we have in LA a very limited mass transit system. something that hasn't really been established throughout and put to good use. we have buses in most places but they don't get you to where you need to be in a decent amount of time. we have some light rail provided by metrolink. i haven't explored these. since we live so close to a station, i thought every now and then, we should go exploring on the metrolink on the weekends to see where it goes and if it's convenient. if you have only a couple people in your party going, or just yourself, it's probably not bad. but if you have a full car's worth, it might be cheaper per person to just use a car.

norwalk station bee

our trip today was to ride the greenline all the way to redondo beach, where it ends, and then transfer to the bus to go to the redondo beach pier. this trip one way cost $1.50 and took about 90 minutes. it takes longer waiting for transit i think. the return was $1.25 and took about the same time to get home. for the short trip we took, we didn't need to buy a day pass ($3).

we drove to the station and parked the car for free. many spaces available for free on the weekend but during the weekdays, it is heavily used by commuters and the lot is full. we bought a ticket and rode but no one checked our tickets and there was no machine to insert the ticket into, unlike japan. meaning, you could ride the damn thing for free. we guessed that it's because it's the weekend and probably on the week days there are workers spot checking. the bus though, you definitely have to pay. even if we didn't pay at the metro and just the bus, we would've only saved about $0.25 so it's not worth it to skip out on paying, especially if you get caught. hell, over pay to show that we need more mass transit in this county!

in congnito as 'pretty intense girl'

anyway, it's interesting that your ticket has a time limit. you have 2 hours to use it, gasp! this means i can't get off at every exit and photograph each station. each had some interesting artwork or benches. also, the light rail doesn't stop for very long at each station, just long enough for people to get off. the doors stay open a little longer in japan, i think. i mentioned the time limit thing because i think in japan, the ticket is good for the whole day. this means that people can save time when going to big events by buying your return ticket when you arrive at your destination, so you don't have to stand in long lines when your event ends and everyone is in line. plus, (more comparisons to japan 'cos that's what i know!) the buzzer sound at each stop was HORRID. it hurt my ears. and it didn't vary. in japan, the bell sound at each stop is different so you know if it's your stop or not. you can start to doze off and not pay attention, just have your ears alert for your station bell.

view from redondo beach pier

the bus we took in redondo was the beach cities bus. the stops have no marks as to which numbers the buses are and the times. we were waiting and waiting and starting to worry. the bus did come but damn, i really would like to see a timetable!

the day at the pier was ok. i loved that pier as a kid for the games or carousel or grey weather. i can't remember what was there and why, just that for about a year, me and my brother loved it at the pier and always wanted to go.

i'm not sure which city we'll explore next. there's also the blue line, red line, gold line, etc.