Foothill Transit Silver Streak

Review is for the time period of October 2012 — January 2013.
I always got on at West Covina Mall in between 7:00 — 7:30am heading to DTLA. That stop was always almost a first bus, so seating was easy. No complaints with the ride. Became familiar with the bus driver who was usually the same person. Many of the passengers were regulars so most were familiar with one another. Longest stop would be at the El Monte station. I never had to worry about falling asleep during the ride because I always got off at the last stop around the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising to continue my walk to my then job.
Going home was easy as well, as it would be the first stop along Hill (I think). Towards the end of me using the Silver Streak, most busses got replaced with smaller ones. However, they were much cleaner and new. It didn’t affect me with seating since I always was one of the first to enter. I hope it doesn’t affect seating problems with those who had to get on from later stops.
There were about 5 – 6 times during the ~50 trips I took to work where one bus didn’t show up at all, so we all had to wait for the next bus, which happened to be NOT a new empty bus, and it would be crowded. I believe this had nothing to do with being on a holiday schedule.
Still my favorite bus transportation to use.

This is a good way to travel to downtown LA if you don’t want to deal with heavy traffic. It is solid and reliable public transportation. I usually take it from Plaza West Covina to the L.A. Union Station on Alameda.
The Foothill Silver Streak buses are large than your typical public bus and have that accordion-​like extension and pivot at their center.
The inside of the buses are clean and well maintained and are nicely air conditioned on hot days and heated on cold days.
I recommend getting a TAP card (
) to make getting on and off the bus quick. You can also use the card at Union Station to take the Metro Rail Lines (the subway system).

Ahh, the good ol’ silver streak. I mostly took this bus to get to downtown LA from West Covina. Can’t beat the $ 2.45 one-​way fare, which was a bargain compared to the express buses. Knocking off a star due to inconsistent scheduling. There would be times where 3 buses arrive at the same time, then nothing will show up for over 30 minutes, which was a huge annoyance. However, it was a plus that the bus ran ²⁴⁄₇.
Overall, a good value and convenient method of traveling to and from downtown LA

Unreliable. For a bus that supoose to run every 15 mins on weekdays. Expect to wait 45mins. Crap service. Never on time.

Have taken the Silver Streak between downtown and Montclair several times. Great experience. Buses are clean and comfortable, they run often even on weekends, and the fare is cheap. Door to door from downtown, I’ve discovered it’s actually faster than Metrolink since I don’t have to get to Union Station first.

Goes where I want, and relatively quickly. Runs frequently (8 times/​hr) for commuting times and (3 times/​hr) for off-​peak hours.
Pomona to West Covina was about 30 minutes. West Covina to DTLA was 40 minutes. Trip was $ 2.45. Can’t beat that price when the equivalent metrolink ride is $ 9 and takes the same amount of time (1 hr from Union Station to Pomona).
The major bottleneck of the system is when the bus moves from the El Monte Station to the Freeway’s carpool lane on the East bound trip. That might add up to half an hour to the commuting time during rush hour. Still worth the cost/​time.
My request is for longer operating hours during the weekends. It doesn’t go anywhere during the weekends.

I usually take this or the Metro Silver Line to get to downtown LA, whichever ones arrives first. I usually add a day pass to my TAP card since it’s $ 2.45 each way so roundtrip, you pay only 10 cent more. I even take it at night and have had no problems.
My only complaint is that I wish the times were better coordinated with the Metro Silver Line. I’ve seen numerous times both the Silver Line and Silver Streak arrive at El Monte station the same time on Saturday. Because it’s a weekend schedule, the next Silver Streak bus doesn’t arrive until another 30 min, and the next Silver Line is 20 min. So it’d be better if both Metro and Foothill Transit stagger the schedules more!
Another thing I’ve noticed is if you’re attending an event at Staples Center/​LA Live, the bus stop eastbound is in a bit of a sketchy area on Olive​.St. I’d probably be OK taking it during the day, but a bit scary at night. So I usually take the Silver Line stop on Figueroa where there’s way more traffic and people.

The fare is fair but rarely on time.

I used to love taking the Silver Streak but lately as in the past few weeks it’s becoming more unreliable. The buses are never on time anymore and sometimes up to 30 – 40 minutes late. The silver streaks are suppose to arrive at each stop 10 – 12 minutes apart on weekdays but don’t count on it. I called and spoke to an operator and all she could say was «the buses are broken down» and this is happening more and more.
The AC on the buses are worthless and you’re lucky if you’re on one that works. I really can’t complain much since it’s a public transportation and I understand running a few minutes late but 30 – 40 minutes late constantly?
I’m giving 2 stars since it still gets me from point A to point B but rarely on time.

Even though from Rowland I had to transfer to this bus at West Covina, this is a great affordable way to get to DTLA. If you live near West Covina Mall or El Monte Station, this bus is a crazy good deal at $ 2.75 running ²⁴⁄₇. Compare that with $ 4.90 and last bus 8:30am for the Commuter Express 493 line going from Rowland to DTLA; it’s a great alternative and the only way if you need to get out to LA in the afternoon.

I love Metrolink. And I love the various park n ride express buses. But Silver Streak takes the gold (see what I did there?) in for best public transportation option to get from the San Gabriel Valley to Downtown.
Of those three options it is the cheapest — $ 2.75 one way, compared with ~5.00 for the park n ride express and ~6.00 for Metrolink. (with a 7 day pass).
I’ll admit to having a preference for trains, but buses in LA are just a bit more convenient. Instead of having to transfer to some other bus at Union Station, the silver streak hits enough stops to get you where you need to go. And if you hit an after work happy hour, there’s still buses that you can take late into the night.
Better hours, better routes, better cost — silver streak makes downtown commuting actually possible.

Thank you Silver Streak for being an express to downtown L.A. Thank you for being clean, comfy, and air conditioned. Thank you for being on time MOST of the time. Thank you for not having weird people talk to me asking me what time it is or how wonderful Jesus is. Thank you for being the good first part of a lengthy bus trip to Torrance that I do not enjoy all of the time. Thank you for having a stop so close to my house. Thank you for being cheap.
Thank You.