The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has provided bus service between Union Station and Dodger Stadium since 2010. In 2011, the Dodger Stadium Express was once again implemented with the goal of reducing automobile trips, vehicle miles, as well as traffic congestion in and around Dodger Stadium.
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The Dodger Stadium Express operated from Union Station at Patsaouras Plaza to Dodger Stadium, located just north of downtown Los Angeles. The occupancy capacity of Dodger Stadium is 56,000, and the parking lot capacity is 20,000. One of the major arterials to Dodger Stadium is Sunset Boulevard. sunset Blvd. is the main collector street that connects with Elysian Park Ave. to the Dodger Stadium main gate. Average weekday PM peak hour level of service on Sunset Blvd. is level D, with a vehicle to capacity ratio (V/C) of 0.879. Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) has surveyed Sunset Blvd. on game days and recorded a level of service of F, with a V/C of 1.56. This represents a total gridlock traffic situation.
Prior to each home game, Dodger management provides Metro staff an anticipated attendance level based on current ticket sales and prior year's attendance. The number of buses deployed for the Dodger Stadium Express service varies based on the estimated attendance number. A minimum of seven buses were used for each game, but as many as 16 buses were deployed for sold-out games. Beginning two hours prior to game time, the buses operated at approximately 10 minute headways. During the game, buses returned patrons to Union Station on an as-needed basis. Once the game was completed, buses departed when full, and returned to Dodger Stadium for another trip. Service remained operational until 45 minutes after the completion of the game.
The objective of this project was to provide patrons of Dodger Stadium baseball games convenient access to the ballpark using public transportation and the Dodger Stadium Express.
The Dodger Stadium Express carried nearly 116,500 passengers between March 28, 2011 and September 22, 2011. Patron surveys conducted by Metro staff found that 80 percent of the customers used transit from their place of origin to get to Union Station and catch the Dodger Stadium Express. An estimated 50 percent of transit riders to the game used Metro Rail and another 31 percent took MetroLink or Amtrak, with the remainder riding buses to Union Station.
Metro also provided the Dodger Stadium Express service schedule and map on the Google Transit Trip Planner for customers to easily access online.
Overall, the 2011 Dodge Stadium Express eliminated over 98,500 vehicle trips and approximately 1.9 million miles of automobile travel.
The 2011 Dodger Stadium Express season was successfully implemented, the results of which are detailed below.