Photo by Travis Swicegood, via Flickr creative commons.

The regular season starts Monday with the Dodgers hosting the San Diego Padres at 1 p.m. For those who don’t want to deal with Opening Day traffic — always a bear — here is what you need to know about Metro’s Dodger Stadium Express bus service from Los Angeles Union Station and Harbor Gateway Transit Center to the ballpark:

•Rides are free to those holding game tickets.

•Service is beginning at 10:10 a.m. to accommodate the huge crowds expected.

•At Union Station, fans will now catch the Dodger Stadium Express on the Alameda Street side of Union Station near the taxi stand.  You can exit inside Dodger Stadium at one of two stops – behind Center Field and at the Top Deck. Service will pick up at the same stops after the game. Return service runs until 45 minutes after the final out.

•The buses from Harbor Gateway (Bay 9) will use the ExpressLanes on the 110 to help speed up travel to games and will also be stopping at the following Harbor Transitway stations: Slauson, Manchester, Harbor Freeway, Rosecrans, or Harbor Gateway Transit Center (Bay 9). You’ll be dropped off behind Right Field. Service back to the South Bay will pick up at the same stop after the game. Return service begins five minutes after the final out, and ends 45 minutes after the final out.

•Here is a map of the Dodger Stadium Express service:

•Union Station is the primary transit hub for the region and is served by the Metro Red/Purple Line subway, the Metro Gold Line, the Silver Line, numerous Metro Bus lines, Amtrak and Metrolink. Please click here for Metro maps and timetables of every rail and bus line. Here is the Metro trip planner (some riders prefer Google Transit).

Here’s the news release from Metro :

Metro will offer Dodger Stadium Express bus service from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles to Dodger Stadium beginning on Saturday, April 4, for the Dodgers/Angels exhibition game and throughout the 2015 regular season under a grant approved by the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC).  The Dodgers’ 2015 season kicks off on Opening Day against the San Diego Padres on Monday, April 6

In addition, Metro also will offer the Dodger Stadium Express service from the Harbor Gateway Transit Center serving the South Bay area with buses using the Metro ExpressLanes along the I-110 Harbor Freeway to transport baseball fans to Dodger Stadium.

Funding for the service from Union Station is made in support of clean fuel transit service to link Union Station to Dodger Stadium. The MSRC awards funding within the South Coast Air Basin from a portion of the vehicle registration fee set aside for mobile source projects that result in emission reductions. Funding for the service from the Harbor Gateway Transit Center is being provided by Metro’s ExpressLanes Net Toll Reinvestment Grant Program.

Last year the Dodger Stadium Express bus service transported over 216,000 fans. During the 2013 season the Dodger Stadium Express service transported over 186,000 Dodger fans.

Funding under the MSRC and ExpressLanes grants will be used to offset the cost of fares on the Dodger Stadium Express bus service for passengers possessing a Dodger ticket. Service from Union Station will be provided starting 90 minutes prior to the beginning of the games and will end 45 minutes after the end of the game. Service from the Harbor Gateway Transit Center will be provided starting two hours prior to the beginning of the game and will end 45 minutes after the end of the game.

The Dodger Stadium Express from Union Station this year will begin at Union Station picking up Dodger fans every 10 minutes at a new location in front of Union Station near the taxi zone adjacent to Alameda Street and continue to Dodger Stadium via Sunset Blvd. and Cesar Chavez Avenue. Passengers will be let off and picked up at one of two tops, either behind Center Field or at the Top Deck.                                      

From the Harbor Gateway Transit Center, baseball fans can board buses located at Bay 9 with buses running every 15 minutes. Fans will be dropped off behind Right Field at Dodger Station. Service back to the Harbor Gateway Transit Center will pick up patrons at the same stop after the game.

In addition to bus service, the MSRC grant will fund Metrolink operations providing service to Dodgers/Angels games on July 31, and August 1 and 2.

Again this year, the Dodger Stadium Express bus service includes a dedicated bus lane on Sunset Boulevard to Dodger Stadium where traffic congestion is expected to be heaviest along the route. Thanks in part to funding from the MSRC grant, Metro is partnering with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) for traffic mitigation support that will help expedite trips to and from the games.

Metro will deploy state-of-the-art 40-foot clean burning compressed natural gas (CNG) buses. Dodger game day tickets will be honored as fare payment to ride the bus service. Those without a game day ticket will pay regular one way fares of $1.75 from Union Station and $2.50 from Harbor Gateway Transit Center.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are working closely with Metro to ensure a high level of awareness for this service to Dodger Stadium and plan to continue to promote the service to fans during each game. The Dodger Stadium Express bus service will be provided by Transdev Transportation, Southland Transit and MV Transportation under contract to Metro.

Patrons are encouraged to use the many transportation alternatives that serve Union Station that will connect them to the Dodger Stadium Express. Metro operates the Metro Gold Line from East Los Angeles to Pasadena, the Metro Red/Purple subway lines from Wilshire/Western and North Hollywood to downtown and the Metro Green Line between Norwalk and El Segundo intersects with the Metro Blue Line operating between Long Beach and downtown Los Angeles as well as the Expo Line from Culver City on the Westside to downtown Los Angeles. The Harbor Gateway Transit Center is served by several Metro bus lines, the Metro Silver Line and Torrance Transit.

For specific route and schedule information visit www.metro.net or call 323.GO.METRO (323.466.3876).