It’s not easy being green -- or Dodger Blue

Steve Devol, a Times editor, had the chance to check out both the new Dodger Stadium shuttle and new power hitter Manny Ramirez the other night. Both left an impression -- and it remains uncertain which is faster:

Riding the Dodger Stadium shuttle to the game the other night, I had plenty of time to ponder a few things.

First, it’s pretty clear that the shuttle has become an increasingly popular option -- after only its first week -- in these times of high gasoline prices and people’s yearning to be green (not to mention $15 stadium parking fees).

Second, mass transit is not necessarily rapid transit.

Third: Never underestimate the drawing power of stadium giveaways combined with the L.A. debut of a notoriously flaky left-fielder who wields a big bat.

When we arrived at Union Station on Friday to hop on the “Dodger Trolley” (actually a number of large transit buses of the type used to shuttle Hollywood Bowl patrons) to the Dodgers-Dbacks game, a steadily growing line was forming at the bus stop. We were told there were three buses in operation at the time, so we were confident that, even though we had to wait for two buses to come and go before it was our turn to board, we’d get there in plenty of time to hear the national anthem.

That was about 6:40 p.m., and the game wasn’t going to start for another hour.

But it soon became apparent that we were dealing with forces way beyond our control, or that of the city of Los Angeles, which is paying for this latest shuttle line: It was the debut of the Dodgers’ newest acquisition, Manny Ramirez, late of the Boston Red Sox, and apparently half the town was coming out to see his first at-bats in Dodger Blue. Not only that, L.A. was playing division rival Arizona, and on Cooler Bag night, no less. A near-perfect recipe for Elysian Park congestion.

As we headed out of Union Station, the line of shuttle patrons that numbered about 75 when we arrived had at least doubled. A long blue line of Dodger fans stood there, waiting for the next bus. I wondered when they would be taken out to the ballgame.

As we hit Cesar Chavez Boulevard, it was clear this was going to be one long trip, especially for those 20 or so poor souls who were standees on the bus. Progress through the stop-and-go traffic was agonizingly slow. No bus lanes for the Dodger Express! We were stuck in the same traffic mess as everyone else. There were two scheduled stops on the shuttle route, but we were filled up and had to pass by 15 or so baffled would-be riders.

We hadn’t even turned the corner onto Elysian Park Boulevard when it was game time, and those with radios on board began providing the play-by-play. The riders remained festive, but fidgety.

Finally, a good hour after leaving Union Station, we reached our stop in the Dodger Stadium parking lot, much to the relief of the cramped riders. A cheer broke out and we all made a run for the gates. By car on an average game night, the trip would have taken 15 to 20 minutes, tops.

I, for one, hate to miss the start of a ballgame, but in our family the one unpardonable sin is to leave before a game is over, no matter the score or inning.

But the math was grim: Arizona was leading, 2-1, at the bottom of the seventh inning, and it was 10 p.m. I had to be at work at 8 the next morning. Few in the sellout crowd were heading for the exits. We had no idea how many buses would be on hand to accommodate all us riders. The prospect of getting back to Union Station too late to catch our subway train back to North Hollywood loomed as an increasingly plausible worst-case scenario.

Sorry, Dodgers … but we high-tailed it right after the seventh-inning stretch, slouched, feeling like traitors, the stereotypical L.A. fans who simply want to beat the traffic. And we were down by just one run!

In the parking lot, however, were lined up at least 10 white buses awaiting departing fans. We went ahead and boarded one and got back to Union Station just in time to hear that the Dreadlocked One had grounded into a double play, essentially sealing the Dodgers’ fate that night. They lost, 2-1.

My advice: You needn’t be a trolley dodger. But the shuttles begin leaving for the stadium 90 minutes before the start of each game, so you’d be well-advised to hop aboard as early as possible if you expect a big crowd, and especially if the free shuttle continues to gain in popularity. But don’t worry, it looks like there will be plenty of buses to get you back to Union Station before that last train to North Hollywood, or Pasadena. So stick around and see how many Manny hits out for the Dodgers this season.

-- Steve Devol

Photo credit: Gary A. Vasquez / U.S. Presswire

Comments

[Transit Planner]

I think I'll just keep taking Amtrak or Metrolink to Angel games :-)

[Alan Fishel]

As I advocated earlier the Dodgers need to build (not the City or MTA) an airport type people mover or a Monorail from Union Station or the Gold Line Station to Dodger Stadium. There are many advantages to a separated transit system to the stadium by making it more accessible. The loss in parking revenue will more than be made up for by the increase in attendance and the grater desirability for using the stadium for special events. The conveyance of a dependable under 10 minute ride will be a win-win for everyone attending a game or an event and for the Dodger management.

[calwatch]

The only way it could work, Dana, is if they used the Scott Avenue entrance, which is the aforementioned hidden entrance. But that is on the WEST side of the stadium, and is only used for exiting the stadium when the stadium is at or near capacity (if you can position your car to park there, it offers the fastest exit out of the stadium). To use the Scott Avenue entrance, the bus would take the freeway, bypass all of the traffic trying to get to the Stadium via the 110, get off at Glendale Boulevard and take Echo Park Avenue northward to the entrance. It is an open question whether that is faster than the normal route up Chavez/Sunset, although it might provide a marginally better connection from the Sunset and Santa Monica Boulevard buses from the west.

[Spokker]

My concern with walking would be getting stabbed on the way home after a night game.

[Robb]

It's only about a mile of walking from the Chinatown Gold Line station to Dodger Stadium. Granted, it's uphill, but it would still take way less than an hour for most people. And it gives you an excuse to indulge on beer and Dodger Dogs once you get to the top.

see: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2142124 for the route.

[Spokker]

When I first started reading about this I thought there would be five buses, and even that seemed like too low a number.

If anything, this shuttle fiasco has shown how much a Silver Line with a Dodger Stadium spur is needed.

[LAX]

Well this confirms everything I had imagined. I was tempted to take in a couple games this year as it seemed public transportation was a real option now.

Looks like I'll be watching from my couch instead. The concessions are much cheaper there too.

[Irwin]

This was predictable... I commented on the story last week that it will be a 90-120 minutes trip including wait time for the shuttle given how few buses the city had allocated to the service. Looks like I was about right. Since the trip takes 30 minutes and the level of demand for weekend games at Dodger Stadium can be massive (though with predictable arrival and departure times), this needs to be a 40 to 50 bus service running with 60 second intervals for about 2 hours before and after the game. Why not use the idle Rapid 60 ft "bendy" bus that are not running on the weekends for the Dodger shuttle? Metro has 200+ of those high capacity buses sitting in the yard on weekends.

It kind of defeats the purpose if people get fed up with waiting for the shuttle and take the car next time...

[Dana Ggabbard]

Southern California Transit Advocates on Saturday did a stiudy tour of the OC Flyer service OCTA provides to the Orange County Fair (which ended yesterday) in Costa Mesa. Like at Dodge Stadium parking is pricey for this event and the traffic can be a nightmare.

http://www.ocfair.com/2008/VisitorInformation/oc_flyer.asp

What made it work was OCTA was given access to a side entrance to the site away from the crowded parking lot entrance. Is that an option at Dodger Stadium?

[eclexia]

The Hollywood bowl shuttles beat traffic hands down. Their secret might be the traffic cops waiting to stop traffic in every direction to get a bus through intersections such as the 101/Cahuenga ramp.