Public Transport from LAX to Santa Monica: Catching the Big Blue Bus
Public Transport from LAX to Santa Monica: Catching the Big Blue Bus
If you're flying into Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and heading to the beautiful coastal city of Santa Monica, you can use public transport to get there: the Big Blue Bus. We love public transport and try to use it everywhere we travel. However, LA public transport gets a pretty bad write up.
For us travelling from NZ at the moment, the currency conversion is terrible. Instead of paying for a taxi or Uber/Lyft to Santa Monica from LAX, we decided to give the bus a go as it’s a pretty direct route. Here’s our experience and a guide for you if you’re looking to use this for the first time.
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Where to catch the bus from at LAX?
Once you’ve arrived and got your luggage, head to the signs for Ground Transportation. Take a free ‘Lot South Shuttle’ to the LAX New Transit Center. This was a bit confusing as the shuttle we took said ‘Staff Shuttle’. There were friendly guides outside of the terminal, so if you want to double check you are getting on the right bus you can confirm with one of them. These shuttles come every 15 – 20 minutes.
LAX New Transit Center
After around 10 minutes you’ll arrive at the Transit Center. This is basically an outdoor area servicing a number of different buses. A brand-new Center is currently under construction and should open later in 2024. Once you arrive here it’s easy – stand by the Big Blue bus stop and wait (should be Bay 1). There are two options Route 3 (schedule here) and Rapid 3 (schedule here). Make sure you don’t get on the one that’s going towards LAX.
How do I pay?
There are a few different ways that you can pay. I had a LA bus card (TAP) from ages ago and I could top this up at the machine at the Transit Centre. You can also pay with cash (must be exact change). There is also a very convenient option of paying for a mobile ticket through the Transit app.
Transit app
This app is handy for a number of destinations, not just LA. But what is great about LA is you can buy the Big Blue Bus tickets on the app. All you need to do is download the app and it will recognise that you are near a Big Blue Bus. You click on that and buy your ticket, then show the driver. Super easy! This works really well if you have an E Sim, which we would highly recommend when visiting LA.
How much does it cost?
This depends on how you pay. For a single trip, the costs are as below, and it includes two hours of free transfers on the Big Blue Bus network.
- Cash: $1.25 (exact fare only)
- LA TAP card: $1.10
- Mobile ticket: $1.10
How long does the bus take?
This depends on the time of day but typically it isn’t very fast – the buses don’t have separate lanes, so they also have to battle the bad LA traffic. It took us approximately 50 minutes to get from LAX to Santa Monica.
Is it scenic?
Honestly, not really, so don’t get your hopes up too much here. But you do get to see the real sights of LA. Unfortunately, it doesn’t run alongside the stunning coastline of the Pacific Ocean.
Would we take it again?
Yes, but we would weigh up the situation. Cost wise absolutely because it cost $2.20 for two of us in comparison to an Uber was approximately $40 (without tip). It was slower than an Uber, but we were still stuck in the same traffic, the route is just a little less direct. There were some interesting characters on the bus and at the Transit Centre, but nothing that made us feel uncomfortable.
It’s not the easiest way to get into the city compared to other public transport we’ve taken around the world from airports, and because of that, we wouldn’t recommend it for everyone. If you’ve never used public transport before, this might not be the best place to start. It will hopefully become a better experience when the new Transport Centre opens later this year. But if you’re on a budget it’s definitely doable and you will for sure save some cash!
Enjoy your trip to Los Angeles!
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