LA to San Bernardino (or Riverside) via Public Transit

September 24, 2015 7:58 PM

I'll be in LA next week without a car and I'd like to see my family who live way out in Riverside County. Is it possible to get out there and back in a single afternoon/evening?

I have a work trip to LA next week and have made tentative plans to see some family who live way out in the Inland Empire next Friday. My relatives are pretty reluctant to drive into LA and back, and they've suggested either Riverside or San Bernardino as a good place to meet. My job has put me up in a hotel right next to the Pershing Square Metro stop. I took a look at Google Maps, and it looks like I can take the San Bernardino Line out there that afternoon around 3 and have an early dinner with my relatives before the last train leaves at 7:30. Riverside might also be possible, but it looks like that would take longer.

I don't really know anything about the train lines involved, though. Is this possible? Is there anything I should know about the commuter trains? I'm a little worried about coming back since if I miss that 7:30 train, I could be in a real pickle. What are my other options in case something goes wrong? Would I be better off taking the train to Riverside instead for some reason I'm not seeing?

I've been living in DC for the last several years, so I'm familiar with how transit systems work generally, but all I know about LA's is that it in some way exists. Renting a car seems like it would be a nightmare (where would I park it, and for how much?), but if it's 100% necessary, I could probably figure out how to use ZipCar. I don't drive often, though, and diving headfirst into LA traffic after more than a year of not driving seems like a recipe for disaster. I looked up how much a cab company claimed it would be to drive me back in an emergency and got quoted a number in the $150 range, assuming I could even get a cab driver to do that drive. Possibly there are some other options I'm not thinking of. I'd be more than happy with the trains as long as it's a realistic option, though.

posted by Copronymus to Travel & Transportation around Los Angeles, CA (12 answers total)

Best answer: I ride the Metrolink San Bernardino line fairly frequently and have always been impressed -- the trains (at least on that line) run on time much more often than Amtrak does. If you wanted to meet your relatives in Claremont instead of Riverside or San Bernardino, you'd have until 8 pm, rather than 7:30, to get back to LA Union Station (from which you can catch the Metro to Pershing Square, I believe).
posted by chicainthecity at 8:09 PM on September 24, 2015 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Also, if you want to call Metrolink for information/assistance, you can reach operators--actual humans, who will answer questions and everything--from 6 am to 10 pm M-F and from 6:30 am to 8 pm Sa-Su at 800-371-LINK.
posted by chicainthecity at 8:24 PM on September 24, 2015

Best answer: I've ridden the Metrolink from San Bernadino back to LA, and it was a very pleasant experience after I was actually on the train. (The panic before getting on the last train was not fun, but as long as you plan accordingly....) It's cheap, too.

You'll want to take the Red line or the Purple line (doesn't matter) from Pershing Square to Union Station where both lines end. From there you can go upstairs and get on the Metrolink Rail in the train yard.
posted by carsonb at 8:27 PM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I used the Uber app to test an estimate from Riverside (downtown) to Perishing station in downtown LA, and was quoted $66-88 - non-surged.

I'd recommend using Uber or Lyft in case something falls through - $66-88 isn't bad - of course, this could go up given surging prices and peak hours, etc.
posted by dubious_dude at 8:47 PM on September 24, 2015

Yeah, the ride out via metrolink will be easy, but you are correct in assessing that there aren't non-car options after the last train. Get comfortable with getting there on time, or prepare to make your uber driver's night.
posted by samthemander at 9:03 PM on September 24, 2015

There's an Enterprise underneath Pershing Square. In a large parking structure. It's like $26 to $40 - depending on what kind of car insurance you have currently that will cover the rental car. I think sometimes your credit card covers the car, too? Otherwise maybe closer to $50 or $60. Max.

I would not hesitate to do this. I use public transport in LA from time to time, but I would not hassle with what you are discussing. For all the transferring and waiting and rushing, you may as well be sitting in traffic in a rental car, with air conditioning and your own music streaming over bluetooth. Seriously.
posted by jbenben at 10:32 PM on September 24, 2015

Best answer: It should be noted that if you're headed east from LA at 3, you're going to be stuck in traffic. It's bad. I live east of DTLA, and I drive into the city during this time sometimes, and I have nothing but pity for the poor bastards trying to get home to the IE during rush hour.

I don't think there is any reason to take the train to Riverside, rather than SB. Well, better restaurants in Riverside. But there are better restaurants still in Claremont if your relatives want to meet you there. I can recommend some if you memail me; I'm there a fair amount.

Worst case scenario isn't that you're stranded in SB. It's that you Uber home from the SB train station at 8pm.

SB to Claremont is 30-40 mins door to door during evening rush hour (traffic goes the other way). Riverside more like 45 mins as the 60 is a mess usually. People in the IE may be willing to drive to Claremont, as it's IE-adjacent. I'd see if you could meet there. If you do memail me for stuff to do.
posted by persona au gratin at 11:51 PM on September 24, 2015

I would probably drive to give myself the flexibility. However I don't think this is a particularly difficult transit trip by any normal standards. In fact by LA standards I think it's pretty easy: one transfer, extremely well marked (it's in Union Station!) and all rail so you don't go have to hunting around for a bus stop. One transfer from a subway line to a commuter rail line in each way is a perfectly normal trip for anyone who is at all used to riding transit.
posted by andrewesque at 4:26 AM on September 25, 2015

Nthing the Claremont suggestion, not least which because I live there, but it's also almost exactly halfway between LA and San Berdoo.

Let me know if you'd like specific restaurant/cafe recommendations, but everything in The Village (Claremont's quaint downtown) is within walking distance of the Metrolink train depot, and there are TONS of good eateries.
posted by Celsius1414 at 10:15 AM on September 25, 2015 [2 favorites]

Best answer: One other logistics tidbit: while Metrolink is mostly reliable, the ticket machines are notorious -- give yourself plenty of time before a scheduled departure to buy a ticket if the machines are being recalcitrant that day.
posted by Celsius1414 at 10:24 AM on September 25, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If you do get stuck out in Riverside (or Claremont, or whatever) after the last Metrolink runs, you don't necessarily need to pay for an Uber to get you all the way back downtown, you could just get one to take you to the furthest east Metro station (Sierra Madre station, I believe) and then you can take the Metro the rest of the way back downtown.
posted by jimw at 9:10 PM on September 25, 2015 [5 favorites]

Yeah, Gold Line goes to Sierra Madre. Soon to Azsua.
posted by persona au gratin at 11:13 PM on September 25, 2015