Transportation Options from Union Station (LAX)

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oregonweim

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Dec 11, 2011
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I'm arriving about 9pm on New Years Day, will I have issues finding ground transportation to my hotel? I plan on calling Super SHuttle but believe they only do airpors and the Amtrak station info page hasn't shown me anything yet. Thanks for any help.
 
Up in Santa Clarita, CA (about 35 miles North). I just wasn't sure if it is normal to have taxi stands, any shuttle van services, etc. Are there rental counters there?
 
Not sure how late it runs on holidays, but you may be able to catch a ride on Metrolink's Antelope Valley line to either the Newhall or Santa Clarita station. Both are within the city limits of Santa Clarita.
 
oregonweim said:
Up in Santa Clarita, CA (about 35 miles North). I just wasn't sure if it is normal to have taxi stands, any shuttle van services, etc. Are there rental counters there?
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Afraid you'll have to find a shuttle, taxi or rent-a-car. The last Metrolink train to Santa Clarita leaves LAUS at 5:40 pm. on New Years Day.

There are a couple of rental car counters in the station but I doubt they will be open on New Years Day night. There are always plenty of taxis at LAUS but you would pay a pretty penny for a taxi ride to Santa Clarita, probably as much as $75.

Your best bet would be to call the hotel where you are staying and ask if they know of shuttle services from LA. Alternately, you Google shuttle services between LA and Santa Clarita. And you could always call a rental car company now and arrange for a pickup from the station to whatever rental car office might be open at that hour. (I suspect that LAX would be the only one, and that is a pretty long trip in the opposite direction of Santa Clarita, unless the rental car company would arrange a pickup closer to LAUS.)

You really need to prepare in advance, given the time and day you are arriving, and the distance of your destination.
 
oregonweim said:
Up in Santa Clarita, CA (about 35 miles North). I just wasn't sure if it is normal to have taxi stands, any shuttle van services, etc. Are there rental counters there?
Click to expand...
Just realized that if you say you are arriving at LAUS around 9 p.m., you will be on the Coast Starlight 11.

If this is a correct surmisal on my part, then you should get off the train one station before LAUS, at Burbank-Bob Hope Airport. The Airport is literally across the street from the stop, and there is a shuttle to the terminal.

At the airport, you will be able to get a shuttle to Santa Clarita. There are several companies which you can find on the Internet or by going to the airport's website on ground transportation. Burbank Airport is the closest one in the LA area to Santa Clarita. Your hotel also should probably have good information on shuttles from Burbank.

If you rent a car, you probably would find open counters at the airport even on News Years Day night.

Good luck.
 
manchacrr said:
Not sure how late it runs on holidays, but you may be able to catch a ride on Metrolink's Antelope Valley line to either the Newhall or Santa Clarita station. Both are within the city limits of Santa Clarita.
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The last departure on the Antelope Valley Line is 5:40 P.M. on Sundays, so that won't work.

oregonweim: Taxis are definitely available, although be forewarned that it will be a fairly expensive ride up to Santa Clarita. There's also a Hertz counter at Union Station, but you may need to contact them to make sure they'll be open.

Where are you coming from, and what train are you arriving on? Depending on the answers to those questions, there may be a Thruway bus available that you could add on to your ticket to get you closer to Santa Clarita. You could also use the Burbank-Bob Hope Airport station as your destination, which I think would actually be better for getting to Santa Clarita -- the taxi ride would be cheaper, and there are also several rental car offices plus SuperShuttle pickup within walking distance.
 
I just checked for you, oregonweim, and found out that Metrolink is running the normal Sunday schedule on New Years Day. The last train to Lancaster/Santa Clarita on the Antelope Valley Line leave LAUS at 5:40p. Unless your train is 3:20 early
tongue.gif
, you will not be able to use that as an option. What I recommend is switching hotels to one much closer.
 
guest said:
oregonweim said:
Up in Santa Clarita, CA (about 35 miles North). I just wasn't sure if it is normal to have taxi stands, any shuttle van services, etc. Are there rental counters there?
Click to expand...
Just realized that if you say you are arriving at LAUS around 9 p.m., you will be on the Coast Starlight 11.

If this is a correct surmisal on my part, then you should get off the train one station before LAUS, at Burbank-Bob Hope Airport. The Airport is literally across the street from the stop, and there is a shuttle to the terminal.

At the airport, you will be able to get a shuttle to Santa Clarita. There are several companies which you can find on the Internet or by going to the airport's website on ground transportation. Burbank Airport is the closest one in the LA area to Santa Clarita. Your hotel also should probably have good information on shuttles from Burbank.

If you rent a car, you probably would find open counters at the airport even on News Years Day night.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

that is correct, Coast Starlight 11. If I want to get off one stop early do I need to change my ticket at all or can I just leave? Same for my return, if it is easier to get on one stop north do I need to adjust my ticket or am ok to just board there instead of in downtown LA? There are a lot of Duck fans staying up at the same hotel with me, plus I couldn't get into Pasadena for a room but thats fine.

So if I'm reading this corectly on amtrak station stop list Van Nuys is the prior stop, I'll give Amtrak call today about changing end/start of my trip.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
oregonweim said:
guest said:
oregonweim said:
Up in Santa Clarita, CA (about 35 miles North). I just wasn't sure if it is normal to have taxi stands, any shuttle van services, etc. Are there rental counters there?
Click to expand...
Just realized that if you say you are arriving at LAUS around 9 p.m., you will be on the Coast Starlight 11.

If this is a correct surmisal on my part, then you should get off the train one station before LAUS, at Burbank-Bob Hope Airport. The Airport is literally across the street from the stop, and there is a shuttle to the terminal.

At the airport, you will be able to get a shuttle to Santa Clarita. There are several companies which you can find on the Internet or by going to the airport's website on ground transportation. Burbank Airport is the closest one in the LA area to Santa Clarita. Your hotel also should probably have good information on shuttles from Burbank.

If you rent a car, you probably would find open counters at the airport even on News Years Day night.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

that is correct, Coast Starlight 11. If I want to get off one stop early do I need to change my ticket at all or can I just leave? Same for my return, if it is easier to get on one stop north do I need to adjust my ticket or am ok to just board there instead of in downtown LA?
Click to expand...
You are fine in getting off one stop early. For the return, you are OK if you are going coach. If you have a sleeper, best to notify Amtrak ahead of time, just so the conductor doesn't inadvertently sell your sleeper space as a no-show. Since the station is only 20 minutes out of LA, I doubt that would happen, but you should err on the safe side. There's obviously no additional cost to you in letting Amtrak know you will board at Burbank.
 
Thought I would add:

I have used Primetime shuttle. I think they pick up and drop off anywhere you want. I have picked up the shuttle at L.A's Union Station and have had it drop me off at hotels in L.A , Anaheim and Long Beach. I know you need a reservation with the shuttle for a pickup at Union Station, I have never seen any just waiting there. If you use this option, coming out of the station they pick up on the right of the front doors, taxi's are on the left.
 
At 9pm, no downtown car rental locations are open, certainly not the ones inside LAUPT. Metrolink left hours before, and a taxi ride is going to be really expensive to Santa Clarita, even from Van Nuys.

A bad option, but one that WILL work, is to take the Flyaway Bus to LAX (the real one, not the Amtrak code). Then rent a car there, since the rental counters are open 24/7 at LAX.

It'll still be cheaper than a taxi ride to Santa Clarita, I bet.
 
It probably would be helpful in answering the OP if respondents read the post first and others before writing their own.

The respondent is not going to a home; she's coming down on CS 11 for the first time to attend the Rose Bowl game. She and friends are staying at a hotel in SAnta Clarita because others are booked. She gets into LA on News Years Day night at 9 p.m. I doubt whether she wants to wait for a bus to Bakersfield at God-knows-what hour, or spend 90 minutes getting to LAX on the FlyAway bus and then another shuttle for a rental car and then the long drive to Santa Clarita so she can get there around 1 a.m.?

The respondents who suggested detraining at Burbank Airport and taking a shuttle from there seem to have read the OP's situation and answered logically. The rest of the responses seem to be from outer space with suggestions that would add HOURS to her plight... :help:
 
oregonweim said:
guest said:
oregonweim said:
Up in Santa Clarita, CA (about 35 miles North). I just wasn't sure if it is normal to have taxi stands, any shuttle van services, etc. Are there rental counters there?
Click to expand...
Just realized that if you say you are arriving at LAUS around 9 p.m., you will be on the Coast Starlight 11.

If this is a correct surmisal on my part, then you should get off the train one station before LAUS, at Burbank-Bob Hope Airport. The Airport is literally across the street from the stop, and there is a shuttle to the terminal.

At the airport, you will be able to get a shuttle to Santa Clarita. There are several companies which you can find on the Internet or by going to the airport's website on ground transportation. Burbank Airport is the closest one in the LA area to Santa Clarita. Your hotel also should probably have good information on shuttles from Burbank.

If you rent a car, you probably would find open counters at the airport even on News Years Day night.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

that is correct, Coast Starlight 11. If I want to get off one stop early do I need to change my ticket at all or can I just leave? Same for my return, if it is easier to get on one stop north do I need to adjust my ticket or am ok to just board there instead of in downtown LA? There are a lot of Duck fans staying up at the same hotel with me, plus I couldn't get into Pasadena for a room but thats fine.

So if I'm reading this corectly on amtrak station stop list Van Nuys is the prior stop, I'll give Amtrak call today about changing end/start of my trip.
Click to expand...
NO you want to get off at Burbank Bob Hope Airport stop, not Van Nuys. It is the stop AFTER Van Nuys and before LA Union station. If you get off in Van Nuys you will be in a bigger mess in trying to get to your hotel than if you went all the way to LA Union Station!
 
guest said:
oregonweim said:
guest said:
oregonweim said:
Up in Santa Clarita, CA (about 35 miles North). I just wasn't sure if it is normal to have taxi stands, any shuttle van services, etc. Are there rental counters there?
Click to expand...
Just realized that if you say you are arriving at LAUS around 9 p.m., you will be on the Coast Starlight 11.

If this is a correct surmisal on my part, then you should get off the train one station before LAUS, at Burbank-Bob Hope Airport. The Airport is literally across the street from the stop, and there is a shuttle to the terminal.

At the airport, you will be able to get a shuttle to Santa Clarita. There are several companies which you can find on the Internet or by going to the airport's website on ground transportation. Burbank Airport is the closest one in the LA area to Santa Clarita. Your hotel also should probably have good information on shuttles from Burbank.

If you rent a car, you probably would find open counters at the airport even on News Years Day night.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

that is correct, Coast Starlight 11. If I want to get off one stop early do I need to change my ticket at all or can I just leave? Same for my return, if it is easier to get on one stop north do I need to adjust my ticket or am ok to just board there instead of in downtown LA? There are a lot of Duck fans staying up at the same hotel with me, plus I couldn't get into Pasadena for a room but thats fine.

So if I'm reading this corectly on amtrak station stop list Van Nuys is the prior stop, I'll give Amtrak call today about changing end/start of my trip.
Click to expand...
NO you want to get off at Burbank Bob Hope Airport stop, not Van Nuys. It is the stop AFTER Van Nuys and before LA Union station. If you get off in Van Nuys you will be in a bigger mess in trying to get to your hotel than if you went all the way to LA Union Station!
Click to expand...
:excl: I'll second that, DO NOT get off at Van Nuys. Burbank is MUCH better for you.
 
oregonweim said:
Here is the link I'm reading...

http://www.amtrak.co...d=1241245648567
Click to expand...
The link, sadly, does not contain correct information, at least under the "stations served" section.

The Coast Starlight does indeed stop at Burbank (station code BUR). The southbound train stops at 8:15

for departing passengers only. You can find a PDF of the full schedule for the Coast Starlight further up on the same page.

One note...if you were planning to check bags, you would not be able to under the "get off the train in BUR" plan. BUR does not offer checked baggage

service. Otherwise, it seems like a logical plan of action.
 
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