USA Bus Lines

New to understanding how to travel around Los Angeles( getting familiar with streets, Metro, etc...)?

How do I get really familiar with the streets and area of Los Angeles really, really well? Im only 17, dont have a drivers license and Im driven around most of the time and not really exposed to a lot of areas( I guess because my family gets a little worried about me being on my own) and I feel like I want to start traveling on my own and getting a lot more familiar traveling around Los Angeles. I also want to get really familiar with taking public transportations systems like the Metro and knowing how the buses, subways and rail lines work and their stations( I checked the website but I want to get a better feeling of it though) Do you think guys that I might need a map or GPS of some sort or what becauseI really want to start getting familiar with the streets and areas in Los Angeles( especially so well that to the point I wont always have to depend on going to the website of metro and checking up the time schedules or directions, because I'll be very knowledgeable of it already) to be honest I'm really new to this and I dont want to get lost while Im being exposed to this new thing for me so if you can help me out everyone because this really means a lot to me if I want to travel and know LA. Thanks!!!

Public Comments

1. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority or LA Metro is the county's largest bus and local rail system. They have Bus Rapid Transit, Commuter Express, Ligth Rail, Subway, and Local bus routes. If you want to go to eastern Los Angeles by bus you could also take Foothill Transit. LA also has municipal bus agencies like LADOT, Montebello Bus, Gardena Transit, Norwalk Transit, and Santa Monica Big Blue Bus. Antelope Valley Transit Authority and Santa Clarita Transit provide service in northern LA County. Metrolink is commuter rail service that connects southwest San Bernardino, northwest Riverside, Ventura, Orange, and north San Diego county with Downtown LA. Most Transit agencies that connect with it accept the ticket as a inter-agency transfer.
2. The only way to learn them really well is to do them. Hopefully, you have been paying attention to where you are going. It seems you have gotten a late start. I started to train my kids before they were 12, so they would know how to get to obvious places around the house (malls, Disneyland, nearby cities, etc.). I would get them to learn the directions (north, south, east, west), and major streets. I would hand them the Thomas Guide and have them figure out where we were and where we were going. I did have one that resisted, and she's pretty directionally challenged. The others do just fine. First thing I bought them when they got a car was a Thomas Guide. Second thing was a AAA membership. Third was a car emergency kit. In order to learn the metro, you'll just have to take it. Where do you live? Most bus lines are pretty safe. Just stay out of the areas in brown (and red) at lalife.com (click on "safety"). There are certain places you will need to go regularly (nearby malls, school, stores), so practice riding on those routes. Find out how to get to Universal Studios or Disneyland, and take the bus (or the subway) there. Practice makes perfect. In the old days, we had a Thomas Guide. These are being replaced by devices like iPhones and Droids, with cool GPS-enabled apps. But there's still nothing like an old-school Thomas Guide. Tell your family that you need to grow up and get out and about sooner or later, and the sooner you practice, the better. Get an LA/Orange County edition, it's the best for this area.
3. It really is pretty complicated so I understand your problem. I suggest you make MobileMark a/k/a TravelMaster, here on this site, your boyfriend. Then Problem Solved. He is the only one who understands all this stuff AND likes it.....
4. This will be very basic. Generally speaking, when you are in the Los Angeles basin look at the San Gabriel mountains. They will usually be to your North. That means East is on your right, West is on your left, and South is to your back. Record, and watch any 5:00 to 7:00 am morning news program (at 7:00 ABC, NBC, & CBS broadcasts their national programming). They give traffic reports about every 10-15 minutes. This will allow you to see where various communities are located, and what some of the major streets are. This will help you understand where various things are located. The Metro website has a "trip planner" feature that allows you to type in a starting point, and destination, and it will list all the available travel options. It's pretty easy to use, but occasionally you have to be creative to find some directions. Give it a try.
5. You can do what I did and buy a map. That way you can familiarize yourself with LA streets and landmarks. The Google Earth function is fun to play around with. Some streets have been filmed/photographed at street level and you can 'drive' down the street while online. The public transportation systems have a web-page and you can look online to map your destinations in advance. They even have color coded maps online of the rail systems. Google.com has a public transportation function under their 'maps' icon that is helpful. Since your inquiry was so well written I don't have any doubt that you'll be able to master the streets of LA in no time. Any mapping website or even GPS is not infallible. They contain errors and sometimes give really horrible or confusing directions. An old fashioned Thomas Guide or flat map that you can buy at the gas station can be more reliable than our beloved technology. Just don't walk around the streets of LA with an unfolded map, that's just screaming, "Rob Me"!
6. Get a map, and go out and explore. Don't be afraid of getting lost. If you don't take risks, you'll never get anywhere.
7. i went out and explored it for myself to fully get a clue of where everything was at haha but the easiest thing to do is remember is to know where all the freeways(60,10,5,101,110,105,710) in around LA are located and you can see where the streets pass.