Metro’s Dodger Stadium Express Set to Run
Metro will offer Dodger Stadium Express bus service from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles to Dodger Stadium beginning on April 4 for the Dodgers/Angels exhibition game and throughout the 2015 regular season under a grant approved by the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC). The Dodgers’ 2015 season kicks off on Opening Day against the San Diego Padres on April 6
In addition, Metro also will offer the Dodger Stadium Express service from the Harbor Gateway Transit Center serving the South Bay area with buses using the Metro ExpressLanes along the I-110 Harbor Freeway to transport baseball fans to Dodger Stadium.
Funding for the service from Union Station is made in support of clean fuel transit service to link Union Station to Dodger Stadium. The MSRC awards funding within the South Coast Air Basin from a portion of the vehicle registration fee set aside for mobile source projects that result in emission reductions. Funding for the service from the Harbor Gateway Transit Center is being provided by Metro’s ExpressLanes Net Toll Reinvestment Grant Program.
In 2014, the Dodger Stadium Express bus service transported over 216,000 fans. During the 2013 season the Dodger Stadium Express service transported over 186,000 Dodger fans.
Funding under the MSRC and ExpressLanes grants will be used to offset the cost of fares on the Dodger Stadium Express bus service for passengers possessing a Dodger ticket. Service from Union Station will be provided starting 90 minutes prior to the beginning of the games and will end 45 minutes after the end of the game. Service from the Harbor Gateway Transit Center will be provided starting two hours prior to the beginning of the game and will end 45 minutes after the end of the game.
The Dodger Stadium Express from Union Station this year will begin at Union Station picking up Dodger fans every 10 minutes at a new location in front of Union Station near the taxi zone adjacent to Alameda Street and continue to Dodger Stadium via Sunset Blvd. and Cesar Chavez Avenue. Passengers will be let off and picked up at one of two tops, either behind Center Field or at the Top Deck.
From the Harbor Gateway Transit Center, baseball fans can board buses located at Bay 9 with buses running every 15 minutes. Fans will be dropped off behind Right Field at Dodger Station. Service back to the Harbor Gateway Transit Center will pick up patrons at the same stop after the game.
In addition to bus service, the MSRC grant will fund Metrolink operations providing service to four Dodgers/Angels games on April 4th, July 31, and Aug. 1 and 2.
Again this year, the Dodger Stadium Express bus service includes a dedicated bus lane on Sunset Boulevard to Dodger Stadium where traffic congestion is expected to be heaviest along the route. Thanks in part to funding from the MSRC grant, Metro is partnering with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) for traffic mitigation support that will help expedite trips to and from the games.
Metro will deploy state-of-the-art 40-foot clean burning compressed natural gas (CNG) buses. Dodger game day tickets will be honored as fare payment to ride the bus service. Those without a game day ticket will pay regular one way fares of $1.75 from Union Station and $2.50 from Harbor Gateway Transit Center.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are working closely with Metro to ensure a high level of awareness for this service to Dodger Stadium and plan to continue to promote the service to fans during each game. The Dodger Stadium Express bus service will be provided by Transdev Transportation, Southland Transit and MV Transportation under contract to Metro.
Patrons are encouraged to use the many transportation alternatives that serve Union Station that will connect them to the Dodger Stadium Express. Metro operates the Metro Gold Line from East Los Angeles to Pasadena, the Metro Red/Purple subway lines from Wilshire/Western and North Hollywood to downtown and the Metro Green Line between Norwalk and El Segundo intersects with the Metro Blue Line operating between Long Beach and downtown Los Angeles as well as the Expo Line from Culver City on the Westside to downtown Los Angeles. The Harbor Gateway Transit Center is served by several Metro bus lines, the Metro Silver Line and Torrance Transit.