Dodger Stadium Express

Took the bus close to 2 HOURS to get back to Union Station after the game. Parking lot was a mess as they let people park in driving lanes so they of course were blocking traffic. Seemed like everyone was heading the same way. How about adding more exits or controlling traffic! Also, how about not parking cars in driving lanes! No wonder why people get into fights in the parking lot. No control what so ever. They only care about selling more and more and forget about those and actually want to help out by taking this «Express» bus.

Harbor express from South Bay: they’re getting better, but still no real benefit over driving.
Good: left in time from Harbor Gateway, only 3 short stops. Ride home they left right away. Bus driver wasn’t familiar w the route almost took the 105 west
Bad: there’s no dedicated bus lanes until you get to Sunset… so, if you drove same time as bus leaves you’ll be parked sooner. Driver exits at Adams, but didn’t even take the bus lanes on Fig? no explanation by her, maybe we just had a bad driver.

You are in the same traffic as everyone else. Not enough buses after the game is over. Might just walk the 1.8 miles. Will never try this again. Cost for parking is around the same. Bad idea.

Well first of all if you’re wondering if taking the shuttle takes longer than if you were just to drive yourself, yes it does take longer.
I rode a Metro rail line into Union Station and transferred to the Dodger shuttle. There were plenty of open seats on the shuttle. The shuttle drove in a dedicated lane up Sunset Bl. to the stadium. After the game I rode the shuttle back to Union Station and the Metro rail to my car.
My overall experience and impression was good, it did take longer to get to the game and get home, but that’s what I expected. The trip was less stressful because I didn’t need to drive and sit in traffic.
I think public transportation is the way to go, the trip does take more time but the ride is not as stressful, that’s one of the trade offs.
Give it a try and judge for yourself. I’d ride the Metro rail and shuttle again.

The express, which can be found closer to Alameda (not at the bus terminal), is a great option to get to Dodger games. You don’t have to pay for parking, and can get out of the stadium with ease before (jokingly) risk getting thrown into a fight. People may be loud mouths on these MTA buses, but they’re clean, air conditioned, and shuttle you within minutes. They have the buses lined up and even have cheesy promo guys handing out flyers and sodas while you wait to board. If you’re left standing, and don’t want to, then consider waiting for the next shuttle. However, these buses pack up rather quickly so you may be left standing.
This is a simple deal. It’s a free option for those who don’t mind boarding a bus and can make it back to board within 30 minutes of the end of the game. Give it a shot!

When this started it was fine. Eventually they had a dedicated lane for this bus. It was a great idea that never really had the support of the Dodgers organization or the City of Los Angeles. It wasn’t going to be a money maker so that leaves zero initiative for anyone. All this is, is an MTA bus, with a few «DODGERS EXPRESS» stickers on the side, with fans thinking this is some sort of speedy, express shuttle. You’re in the same mess, and it takes longer to get home, unless you make your home Union Station. Getting out of the stadium area is the hardest part. Parking at Union Station is $ 6, so there really isn’t much savings over the $ 10 (purchase in advance online) parking. The Dodger Express lines are long to get out. I always see them waiting as I am leaving the stadium. Might as well wait comfortably in your car and leave when the traffic dies down.
I think it was a great idea, but lack of planning and imagination has left this idea to die.
Remember, McCourt still owns the parking lot rights, and why would he support something that would take money from his pocket?
I’ll say one great thing about this. You can drink and not worry about a DUI. After a few beers, you wont care if you’re late getting home.
UPDATE…
¹⁰⁄₁₅ was game five of the NLDS. I gave the bus another try as I was leaving two hours before game time. That gave me plenty of time if the bus got caught in traffic.
Maybe it was due to it being the post season, but this day the shuttle was fantastic. It had its own designated lane just for the bus. If this was how it always operated, I’d take the bis to every game, but as is anything Los Angeles, it is all show and never really meant to be useful. I won’t hold my breath.

This is a great service, and it’s free with your ticket. I’m betting it saved at least 45 minutes of driving, plus $ 20 in parking. My son and I took it twice from the Harbor Gateway Transit Center while visiting LA – plenty of parking at the park and ride there. The bus goes in the transitway so it saves significant time. And even though we are Giants fans (and we got a lot of playful teasing, but also very pleasant conversation with the Dodgers fans), they let us on. :-) And after the game, getting out is very easy… the buses run every 5 minutes and are lined up after the last pitch – if the first is full, the next one rolls up and you’re off in a few minutes. The only complaint was on one bus the a/​c wasn’t working, but the driver let us know and we opened the windows.

Wow — they ruined a great thing from last year. I went last night and it took almost an hour to get out of the stadium lot and back to Union Station. Last year, there was a dedicated lane that shot the buses out of the lot and returned you to Union Station with 10 minutes. Also, last year the departure point was close to the subway stops, now it’s completely across the station and off to the side.
The net result is this: last year I was home within an hour after a last out. Last night, it took two hours with the changes they made: longer walks & no bus lanes. The result being it makes more sense get a $ 10 advance and go and park if so many are using this now. Remember — it’s still $ 3.50 to get in and out of union station unless you can walk to it, since you need the subway or have to pay $ 6 to park. The little money you save (and you don’t save anything once you’re in a group of 3) is no longer worth it.

Instead of paying $ 15 for parking at Dodger Stadium, why not instead drive to Union Station, park for free, show your Dodgers tickets and take the shuttle FOR FREE!!!
This shuttle is located right inside the Union Station. Park here free of charge, and just line up to take the shuttle. The 2 – 3 mile drive lasts about 15 minutes, depending on traffic. All you have to do is show your ticket to the Dodgers game you’ll be attending. The shuttle drops you off right outside the stadium. Once the game is over, just line up at the multiple shuttle locations and you’re taken back to Union Station and to your car! It is becoming the preferred method for people wanting to go to Dodgers games.
Hey, I think I might have just saved you $ 15 from parking at the stadium! No need to thank me… just shuttle it!!! And one other thing– Go Dodgers!!!

I’m not sure ‘express’ should be in the name of this. Talk about a come on. It’s $ 6 to park at union station even though it’s advertised as free. You have to walk a half mile through union station. After the game you have to stand in a line of 10,000 other people as they bring one bus at a time. Then once we finally got in a bus we still had to wait in the same congested traffic exciting the stadium as everyone else. All together it took about an extra hour just to get home. Not worth it!!!

This service is as good as public transportation (in L.A.) gets!
I haven’t written a review for Unilocal in a really long time, but I was so impressed with this service today that I just had to!
Let me explain myself so you may understand why I gave this service such a high rating. My mother has a physical mobility impairment, and today we went to the Brewers vs Dodgers game, but she was very skeptical at first about this service and going to Dodger’s stadium at all because she remembers the flights of stairs we had to climb when we would pay for the stadium parking and walk very far to get into the stadium. But we loved that this bus brought us to the Top Deck, (our tickets were for the infield reserve section) on it’s second stop, and it brought us very close to our destination, so we didn’t have to climb flights of stairs (we used the ramps) and we didn’t have to pay to park! Plus, we had a breathtaking view of the Downtown L.A. skyline, and to our far right we could see the Hollywood sign and the Griffith Observatory! :D
Before boarding the bus Union Station, we were greeted by the security guards and the bus driver before boarding :) They were very friendly! The bus driver didn’t ask to see our tickets, but I had shown them anyway.
Upon boarding, most of the seats were already taken inside the bus, but I think this service is meant to be efficient by trying to cram as many people as can reasonably and somewhat comfortably fit inside a bus so that they can make the most use of the space inside the bus before leaving for the stadium. I guess this is one of the disadvantages about riding this bus.
There are great advantages to using this service:
1. It’s FREE!
2. You don’t need to park and walk very far to get into the stadium & have to worry about finding your car after the game ends.
3. It helps those with mobility impairments.
4. It showed me different sides of Dodgers Stadium which I had never seen before.
The people who have complained about this service are obviously people who drive on a regular basis and are very impatient with the public transportation system in L.A., which is not always horrible, but traffic in L.A. makes getting around the city pretty awful anyway.
I wanted to give this service 4.5 stars, but I guess Unilocal won’t allow it.

Let’s face it… it’s a pain in the ass to park your car at Dodger Stadium! It’s not that cheap either, $ 10 in advance and $ 20 at the gate. So if you don’t want to deal with the headaches and hassles of getting into and exiting Dodger Stadium or hunting for a free spot, then consider parking ($ 6 per day) at Union Station and taking the free Dodger Stadium Express shuttle over to the ballpark. If you want to save a few bucks, you can also park at a Metro station and take the light rail ($ 1.75 one way) to Union Station.
Depending on traffic and the popularity of the game, it usually takes about 15 — 20 minutes to get to Dodger Stadium riding this express bus. If the bus isn’t already full, the bus will make a stop near Broadway, just underneath the Hill St overpass to pick up more people. Once the bus gets to Dodger Stadium, there are two stops. The first stop is at the right Pavilion/​Field level side. The second stop is at the Top Deck. The line to get back to Union Station can be long if it’s an important game where everybody stays until the final play. Otherwise, I’ve never really had to wait and I almost always stay until the final play.

I don’t know how this is possible, but I have managed to get lost EVERYTIME I leave Dodger Stadium. I have somehow ended up on a random freeway, creepy road with no car in sight, or after driving around for awhile then being back at Dodger Stadium. And this is using GPS on my phone. GRRR! So, the Dodger Stadium Express is perfect for me. I park at Union Station and take the bus, which drops me off at the Stadium and drop me back off at Union Station. I normally try to be on the bus at least an hour before the game starts. (This will get me to the Stadium in time and won’t let me miss out on free promos if they are giving out that day). Once you get to Union Station, follow the signs to the bus line. It’s pretty easy to spot and they have tons of signs throughout the Station. The bus makes 2 stops, one for the lower level and one for the upper level. If you have a ticket to upper level (reserve level and upper tier), make sure to get off on the second stop as Dodger Stadium will not let you enter from the lower level entrance. If you get off at the wrong stop, you will need to trek up a few flight of stairs. They pack the bus in tightly so depending on when you enter, you might be standing.
It’s also easy on the way back. Go back to where the bus dropped you off and there is a bus waiting. If you wait until after the game, the line can get pretty long. But, they have buses continually coming and since they cram you in, the wait is never too long. My only one complaint about this is (as other Unilocalers mentioned) is that there is no dedicated bus lane when you are leaving. So, you are going with the other cars when trying to leave. It’s still better for someone like me who gets lost all the time, but it can take some time to get out of the parking lot. The last time I was there, I left after 7^th inning (I believe that the buses run throughout the game) and it took no time to get back. So, if you are someone who doesn’t mind leaving before the game ends, I would suggest doing that to get back earlier.
You can also save money doing this. Parking at Union Station is $ 6, while parking at the Stadium is $ 15 or $ 30. Overall, a good way to get to Dodger Stadium.

Awesome, these bus lines are great at Union Station. I have gotten on twice and the buses are very clean. They avoid Dodger traffic in and out of the stadium — getting us there and back very quickly. I stopped driving to the stadium because it’s just not worth it. I park across the street from Union Station and walk here to go to the game. I’m put at ease knowing after the game I don’t have to drive in Dodger traffic. Free ride, clean bus, little traffic — perfect.

Yes, it is free but seemed to be as long of a walk as when I park at the stadium. Clean and efficient, but the parking at Union Station is a bit complex and very full. I’m glad I tried it, but next time I may go ahead and park at the stadium.

Amazing way to get to the game once you park on Caesar Chavez in the underground parking and take elevator up to union station and walk to the front where all the other Dodger fans are waiting. Return goes just as quickly but bus is fuller.

Can’t beat free! But walking is free, too.
Depending on how what the traffic is like, there are some days where you can walk to the stadium from Union Station faster than the Dodger Express will get you there. But on hot evenings, who would actually want to do that and have to walk up the hill?
They pack you into the bus like sardines, so if you want to beat the crowds, get there early.
If you took the trains into Union Station, follow the signs to Patsaouras Plaza, where you’ll see the Dodger Express buses taking fans to the Stadium. If you parked underneath (~$ 6), it’s on the east side of the station. Although they say you need to show your game ticket, nobody does. Why else would you be taking the shuttle?
One of the downsides is that if you decide you want to leave the game early, there won’t be any buses back to Union Station. So you’ll have to hoof it or wait.

It’s time for Dodger baseball!
Thank goodness for dodger stadium expresss! Saves my behind for forking over 10 to 15 dollars for parking at dodger stadium and sitting through traffic getting to the stadium and out of the stadium!
Tip: I usually look for meter parking and just pay 2 dollars worth! Meter parking around chinatown is free after 8pm. As for day games Sundays, meter parking is free! You can also pay 6 or 7 dollars at union station.
Location: In the back of Union station! If you are lost, there are signs that point towards the shuttle in the station.
Costs: Free of charge! They don’t check for tickets… so If you want to go on many trips back and forth from union station… knock yourself out! It might be fun if you have nothing else to do!
Service: Love the service! Saves you and me a lot of money! Who wants to pay 10 to 15 dollars to park at the stadium? I sure don’t!
Schedule: Usually 90 minutes before the game… There’s usually a bus every 10 minutes before the game or when buses reach to their capacity! Same for the return trip to Union station!

Taken it twice. No one checked my ticket both times, and they seem to let everyone on. I get there early as suggested since I know traffic can suck getting to Dodger Stadium. They do pack the buses full so be prepared to have to stand during the ride.
For a day game, the line to get back to Union Station was long. When the game ended, there was only one bus there! 15 minutes more buses came.
Second time, buses were arriving even after the fireworks display.
Great service. Saves me $ 15 stadium parking or having to park on the street and walk through the parking lot.

Free! Easy! Convenient!
Why drive when you can take public transport then the express shuttle? Then, you can drink and not worry.
Lots of buses at Union station and lots at the stadium post-​game.