increasing demand prompts expanded flyaway service from union station
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Operators of the FlyAway service — a non-stop Coach bus connecting air passengers to three heavily-traveled nodes of Los Angeles — present themselves as the easy and inexpensive option to reach LAX.
After this week, they can add efficient to that list.
More frequent early morning departures are being offered Monday through Friday from Union Station to the airport. The new schedule went into effect Monday, and additional buses have been added to the fleet.
The LAX FlyAway at Union Station handled 30% more riders (or a total of 191,509 passengers), from January to June 2008 compared to the same period last year — not a surprising figure as more Angelenos scramble to find cheaper alternatives to driving whenever possible.
Those already discovering the benefits of rail travel will enjoy better train-to-FlyAway bus connections with the expanded service.
The FlyAway operates from Union Station’s Patsaouras Transit Plaza, located on the east side of the station.
The new early morning departure times from Union Station Monday through Friday are: 5:00am, 5:30am, 5:50am, 6:30am, 6:45am, 7:10am, 7:30am, 7:50am, 8:10am, 8:30am, 8:50am, 9:10am, and 9:30am.
From 10:00am to 1:00am, buses will continue to depart every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour.
Service is every hour on the hour between 1:00am and 5:00am. Saturday and Sunday departures remain every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour from 5:00am to 1:00am, and between 1:00am and 5:00am service is every hour on the hour.
For more information, check out lawa.org/flyaway.
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16 comments
Great news!! We’re going to Vegas tomorrow and were already planning to take the FlyAway… it’s a quick hop on the RedLine, then over to the FlyAway terminal outside.
If you’ve never done it, nothing to be afraid of!
Wonderful! The FlyAway truly is the best affordable option to get to LAX from downtown. I’ve used it several times and, so far, it’s been very easy & reliable.
Its easy for me to hop on the Red Line from Hollywood & Vine right outside my house to Union Station and Flyaway. I love the Flyaway
Good to see people are using this service, I love it & use it all the time.
I was so disappointed when they took MegaBus away from me ($1.50 - $5.00 fancy motorcoach ride from Union Station to San Diego or Vegas? Hell-lo!) but glad to see this is so successful.
How long does the Flyaway take to get from Union Station to LAX?
On average, 30 mins. I’ve been on buses that have taken as little as 20 mins, others as much as 50-60 mins, depending on traffic and the time of day.
Stephen, in your post you say the following: “From 10:00am to 5:00am, buses will continue to depart every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour.” I think you mean from 10:00 am to 1:00 am buses will continue to depart every 30 minutes on the hour and the half hour.” Thereafter, it’s every hour from 1:00 am to 5:00 am.
Flyaway is awesome though!
That’s good to hear. Last time I took the flyaway it was standing room only on one of those small buses. Not the big greyhound types but the tiny ones.
By the time the mini-bus got to terminal 5 (I got on at terminal 1), the bus was standing room only. By terminal 7 the bus couldn’t accept any more passengers.
A handful of people at terminal 6 and 7 were really upset. They’d been waiting at least 45 minutes but each bus that stopped was already full.
I had never seen it that crowded before.
I take the FlyAway several times a month. It’s always a large motor coach, not a small bus. Are we talking about the same service? Sometimes is gets pretty full, but I’ve never seen it so full that it can’t handle all the people waiting for it.
Bert: Every once in a while the contractor will run small buses. I’ve seen them before… they’re like the “short buses” that the Thomas Properties, Maguire, etc, run for their buildings to Union Station and back.
I love the Flyaway. I take it every time I fly & have never had a problem. They’ve always been pretty quick to get me there even when the traffic is heavy, usually staying in the carpool lane. For peace of mind and not having to sit in traffic, the $4 fare is is a steal. Glad to hear they’re running more buses.
I love how convenient FlyAway is and it’s actually better than anything rail can ever do since FlyAway takes you directly to the terminal you’re flying out of. No transfer needed like at JFK to the AirTrain from the subway.
Also, I hope that Greyhound will eventually base their operations out of Union Station instead of that wretched bus depot on 7th/Alameda (across from American Apparel). I once spoke to an European tourist who was dropped off there and he had no idea how to get around, so he walked ALL THE WAY from 7th/Alameda into the Financial District! That’s a hell of a long walk, not to mention going through Skid Row (yuck). Greyhound really needs to figure out how to base their main operation out of Union Station so arriving passengers can be directly connected into the expanding rail system.
Brig: Why’d the leave the terminal at 6th and Los Angeles? That’s a very central location, and it seems like it would’ve served them better that way.
I look out my window and I can see the ghost lettering “GREYHOUND” on the side of the building. Now it’s just parking and retail… though it takes up almost an entire city block.
I started using the Van Nuys Flyaway in 2006. It is so much better then I realized. People who don’t use it don’t know what they are missing.
RA: Wait a minute? Greyhound is no longer at their old location (7th/Alameda)?
The reason why I think Greyhound should have their operation out of Union Station instead of 7th/Alameda is because passengers would have a thousand time better experience arriving at Union Station (either being dropped off or boarding a bus) than the 7th/Alameda location, which is in a pedestrian hostile location.
Standing at the corner of 7th/Alameda is a completely different experience compared to standing in Union Station and having the expanding rail network at your service. Even though Megabus didn’t succeed at Union Station, a lot of people apparently still take the Greyhound because it’s an established name.
Plus, having everything consolidated at Union Station will continue to strengthen its regional importance as a transportation hub.
Flyaway seriously is one of the best deals in LA.
I can’t wait until the Little Tokyo Gold Line station is finished so I can take that to Union>Flyaway!
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