Expo Line to Santa Monica to Begin Service May 20

[Orli Belman]

All aboard! The Expo Line officially opens on May 20. 

Metro's The Source Blog has all the info (or at least 17 things) you need to know about this new service. Here are a few of them. Read Steve Hymon's post for the full list.

•This is the first rail transit to the far Westside since streetcars halted service in 1953

•Trains will run every 12 minutes at most times of the day with service beginning about 4 a.m. on weekdays and ending around midnight. On Friday and Saturday nights, Metro Rail runs until 2 a.m.

•The trip between 7th/Metro Center in downtown Los Angeles and the Downtown Santa Monica Station is expected to take 46 minutes.

•There will be parking available at three stations: Expo/Sepulveda (260 spaces), Expo/Bundy (250 spaces) and 17th Street/Santa Monica College (70 spaces). Metro staff have proposed a test parking fee program for these stations that still must be approved by the Metro Board of Directors. The fee would be $2 a day for those using Metro Rail.

•A regular adult fare on Metro is $1.75 and includes two hours of free transfers. That means you will be able to travel between Santa Monica and destinations such as DTLA, Long Beach, Pasadena and Hollywood for a $1.75. Please see this page for more info on discounts for seniors, students, the disabled and Medicare recipients. There are also other transit subsidy programs for eligible low-income recipients.

•There is a paved bike path along much of the Expo Line’s second phase — between Culver City and Palms and then between Overland Avenue and Colorado/17th Street in Santa Monica. The city of Los Angeles is working on finding the best route between Palms and Overland Avenue, where the train travels in a narrow trench. There is a bike lane on Exposition Boulevard on the first phase of the Expo Line west of Vermont Avenue. There is a paved bike path between La Cienega/Jefferson Station and Culver City Station. Here’s the Metro bike map.