# L.A. Union Station to LAX



## winterskigirl (Aug 4, 2013)

Anybody know what is the easiest way from the Amtrak Los Angeles' Union Station to Los Angeles Intl. Airport (LAX) ? I don't want the expense of a cab. City bus or is there light rail? 

I'm arriving at L.A. Union Station Friday morning on the Southwest Chief and need to get to LAX by 11:00 AM


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## Train2104 (Aug 4, 2013)

FlyAway bus, $7 one way:

http://www.lawa.org/welcome_lax.aspx?id=4696


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## Nathanael (Aug 4, 2013)

Flyaway Bus is *definitely* the easiest way. I've used it several times.

http://www.lawa.org/welcome_lax.aspx?id=4696

Watch out for the problematic fare-payment policy.

You may need a credit card.

The ticketing is just *odd*. Last time I was there, you had to buy a ticket from a machine at Union Station before departing when going from Union station to LAX -- but going the other way, you *got off the bus* at Union Station and *then* went to the ticket machine to buy the ticket for the trip you just took, while watchful security people made sure you did so.

I have no idea whether they've changed that procedure.

Apart from payment, the Flyaway is very straightforward and faster than any other way of connecting between LA Union Station and LA Airport.


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## June the Coach Rider (Aug 4, 2013)

Metrolink does not stop directly at LAX but it does offer non-stop bus service from L.A. Union Station to LAX. The Airport FlyAway bus service departs from Union Station's Patsaouras Bus Plaza, Berth 9. It stops at each airline terminal. You can check their website for more information.


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## JayPea (Aug 4, 2013)

Add my $.02 for the FlyAway bus service. Very easy to use!


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## The Davy Crockett (Aug 5, 2013)

I'm speculating here, but I think one reason for the complicated ticket purchasing for the FlyAway bus is employee theft. One time when I took it from LAUS to LAX a late boarding customer was told by the driver "Normally you need to pay at the kiosk with a credit card, but I'll let you pay me cash when we get to the airport so you don't have to wait for the next bus."

What are the chances the company ever saw a red cent of that? :huh:

^_^

That said, as has been stated repeatedly above, it is IMHO, the easiest for the money way to get between LAUS and LAX.


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## Tracktwentynine (Aug 5, 2013)

The FlyAway bus runs every 30 minutes between LA Union Station and LAX Airport.

You can buy $7 tickets at Metrolink vending machines in Union Station or from a person in a kiosk in the bus loop. At the kiosk, it's credit card-only. I'm not sure if the Metrolink TVMs take cash.

Last time I took the FlyAway, there was a person on the bus who did not speak very much English and did not have a credit card. He had cash. So he gave me $7 and I paid the guy for 2 tickets (7 more AGR points!).


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## trainman74 (Aug 5, 2013)

Nathanael said:


> The ticketing is just *odd*. Last time I was there, you had to buy a ticket from a machine at Union Station before departing when going from Union station to LAX -- but going the other way, you *got off the bus* at Union Station and *then* went to the ticket machine to buy the ticket for the trip you just took, while watchful security people made sure you did so.
> I have no idea whether they've changed that procedure.


I'm sure they haven't changed the procedure -- selling tickets at the LAX end would be problematic for many reasons.

On the Van Nuys FlyAway service, which has been around a lot longer than the Union Station service, they at least have a "corral" set up at the Van Nuys terminal to force arriving passengers to pass by a ticket taker and the ticket machines. (Of course, they can do that setup because the Van Nuys terminal is used exclusively for FlyAway buses, unlike the Union Station bus plaza.)

Nothing new to me, since before I lived in L.A., I'd lived in Pittsburgh, where the public transportation is "pay on entrance inbound, pay on exit outbound."


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