Believe it or not, it’s possible to get from here to there in our beloved urban oasis.
The Metro
The Metro is L.A. county’s main public transportation service.
The basic Metro website is complicated and hard to use. They do have a nifty overview map for USC-related services.
We’d suggest using Google’s Trip Planner on the web, or, on your phone, Google Maps or iMaps (if you have an iPhone). (Make sure to toggle the public transportation feature to “on.” ) We’ve found those apps to be very accurate in amalgamating and timing out the best public transportation options.
You can also use the Transit app, which is available for Android and iPhone and displays transit lines in lovely, living color. It can tell you what stops are nearby, and shows various lines, even municipal lines. It will show real-time arrivals for most Metro lines and light rail. You can also request an Uber from the app, and see if there are nearby bikeshare stands.
USC’s University Park Campus (UPC) is located rather conveniently on the Expo line of Metro’s lightrail system.
Two stations serve USC:
Jefferson/USC , at 3214 S Flower St, and Expo Park/USC
661 Exposition Blvd.
The Expo line links you with DTLA and Santa Monica, so you can get to the beach for less than $2.00.
A dozen or more bus routes service the campus.
DASH
DASH — (Downtown Area Short Hop) is run by the city of Los Angeles. It cost $0.50 per ride. During peak hours, a DASH bus stops at Jefferson and Hoover every 8 minutes. It takes about 20-25 minute to get almost anywhere downtown. USC is served by DASH’s Downtown F route.
DASH’s Trip Planner can be found here.
NB: If your point of departure is generically USC, make sure to type “University of Southern California” in the entry field.
Other services:
Metrolink links Los Angeles with its five surrounding counties. Here are the lines that serve the UPC.