Nowadays, traveling around the world, tourists are very interested in the system and service of public transport in cities of different countries. This is especially true of American cities. After all, traveling around big cities by bus, if you do not have your own car, is not very convenient. And if you are in a hurry and get stuck in traffic? Previously, Los Angeles caused a lot of complaints in this regard. Travelers criticized the city for the virtual absence of public transportation. But over the past twenty to thirty years, much has changed. The city laid new routes and even launched subway lines. So is there a subway in Los Angeles? We will consider this question below, give you tips on how to use it better, and tell you how convenient it is when exploring the city.
What it is
The Los Angeles subway has appeared recently. It was opened in 1990. Now there are as many as six lines working there. But there are only two truly underground ones. The rest are just a form of urban rail transport. However, administratively, they belong to the subway. More than three hundred thousand people use its lines annually. Of course, this figure is not comparable with the workload of the European metro, but it should be borne in mind that this transport is relatively new. In addition, the number of passengers is increasing every year. After all, gas prices are rising, in addition, you should not think about the rules of the road, fool yourself with a search for parking. We reached the desired station, got out and went to where you need to get.
History
Not everyone knows that in the City of Angels in the nineteenth century was the largest and most extensive tram network in the world. But since the thirties of the twentieth century, when everyone got their own cars, the popularity of this type of transport has fallen dramatically. In 1963, the last tram route was closed. It can be said that since that time, urban public transport in Los Angeles has generally disappeared. Although they proposed several projects for the construction of monorail carriage lines free of charge for the city, the municipality regularly rejected them. The intervention of celebrities and famous people did not help (the world-famous science fiction writer Ray Bradbury signed a petition for the introduction of public transport in the city). The fact is that the city council wanted to slow down the growth rate of the urban population. Its members believed that cheap transportation would attract more and more people to Los Angeles. But by the nineties of the last century, it became clear that a huge number of traffic jams and gas pollution only exacerbate the problem. Then the city authorities surrendered and decided to create the Los Angeles Metro.
Structure
When you enter the train car, you see soft beautiful seats. Everywhere is clean and tidy. The stations are decorated in an original design style. And due to the fact that most of the Los Angeles subway lines are elevated, you can see beautiful views from the window. This type of urban transport consists of three networks, each of which is a separate type of it. First of all, this is the real underground or "heavy" metro. It is supplied with electricity through contact rails. Secondly, it is an elevated railway or “light” metro. In addition, there are special buses that move along certain routes (road corridors) and tunnels, and also have priority on common routes.
Heavy metro Los Angeles: scheme, description
It actually consists of two lines. These are the Red and Violet branches. The first of them connects the central and northwestern parts of the city. It is also called line A or 802. It starts at Union Station and reaches North Hollywood. In the early nineties, this line went only to Westlake / MacArthur Park. Then, in 1996, it continued to Hollywood Boulevard. And in the 2000s, the Red Line began to reach Universal City and North Hollywood. The violet line also leaves the center - from Union, but after the Westlake / MacArthur Park station it heads west. The fact is that before it was part of the Red Line. Then, in 1996, they paved a separate section to the Mid-Wilshire area. And in 1999, the Purple Line became a full line of the Los Angeles subway. There are plans to tunnel her further to Beverly Hills. On these branches go the Italian train "Breda". Each of them has six wagons.
What is a light metro?
The first line of this surface urban railway was opened at the very beginning of construction, in 1990. It is called Blue and connects the center with Long Beach. Its starting station is Seventh Street. From it there is a transition to the station "Union". This line goes south. To the station "Pico" it passes underground, and then becomes outdoor. Having reached "Anaheim", its route becomes a ring. He passes through four stations, located as if along a loop, and returns back. It is called line B or 801th. The green line runs from Norwok to Redondo Beach. She can get to the Century station, from where there is a connection to the city airport. This line is D (803rd). At Imperial Station, it intersects with the Blue Line.
The gold line (C or 804th) goes from the center to the northeast to Pasadena. It was opened in 2003. The line at the Sierra Madre Villa station is ending, but most likely it will be stretched to the Atlantic. The newest branch is Expo, or Aqua. She goes from the center along the Blue line, and then goes west, right above Violet. So far, a section has been opened to Culver City, but Santa Monica station should open soon, right on the Pacific Ocean. The Los Angeles light metro uses Japanese Nippon Shario trains or German Simmens wagons. The latter are a cross between a tram and an S-Ban.
Metrobus
These are special public transport routes. The Los Angeles metro map also includes them. These are two lines - Orange and Silver. The first has thirteen stops and a length of more than twenty kilometers. They intend to extend it to the Chatsworth train station. A silver branch with nine stations runs through the center from Harbor Getaway Transit to El Monte. The Metro Liners are used on these lines. These are silver articulated buses up to twenty meters long. For them, special lanes on the roads, tunnels and special road corridors are allocated. Buses are fast, and their stops are a mile apart. They are also called "carriages on tires."
How to ride
All metro lines run from four in the morning until midnight. To use them, you need to buy a ticket that costs $ 1.25 at a time in any direction, regardless of distance. For the use of each line must be paid separately. There are tickets for the day, week or month. It is advantageous to use them when you often travel by metro. You can also buy a travel card, the so-called TAP, worth a dollar. It is sold in vending machines at any station. Then it is replenished depending on the number of trips. Schedule booklets are available at all stations and in cars. On weekends and holidays, the number of flights is reduced, but trains run until two at night. The interval between flights is 5-10 minutes at rush hour, up to 20 minutes in the evening. There are turnstiles in the subway, but not at all stations, and you can pass freely. There are only validators. But the availability of valid tickets can check the special police.
Los Angeles Overview with Subway Stations
With this type of transport you can reach almost all the attractions of the city. His heart and main office is located in downtown Los Angeles, in the railway station building, above Union Station. It is accessible by metro from the airport. There are about a hundred stations in total. In fact, Los Angeles is a huge metropolis, consisting of ninety cities. This is Hollywood, and Santa Monica, and Malibu, and many others. Without public transport, travelers who are not motorists would have a hard time. But the ramified underground system helps tourists easily get to Hollywood, Oliver Street, Memorial Park, Chinatown and Little Tokyo, the Norton Simon Museum and Long Beach. True, you can reach Beverly Hills only by your own car or by sightseeing bus, but in a year or two this problem will be solved.