Transport by Bus

Rev. 03-Jul-1999

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Chaz Boston Baden, anaheim@99.nasfic.org

See also:

Cross-Country by Bus

Greyhound Bus Lines [www] is still in operation. At last report, they were running a special fare - "If you buy your ticket 21 days in advance of travel, you can go anywhere Greyhound travels in the U.S. for no more than $119 round-trip" through 31-Aug-1999. Their Anaheim bus depot is no longer on Harbor Blvd., though; it's moved a block over and a few blocks up and across the freeway. You should be able to get the hotel to send a van to pick you up, though.

Orange County

The Orange County Transportation Authority [www] (OCTA, formerly OCTD) operates busses in Orange County, including Anaheim. We'll be near the intersection of Harbor Blvd. and Katella Ave. The Harbor Blvd. bus (north-south) is Route 43; the Katella bus (east-west) is Route 50. Other routes are also available.

As it happens, you can take the bus to/from both local Amtrak stations. Route 43 serves the Fullerton station, and Route 50 serves Anaheim Stadium (Edison Field).

As of July 11, bus fare is $1 per ride. No transfers are sold anymore, however you can get a day pass. Day passes are $2 now (they'll go up in a year or so to $2.50). You just hand over $2 when you get on the bus instad of $1, and the driver will issue you a day pass.

Please note that Orange County's bus service doesn't run all night, and some routes only run during rush hour on weekdays. Check the schedule before you go, to make sure you can come back. Some of the graphics on their web site leave much to be desired, but they do have all of their bus schedules available in PDF form. Print out Route 43 or Route 50, and figure out cross-routes from there. Or use their point-to-point routing gizmo.

Those people with wheels - bicycles, wheelchairs - will no doubt be pleased to know that OCTA busses have bike racks and wheelchair lifts.

Los Angeles County

Some routes operated by Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority [www] (MTA, formerly SCRTD) stretch down into Anaheim. In particular, MTA route 460 comes right by our hotel, at Harbor and Convention Way. Please note that not every OCTA bus stop will also be an MTA bus stop. Also, Anaheim now has scads of brand-spanking new green metal bus benches - in the Disneyland area, they have a shade shelter over them, but they're all over the city - and not all of them are OCTA/MTA bus stops at all. Check the signs before sitting down and waiting.

The MTA fares start at $1.35, $1.85 for the first zone on freeway express routes; see their web site or call them at 800-266-6883 (800-COMMUTE) for more info on fares and routes.

Planning Your Bus Rides

You should check out the Southern California Association of Governments Bus/Rail Travel Planner [www]. You can give it "Disneyland" and "Union Station" and it'll show you the times and fares to take Route 43 to the Fullerton Amtrak station, and the train into Los Angeles Union Station. Or, in other words, it's the transit equivalent of all those street-mapping web sites out there.

You may get wildly differing results depending on whether you opt for fastest itinerary, fewest transfers, or minimal walking; the above route was for "fewest transfers, leaving tomorrow at noon." "Fastest itinerary" takes you on a mix of OCTA, MTA, and Metro Rail (L.A.'s new subway line). There are other options for telling it when you want to leave or arrive or whatever.

Miscellaneous Bus Options

Remember I mentioned all those bus benches all over town, especially all over the Anaheim resort district? There are various shuttle services, some operated by the hotels (for example, our hotel runs a dark red "Trolley"-shaped bus between the hotel and Disneyland), some by the usual airport shuttle companies, and some just focus on getting you from Anaheim to the malls and other area attractions. I'll discuss those later when I've rounded up some information on them.

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