Category Archives: Metro Lifestyle

Go Metro to get green

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Mayor Villaraigosa with some student volunteers at last year’s Green Festival in Los Angeles. Photo by Carla Finnerman

Green Festival is coming to the L.A. Convention Center next weekend to show Angelenos the latest and greatest in sustainable products. The event features over 300 eco-friendly businesses, renowned speakers, workshops, yoga classes and more.

Go Metro to Green Festival and get a free 1-day pass. Just show your valid TAP card at the box office for a free ticket. Those with a Metro employee ID or L.A. County employee ID can also get a free ticket. In addition, the first 200 people to present a TAP card or L.A. County employee ID at the festival store can also get a 50% discount on Green Festival T-shirts.

Green Festival will be on Saturday, Nov. 17 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 18 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Regular admission is $10 for one day and $20 for the whole weekend if purchased online, or $15 and $25 at the door. Discounted admission is available to seniors over 65 and students with student IDs.

Free admission is also offered to those who bike to the event and park with the bike valet. If you live too far away to bike all the way to the convention center, let Metro take you part way there. Bikes are welcome on all Metro buses and trains.

The L.A. Convention Center is located near the Pico Station off the Blue and Expo lines. The Metro Silver Line also stops in front of the convention center. Check Trip Planner for more routes and connections.

Go Metro Weekends, Nov. 2 – 4

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Don’t miss AFI FEST, going on now until Nov. 8. This film fest brings you the best of this year’s cinema, from studio blockbusters to indie hits. Film tickets are free and are needed to get into the movie of your choice. A full schedule of events is online. Register online and reserve your tickets now, or try your luck at the door by lining up for RUSH tickets. Films and activities will be taking place around Hollywood: Hollywood&Highland (Chinese 6 Theatres located on level 3), Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Egyptian Theatre and Roosevelt Hotel.

 Metro is also offering exclusive discounts to those attending AFI. Show your valid TAP card and AFI badge or ticket to get discounts at 10 different locations, including Pig n’ Whistle and Coffee Bean. (Metro Red Line or Rapid 780 to Hollywood/Highland)

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Metro running enhanced service for HARD Day of the Dead

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Going to HARD Day of the Dead? Plan on going Metro. The music extravaganza is taking place Saturday, November 3 at the LA State Historic Park, conveniently near the Gold Line Chinatown Station. The fun starts at 6 p.m. and lasts until 2 a.m.

Here are few tips for Metro riders going to the event.

  • All concert goers ride FREE to the event ONLY if possessing their event ticket or wristband.
  • Last Gold Line trains to Pasadena and East LA will depart Chinatown Station exactly 30 minutes after conclusion of the event.
  • Last Red Line train to North Hollywood will hold for the last Gold Line from Chinatown and depart Union Station approximately 40 minutes after conclusion of the event.
    • All further connections from this trip will be held for passengers destined to Blue, Expo, Green, or Orange Line.
  • Full platform length trains will be running on both Red & Gold Lines to provide extra capacity.  Please use entire platform length when boarding.
  • There will NOT be any extended hours beyond the regular schedule for the Silver Line. However, Foothill Transit’s Silver Streak to El Monte provides 24-hour service.

Ride Expo Line to Endeavour exhibition

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Pick up one of these babies from the ExploraStore at the CSC. Go Metro to get a 10% discount. Photo by waltarrrrr via Flickr Creative Commons

Endeavour opens to the public tomorrow at the California Science Center. Let the Expo Line be your ride there! Not only will you save parking money, you’ll be able to get a 10% discount at the ExploraStore by showing your valid TAP card, which will come in handy for all those Endeavour souvenirs.

The California Science Center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Timed tickets are required to see the Endeavour Space Shuttle. The best option is to purchase tickets in advance online; tickets are free but there is a $2 service charge. Make your Endeavour visit part of a whole-day Expo Park event. There are plenty of other exhibits to check out at the CSC, including Cleopatra - discounted tickets available if you go Metro - and great IMAX movies. And the Natural History Museum and African American Museum are both right next door.

Both Expo Park/USC Station and Expo/Vermont Station will drop you off conveniently close to Expo Park. The Expo Line connects with the Blue, Red and Purple lines at 7th/Metro. Check Trip Planner for more connections.

Update available for Go Metro Los Angeles app for smartphones

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The update was posted earlier this week to the iTunes store. Here are the links for the iPhone app, the iPad app and the Android app.

Here’s a rundown of the revisions:

iPhone/iPad

•Compatible with iOS6
•Schedule data is updated
•New iPad-centric user interface
•Minor bug fixes

Android

•Schedule data is updated

Also, I wanted to help explain one screen that users may find confusing when using the map to determine when the next train is leaving. For example, let’s say you use the map function to determine you’re at Union Station and you want to find what time the next few Gold Line trains are leaving. The app shows you this screen:

The easiest way to understand this is pay attention to the station mentioned in each line. In the first line above, the app is you telling that a Sierra Madre Villa-bound train is arriving at Union Station at 1:01 p.m.

The second line is confusing because there is a train arriving at Union Station at 7:52 p.m. — but it’s headed out of service, thus the reason there’s no ultimate destination. That’s a programming glitch that is being fixed.

The third line is telling you that a train bound for Atlantic Station is arriving at Union Station at 1:04 p.m.

Another example for the Red/Purple Line subway from Union Station:

Above, ignore the first and third lines — they’re only telling you what times that Red Line and Purple Line trains are arriving at Union Station. The information you probably want is when trains are leaving Union Station! That’s in the second line — showing the next train to North Hollywood at 1:22 p.m.  For the Purple Line, the info is in the fourth line, which shows the next train bound for Wilshire/Western leaving at 1:17 p.m.

Finally, how do you like the Go Metro app? Any suggestions? Comment please.

Go Metro Weekends, Oct 26 – 28

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LA Plaza preparations for Day of the Dead. Photo from LA Plaza Official Facebook

It’s the weekend before Halloween! Get in the mood with Ghostbusters, screening at the Egyptian Theatre this Friday. The movie starts at 7:30 p.m. and general admission is $11. (Metro Red Line to Hollywood/Highland, Metro Bus 222 to Hollywood/Las Palmas)

Can we get the Cookie Monster in the house? For Your Art (6020 Wilshire Blvd.) presents Artists’ Books and Cookies on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Each hour will feature a different locally famous cookie – while supplies last – selected by food writer Krista Simmons. While noshing on the delicious baked goods, enjoy presentations on artists’ books. The art tasting is free to attend. (Metro Rapid 780 or 720 to Wilshire/Fairfax)

If you haven’t seen Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog…well, why haven’t you? Go enrich your life at the movie’s charity screening, also showing seasons of The Guild and Husbands, at Barnsdall Gallery Theatre this Saturday. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the movie begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 and will also get you a Dr. Horrible swag bag. Proceeds will go towards Best Friends Animal Society, and there will also be an on-site canned food drive. (Metro Red Line to Vermont/Sunset)

Celebrate the Day of the Dead at LA Plaza on Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. The event includes music, dance and hands-on workshops and is free to attend. LA Plaza is near Union Staion. (Metro Rapid 728 or Bus 96 to Spring/Cesar Chavez)

Random Acts of Music might happen to you this afternoon

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Imagine this greeting you after a long day at work! Photo from Pasadena Symphony and POPS Official Facebook

The Pasadena Symphony Association will be breaking down the barriers between musicians, concert halls, and the public with a new free performance series – Random Acts of Music.

The first events in this ongoing series of public performances take place this evening. Members of the Pasadena Symphony will be performing at both the Gold Line Memorial Park Station and Del Mar Station between 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for the rush hour crowd. They will also be handing out coupons to Metro riders for their upcoming performance on Sunday, November 3.

Future performances will take place across Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley throughout the year in public locations to engage new audiences with classical music. The Pasadena Symphony is easily reached by the Gold Line Memorial Park Station.

It's story time for adults this weekend at USC

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USC Doheny Library. Photo by Kansas Sebastian via Flickr

Love a great story? L.A. is full of them and many will be revealed this Saturday at USC as “L.A. As Subject,” the Los Angeles Archives Bazaar, offers unprecedented access to more than 80 collections of papers, books and other material.

Documentary filmmakers, students, journalists, researchers and casual history buffs interested in L.A.stories will discover them through these seldom seen resources Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in USC’s Doheny Library, a short walk from the Metro Expo Line Expo Park/USC Station.

In addition to archived material not usually available to the public, there will be panel discussions, including a look at “CSI Los Angeles: Archival Case Study Investigations” where forensics meet research; the history of Los Angeles in vintage postcards; Southern California ranchos and homesteads featuring speakers from Pio Pico State Historic Park, Rancho Los Cerritos and the Homestead Museum and Car Culture Los Angeles.

Large institutions such as the Getty Research Institute, Autry National Center of the American West, the California Historical Society, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and several UCLA libraries will show items from their libraries, archives and museums.

Other organizations, including Friends of Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, the Writers Guild Foundation Library & Archive, Southern California Genealogical Society, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives and, of course, the Metro Transportation Library & Archive, will offer access to documents telling stories of their respective topics.

Save time and money by taking the Expo Line to Expo Park/USC Station for “LA as Subject.” For more information on the event go to the Metro Library’s Primary Resources blog.

Go Metro to A Cooler Ride with Michael Lejeune this Thursday

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Buttons from one of Metro’s award winning marketing campaigns, designed by the in-house creative team.

Go visit the Hammer Museum on Thursday, Oct 25 at 7:30 p.m. to catch A Cooler Ride with Michael Lejeune, a free public lecture with Metro’s Creative Director. He’ll be talking about how he and his creative team apply bold design strategies to make public transportation cool. Go Metro and receive a 10% discount in the museum store. You’ll also have the opportunity to win a Graphic Design: Now in Production streetpole banner and catalog if you show your TAP card at the box office.

A Cooler Ride is presented in conjunction with the Hammer Museum exhibition Graphic Design: Now in Production, featuring some of the most vibrant graphic design work created since 2000.

The Hammer Museum can be reached on the Metro Rapid 761 to Westwood/Lindbrook or the Metro Rapid 720 to Wilshire/Westwood. Check Trip Planner for more routes and connections.

After record weekend ridership, Metrolink pushes for more, more, more!

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Hmmm, wonder what Metrolink is trying to promote with this rail car! Here’s the news release from the regional commuter rail agency partially funded by Metro:

Los Angeles – After experiencing record weekend ridership the weekend of Oct. 6, Metrolink is rolling out another eye-catching vinyl-wrapped train car – this one, promoting the popular $10 Weekend Pass. Beginning Monday, Southern Californians will see the 85 foot, royal purple train car traveling throughout the region.

Since the introduction of the weekend pass in July of 2011 weekend ridership has nearly doubled. The $10 Weekend Pass allows for unlimited travel anytime, anywhere system-wide from 7:00 p.m. on Friday through Sunday.

This is Metrolink’s fourth train wrap following two Bike Car wraps and a Breeder’s Cup train wrap.

ABOUT METROLINK (www.metrolinktrains.com)

Metrolink is Southern California’s regional commuter rail service in its 19th year of operation. The Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA), a joint powers authority made up of an 11-member board representing the transportation commissions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, governs the service. Metrolink operates over seven routes through a six-county, 512 route-mile network. Metrolink is the third largest commuter rail agency in the United States based on directional route miles and the seventh largest based on annual ridership.