Getting Around Los Angeles

Do you plan on visiting Los Angeles? If that is so, you might surely need to move around there. For many, driving or renting a car is not really their thing (having driven there, we understand). Hopefully, cities like Los Angeles offer great transit systems.

Summary:

Before We Begin

The Los Angeles metropolitan area (a.k.a Greater Los Angeles) is huge and contains multiple cities and counties that may have their own transportation system. For example, the city of Anaheim has the Anaheim Transportation Network (ATN) or Orange County has the Orange County Transit Authority (OCTA). With that in mind, even though LA Metro is a great option, looking at these more specific transit systems may help you when traveling in more specific areas.

Metro Rail

Los Angeles Metro Rail is an efficient way of moving around Los Angeles. It can get you to points of interests like Hollywood Blvd, Santa Monica, Dodgers Stadium and more. This Metro Rail system includes 6 lines for a total of 109 stations (as of June 2025). Most lines are designed to be close to Bus stations. This allows you to easily take a bus, and get almost everywhere around Los Angeles county. The lines include:

A Line (Blue): Azusa to Long Beach.

B Line (Red): Union Station to North Hollywood.

C Line (Green): Norwalk to LAX/Metro Transit Center.

D Line (Purple): Union Station to Wilshire/Western.

E Line (Yellow): East Los Angeles to Santa Monica

K Line (Pink): This line's terminals are Expo/Crenshaw to Redondo Beach

The Lines B and D are primarily underground (subway).

Fares

Please refer to the Paying Section for information on the fares and paying options.

Metro Bus

Metro Bus is the Bus. There is not much to say about that. As of 2025, the Metro Bus system includes 165 different routes serving Los Angeles county. There is primarily four types of Bus services:

Local Buses: Orange buses that stop around every two blocks.
Rapid Buses: Red buses which go faster and stop only at major intersections.
Express Buses: Travel longer routes with fewer stops and have higher premiums.
Bus Rapid Transit Lines (BRT): Run on dedicated busways for faster travel.

Fares

Please refer to the Paying Section for information on the fares and paying options.

Fares & Paying Methods for LA Metro

The two transit systems just mentioned above are operated by LACMTA (Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority) branded as Metro. This means that the fares for those two transit systems are the same. Additionaly, the fares for a one way trip on Metro bus and rail include two hours of free transfers when you pay with a TAP card.

The fares are the following:

Regular Ride – $1.75

Special Discounts:

Senior 62+/Medicare/Customer with disabilities – $0.75 peak and $0.35 off-peak
K-12 and Community College Students – Free (Needs a GoPass)
Low Income (household income less than $41,400/yr – 20 free ride/mo

You can pay with a TAP card, Apple Wallet, Tap app or cash.

TAP

TAP is a payment system used for transit throughout LA County and others agencies in southern California. It takes the form of a card or app (containing a virtual card) on which you can add the money that you will use to pay your fares. It it is used as payment methods for transit systems of 27 agencies in southern California. For transit systems like LA Metro it offers some benefits like free transfers between Metro lines or Fare Capping. With Fare Capping, you earn free unlimited rides when you have reached a 1-Day (Paid for $5) or 7-Day Cap (Paid for $18). The given fares vary if you benefit from one of the discounts mentioned earlier.

The official website of Metro provides all the information you need about Fare Capping.

A virtual TAP card is free, while a physical one costs $2. To use your card, you will only need to hold it close to the payment terminal in your transportation.

LAX Flyaway Bus

That option is great if you arrive from LAX airport and desire to travel in strategic points in Los Angeles. This bus is operated by LAX and goes between each terminal of LAX and the locations of Van Nuys and LA Union Station in Los Angeles. To board this bus, you have to go to the Lower/Arrivals Level in front of each terminal of the airport and then go at the blue FlyAway columns.

Fares & Tickets

You have three options to pay for LAX FlyAway Bus. You can buy a ticket on the FlyAway app on your phone. You can buy a ticket online, or you can pay directly when boarding the bus. Please note that Cash and non-contactless cards are not accepted.

A One-way fare is $12.75 as of 2025. Children under the age of 5 traveling with a paying adult travel for free.

Your tickets are valid 60 days from the day of purchase. If you bought your tickets online or on the app, you will need to activate before you board the bus. Tickets are valid for 3 hours after the activation.

Note

There is no reservation. The bus works on a first come first served basis.

Metrolink

Metrolink is a train system managed by OCTA (Orange County Transit Authority). It goes through multiple places across southern california. Therefore, it is a nice option if you plan on traveling to cities around LA or San Diego*, or simply within the greater Los Angeles. However, that may not be your best option for small rides. Lines include

Antelope Valley Line - LA Union Station to Lancaster
Inland Empire-Orange County Line - Oceanside to San Bernardino Downtown
Orange County Line - Oceanside to LA Union Station
Riverside Line - Riverside Downtown to LA Union Station
San Bernardino Line - San Bernardino Downtown to LA Union Station
Ventura County Line - LA Union Station to Ventura Downtown
91/Perris Valley Line - Perris South to LA Union Station

The trains are running both ways, not only as we wrote here.

Many of the lines described above have connections with other transit systems. We encourage you to visit this website with the official maps and connection of Metrolink.

*Please note that Metrolink does not go directly to San Diego. You will need to transfer to Coaster or Amtrak services at Oceanside station if you want to go further south to San Diego County.

Fares & Tickets

To pay for your metrolink rides, you can either pay with the Metrolink App, at a ticket machine, or buy the tickets online and then print them at home.

When it comes to fares, Metrolink offers many interesting fares.

One-Way Ticket - Fare is calculated based on the distance you travel.
SoCal Day Pass - You can ride as much as you want for a day. Weekday cost $15 and Weekend or Holiday cost $10.
L.A. Zone Pass - You can ride as much as you want for a whole day within the L.A. Zone for $5.
5 - Day Flex Pass - Five one-day passes to use between two stations within 30 days. Price is based on the distance between the two stations.
Monthly Pass - Unlimited rides on Metrolink trains for one month between your two stations. Price is based on the distance between the two stations.

More detailed information about the fares on the Metrolink website.

The Fares mentioned above starts July 1st 2025

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