

 

As I said in an earlier post, it doesn't matter to me if you take the metro or a cab. But when you make a statement like above, it shows you don't really know anything about Los Angeles.

 

The crime stats for the metro are for incidents committed ONLY on the train. Anything occurring outside the train is the responsibility of the local jurisdiction.

 

The blue line in 2011 YTD up to August, had a total of on train incidents of 488. 53 of those were robberies and 37 were assaults. That was just the blue line.

 

But again, it doesn't matter to me what you do.:)

[Rosefloater]

We saw those seats on a video and said those would be perfect. I think in the morning going south(at 7th street), those seats probably aren't that hard to get since everyone is going NORTH on a monday morning for work. My wife and I are 50/50 again on taking the taxi or metro. Yeah, it's probably more comfortable etc. just calling a taxi or whatever, but we figure that we'd save over $100 for something on the cruise.

 

You have about a 1/2 mile walk from your hotel to the metro station at Hollywood/Highland. You might want to walk that distance without your luggage to see if you can do it with luggage. If you think you will have no problem walking that distance with luggage, then go for Public transportation. Take the Red Line to the 7th Street/Metro Center Station, then the Blue line to LB.

 

We have taken the Blue line down to LB because it saves a lot of money that can be used for something other than parking at the pier ($17/day).

[kenish]

BTW Sadie, there is long-term parking @ Union Station in the Gateway Plaza underground parking structure. IIRC, $6 per day and there is clearance for pickups and SUV's as long as they are not lifted.

[Cookson]

As I said in an earlier post, it doesn't matter to me if you take the metro or a cab. But when you make a statement like above, it shows you don't really know anything about Los Angeles.

 

The crime stats for the metro are for incidents committed ONLY on the train. Anything occurring outside the train is the responsibility of the local jurisdiction.

 

The blue line in 2011 YTD up to August, had a total of on train incidents of 488. 53 of those were robberies and 37 were assaults. That was just the blue line.

 

But again, it doesn't matter to me what you do.:)

 

I bet most of those crimes take place LATE at night and possibly early morning.

[Rosefloater]

BTW Sadie, there is long-term parking @ Union Station in the Gateway Plaza underground parking structure. IIRC, $6 per day and there is clearance for pickups and SUV's as long as they are not lifted.

 

Sadie knows about the parking at Union Station.

 

I used it in December. It is still $6/day and is prorated. It was nice parking there. The only problem was trying to get out of the parking garage. The exit was not well marked.

 

When we 1st thought of using public transportation a few years ago, we didn't know about the parking at the Gateway center.

 

BTW - Is there another way to get from the parking garage to the trains without taking the elevator up, then going outside, then going down the escalator?

[Cookson]

Well, it turns out we'll be taking the Hollywood/Highland station to the Vermont/Beverly station to visit something... so we'll be learning the tap card system anyway. We still don't know if we want to take the metro rail all the way down to Long Beach yet though..... but we'll be using the train for something.

[SadieN]

Well, it turns out we'll be taking the Hollywood/Highland station to the Vermont/Beverly station to visit something... so we'll be learning the tap card system anyway. We still don't know if we want to take the metro rail all the way down to Long Beach yet though..... but we'll be using the train for something.

 

It's easy once you do it. Just confusing at first. www.metro.net has timetables and maps for the trains and buses.

 

I used to work at several schools near Beverly & Vermont. The neighborhood is dicey at best.

 

OTOH I believe the 14bus will take you from the station to Tommy's Burgers

2575 Beverly about 1.2 miles. http://www.originaltommys.com/

Last time I was there I literally had to walk over the bums sleeping on the sidewalk to get to the shack.

(Told you the neighborhood is dicey;))

[skandls]

DH and I like to take public transit when we travel. Los Angeles is not a city to do a lot of touring on the metro and bus systems. My DBIL took the red line once and he 'lost' his wallet on the car. There are many iffy neighborhoods - and there may not be too many people around as we locals travel mostly in our cars. So be aware that you can go somewhere during day time and find very few people walking around. We do take public transit sometimes but we know where we are going and what to expect.

 

You are staying in Hollywood which has been cleaned up in the last few years. There really is not much to do in the area except the stars on the sidewalk and the foot prints in cement. If you can get in (ask the concierge or someone who knows a magician you need a pass) the Magic Castle is in the area - the dinner is OK but the place and magic are fun.

[Cookson]

I have the map to where we need to go down perfect... we won't be in the area that long(maybe at most like 40 minutes). It's really just getting off the train, walking somewhere and taking some pictures then heading back to our hotel in Hollywood.

 

For my entire life, I've been a fan of a movie franchise, and there's a school(Frank Del Olmo Elementary School) where Raymond Burr was filmed for scenes in the American version of the very first Godzilla film, Godzilla King of the Monsters. They got a plaque there and everything... will be cool just to take a few pictures of it to satisfy my fanboyness.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Hubby took the Metro from Northridge (near where Rosefloater was going to leave from) to downtown LA a few days ago because he had a morning meeting and wanted to see if that was an option from having to deal with rush hour traffic (usually by the time he leaves for his normal work shift, traffic is much better) or the option he tried before, which was sleeping in the fire dispatch dorm (which turned out to be too noisy for him). He actually found it fine, but he only took his lunch pail and left his briefcase at home, as he had a bit of a walk from the station to his building. But definitely it's for commuters, especially those who know LA. He wouldn't recommend it for lugging your luggage on, especially if it's filled with passengers.

 

And Cookson, maybe you should try to find a tour that will take you to some of the places where movies were actually filmed on location. We just came back from our Hawaiian cruise and one of the excursions we booked through Princess was the Hollywood and Waterfalls tour. We saw many sites on Kauai that were used to film movies and TV shows and we really enjoyed it.

 

In reality, many of the production studios are outside of Hollywood. For example, Warner Brothers is in Burbank. Sony (the old MGM) is in Culver City, Universal Studios is in Universal City (in the Valley).