Aug 26

Aug 26 Travel Tip: Cheap Way to Travel To and From LAX

T.K.

Okay, this is my second time doing this and both were good, so I had to come share.

This morning I had a 6am flight out of LAX, and because I woke up with a persistant stomach ache from the night before, I ended up walking out of the door a tad behind the time I’d told myself I would.

It’s 4:40am and I’m standing outside trying to figure out what to do. An LA metro bus is supposed to be pulling up at 4:45am, but let’s just say the city of Los Angeles does not have the most efficient public transit system. If the bus does come, it’s expected to make it to the stop nearest Union Station at 5:19am and then there’s a 5-minute walk to a shuttle that goes directly into LAX. That shuttle is scheduled to depart Union Station at 5:30am and arrive at LAX at 6:03am. Mind you, my flight starts boarding at 5:45am and Delta usually does this process pretty swiftly.

I need the LA metro bus to come on time. I need it to make it DTLA on time. I need to get into Union Station, but a shuttle ticket, board it and for it to leave on time. I need all of this to happen for me to even have a CHANCE of making my flight.

Or, I need to suck it up and pay $80 for an Uber/Lyft.

What to do? What to do??

The LA metro bus could arrive to the stop, where I need to be picked up, late, or it could not come at all. Neither of these are rare dilemmas in Los Angeles. Then even if I do make it DTLA in decent enough time, the shuttle leaving Union Station could leave late. Or even if the shuttle did leave on time, we could run into traffic on the highway on the way to LAX. This also isn’t uncommon in Los Angeles.

Think fast, T.K.!

Because if you miss this flight, that’ll cost you way more than an 80-dollar ride to the airport (as you know all too well from having to buy new flights more than a few times after missing your original.

I stepped into the middle of the road, peered down the dark street, and saw a bus approaching in the distance.

Yep, I decide to take my chances.

I board the LA Metro Bus and head downtown Los Angeles (that’s what DTLA is, by the way.. I’m trying to type this quickly). I arrive to the bus stop nearest Union Station about a minute and a half early and I take off running towards and into Union Station. I’m zooming down the payment, following my GPS, and I see the shuttle and I run in front of it, juuuuuust in case he was about to pull off in that very moment, he couldn’t. What was he going to do, hit me?

I greet the driver, winded, saying, “Morning! I’m getting on! Let me go get a ticket!” I run to the ticket booth and grabbed my debit card out of my tote bag so quickly, I basically throw it at the lady inside, who didn’t seem to be much of a morning person. (Ma’am, why do you have this shift?!)

I run back towards the shuttle with ticket in hand and the driver was still standing outside of the door. I said, “oh, I’m early! I have time for a picture?!”

“What do you want a picture of, this bus?! Look at all this beauty behind you,” the driver says as he gestures to the palm trees and clean tan architecture of Union Station up against the early morning’s night sky.

He takes two pictures of me and I thank him without even looking, because, load up this bus, sir. I’m not trying to hold myself, nor anyone else, up. Let’s go!

I run onto the bus, still somewhat frantic, and realize there’s no one on it. All the people outside were waiting to board. Whoopsie daisy, didn’t mean to be rude, but I proceeded to enjoy my seat right up front.

The driver held small talk with me, obviously thinking I was graduating high school or entering college, asking me what I’m going to study. I was flattered. He then let all the other passengers board.

We flew down the highway in the more-open carpool lanes and made it to LAX in good time. I politely, but with determination, asked everyone if I could go ahead of them in the TSA and baggage scanning lines because my flight gate was closing.

Say like my Teedie, I got favor. And baby, favor ain’t fair.

I made it. Thank Ya, Lawdt!

Okay, the whole point of this was to tell you that I paid $10 to get to LAX instead of $80!

I highly recommend taking the LAX FlyAway Shuttle when traveling to or from Los Angeles International Airport. Don’t stress yourself out like me though.. Leave your house on time. They’ll take care of everything else from there.