why is the 720 bus so crowded towards DTLA? (Los Angeles, San Francisco: income, live in)

[nobody067]

i have never taken the 720,but i heard that the bus had 400,000 passengers a week so i decided to see what all the fuss was about. i took the 18 from DTLA to commerce center and i took the 720 from commerce to Santa Monica at 2:50PM. and the bus was never packed or full,there were no people standing and i got off at the very last stop at colorado/4th.

now,i decided to take the bus as a round trip back to commerce and got on at the first stop in santa monica at broadway/3rd. WOW...by the time the bus got to Wilshire/26th there were people standing and i had to exit because i did not want to stand the whole way. i took the next 720 from Wilshire/Bundy and it was somewhat full,but once we got to Wilshire/Westwood..i swear,about 30 people got on and i had to exit again. this time a new bus turned on Westwood and picked up about 10 of us. once we got to Wilshire/Robertson though,it was standing room only. i had to exit at Wilshire/La Brea and end the trip right there.

so,i am wondering,why were there so many people headed to DTLA at rush hour but the bus was not full going to Santa Monica? is it always like this? and do you guys think that when the Expo line gets extended to Santa Monica,will the 720 have less passengers? i hope so,because the ride honestly going back was a nightmare for me.

[saybanana]

The westside is the generally the expensive area (Westwood, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Century City, Miracle Mile) in terms of housing and income and they generally drive cars. The people who work in these areas and commute by transit live in the central area (Hollywood Koreatown Mid City) and the eastside. They are generally less wealthy like students, service workers. Afternoon commutes tend to get buses full going east towards Downtown. Most of them get off at Vermont or Western and either take the subway or another bus for north south routes.

The problem with 720 is that during rush hour commute there is so much congestion on Wilshire that buses are really slow going through. By the time the bus arrives, there will be more people waiting and the further stops will have no room and the bus driver lets passengers alight the bus but not embark.

I dont think the Expo to Santa Monica will make the 720 that much less crowded. I think youll find less people who are going from Downtown to Santa Monica beach on the 720, but the fastest way to get from DTLA to Westwood and Beverly Hills is the subway and bus combination. It will only get faster when the Wilshire Bus Only lanes for rush hour are extended through LA city. It is already much faster because most people have a TAP card.

Currently I think the fastest way to get from DTLA to Santa Monica is the Big Blue Bus Rapid which goes on the freeway

[disgruntled la native]

yep. the 704 goes mostly the same route except along santa monica blvd and is more bearable, though that one can get bad too. and like the above poster said, the big blue on the 10 freeway is also a good bet though I've seen that one standing room only while ON the freeway, bad combo

[HarryKerryJr]

Your westbound travel on 720 at about 2:50PM is not the HEIGHT of the rush hour. Also, sometimes, at that time of the day, one gets lucky and is on a bus that is fairly close behind others. The buses ahead of you take the brunt of the load with your bus acting as a sweeper. Just the luck of timing of the bus among other buses. This is great when it happens, but by 4, it all changes.

Had you taken the westbound 720 at about 4:30, you would have been just as shocked on a crowded bus.

[pwright1]

Actually the time I road the 720 to Westwood & Wilshire from dt and it was packed all the way and many times its been around 5pm. And yes there were quite a few white people on the bus. I thought I read somewhere it was has the most passengers than any other bus route in North America.

[SlowMotionApocalypse]

This line was so full Monday at 11:30pm that it passed us at Wilshire & Fairfax. Thankfully another one (standing room, with back doors inoperable) was along in 5 minutes so I still made my connection downtown.

[the12ronin]

720 line in Los Angeles = 38 line in San Francisco


You're SOL if this is your commute I'm afraid, same as I was when I lived a block off Geary in the Outer Richmond in SF.