LAX to Pomona College

February 28, 2008 8:00 PM

What is the cheapest way to get to either Pomona College or Ontario Airport from LAX without having to resort to a cab, a rental car or a 40-mile hike?

Judging from LAX's website, there appears to be a massive, disorganized array of public transportation options, and I am not sure which ones, if any, will get me to either of these locations. I have never been to Southern California, so if anyone is familiar with the public transportation provided around LAX, please chime in.

Barring any delays, I should be arriving at LAX at around 7:30 PM on Friday, March 14th. Getting anywhere quickly is not necessary, but keeping it within a couple of hours would be nice.

posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam to travel & transportation (8 answers total)

You can get to Pomona/Claremont/Etc by taking the train out of the city. Check out www.metrolinktrains.com and the San Bernadino line.
posted by iamabot at 8:03 PM on February 28, 2008

Definitely Metrolink, there is a stop right in Claremont at the corner of Pomona College. Take it from Union Station, San Bernadino line as stated above.
posted by mayfly wake at 8:05 PM on February 28, 2008

you can get from lax to union station for $4 using the flyaway.

you have a reasonable shot of making it from lax to union station in time to make the 9pm metrolink to claremont.
posted by jimw at 8:22 PM on February 28, 2008

There are either minivan or 15 passenger van shuttles to and from LAX. These are fixed price (cheaper than taxi for sure), but carry several people going to the same general region, so can take a bit longer than going direct. Might be faster than Metrolink, depending on the timing.
posted by lorimt at 8:29 PM on February 28, 2008

If the metrolink isn't running, super shuttle is OK.
posted by lalochezia at 12:35 AM on February 29, 2008

Last time I took a SuperShuttle from LAX to Pomona, it cost around $50, but it might be more now.
posted by thewittyname at 2:14 PM on February 29, 2008

When SuperShuttle picks up at LAX, sometimes the driver will circle for a long time looking for passengers heading your way. I spent two hours circling the airport after an international flight once, man did that suck.
posted by Scram at 7:32 AM on March 1, 2008

Cheapest way is to take free bus from LAX to subway system, 2 transfers on the subway to get you to union station, then get the metrolink to claremont (really unpleasant if you have lots of bags and takes forever). Slightly better is to take the flyaway to union and then the metrolink. Either of these will take you 2-3 hours and cost under $20.

Super shuttle when my friends have taken it is about $60 i think and probably takes 1-2 hours depending on traffic.

Are you coming to visit friends or as a prospective student. If so you might want to ask if your friend or you host can bribe a friend to pick you up. I bet for 20 or $30, they would be able to find someone willing to pick you up.

Not that you asked but for future reference, if you can find a flight to ontario airport that is not more than $50 different it is worth it over LAX. Ontario is so much better in so many ways and a heck of a lot easier to get to and from (someone from pomona would probably be willing to pick you up for $5 or free if you asked nicely)
posted by vegetableagony at 12:42 AM on March 4, 2008