Glendale Beeline

Metro buses only go so far in Glendale. To get to some of the nook&crannies of the city you might have to use Beeline. Took me right in front of my destination but because they don’t honor metro tokens/​passes I had to pay out of pocket. I guess I had to suck it up because it beat walking there in the hot sun from a mile or 2 away. It cost me a $ 1 to ride but I was expecting it to be cheap (25 or 50 cents) like the Dash in Los Angeles but no. Buses are clean and small, just like the Dash though. That and the fact they run the air too high is why I had to bump a couple stars. It was ice cold in there and it got to the point my ear started aching. The air was too much despite it being so so HOT outside. Idk otherwise it pretty nice to have this line when in the area and bussing it.

Not too long ago, they tripled the fare, and now they made ridiculous changes to the schedule. They buses will be running about every hour. The service went from great to horrible.

Living in Glendale for many years (since before the Beeline started) I’ve grown accustomed to the little bus that could. And when the fare increase happened, it felt like it was sprung on me. I came to the bus with a quarter like I’ve done for many years, and the driver said, «You’ll need another 50 cents.» So I can see why other riders would have a hard time with it… I did. (This is the only reason I could find to ding them a star.)
But like many projects in Glendale, they usually go to the citizens in a meeting to express their concerns and figure things out. They even spent a bunch of money hiring a consultant firm to crunch some numbers, and share it publicly on Glendale’s Public Works homepage for Beeline, found here:
To my great surprise, the cost of doing business is an average $ 1.87 per rider per day (from the summary, the cost per passenger on Route 13 is $ 5.68!). So for all these years, paying a quarter was really quite a steal!!!
Unfortunately I’m sure, there needed to be made some adjustments, as the city’s treasurers are wont to do. So for that, I understand that it’s painful to pay so much more than I did, but at least I have reliable local transportation.
They also improved their equipment. Nowadays the buses can carry bicycles — so when I want to go across town, I can use their lines to get me there along with my bike. As the average cost of driving goes up, this is an awesome alternative. I highly recommend Angelenos to get out of their cars when they can and jump on a bike; good for you, good for the city.
Finally, the buses are almost always filled with elderly and student riders, so they pretty much have spared no expense at picking sturdy, comfortable interiors, quiet and all windows tinted and sound abated. No complaints… they work well. Too bad they don’t run longer hours, but the statistics are what they use to operate these lines. If you’re going to the mall, those lines run later during the holidays, of course!

What the hell???
Beeline is now $ 0.75 per ride. They TRIPLED the fair. TRIPLED. I am not getting three times the experience of riding, that’s for sure. And its not like they’ve added buses or the waits arent that long.
Even with gas prices being what they are, for $ 1.50 round trip, I am getting very close to opting to drive myself rather than wait around for the bus.
Bad form Glendale Beeline.

Service is off and on nothing is very reliable with the Beeline…

As a long time Glendale resident, I am not ashamed to admit that I used to only take the beeline to get my teenage self to the Galleria, like totally, it was bitchin’.
I have grown, I now take the beeline to the metrolink station to get to work downtown. That said, there is no better way to get to the mall or Americana during Christmas, than the beeline! It is a bit slow (lots of stops) and it does close early, but for the most part if you need to get around Glendale — the Beeline will get you there!

First, a little prelude: in August of 2008, faced with an ending lease and a growing claustrophobia in the Silicon Valley (urged on, no doubt, by the family’s constant moving as a kid – being in one place for eight years does not speak to my genes), I made a snap decision to move to Los Angeles. Here, I would lie low, gather some assets and move on when I possibly can, to bigger, better and brighter things.
The obstacle? I’ve got no car.
Now, being without viable private transit in Los Angeles is – I won’t sugarcoat this – pretty ridiculous. Particularly in my little suburban corner of the metro area, one is severely limited in choice of workplace, school, and recreation by the simple and insurmountable fact that many places in 15-​minute access of drivers could be anywhere between 20 minutes to 2 hours for a bus rider.
That said, I haven’t found a single transit system in LA, including the city’s own Metro, that has hooked me up better than Glendale’s Beeline. First off, this series of bus lines in and around the ‘dale costs 25 cents per one-​way ride; less if you ride often enough to make a bus pass a good investment. LA’s Metro charges five times as much for dirtier, slower buses with unsavory passengers and staff. Which brings me to the Beeline buses and staff: clean, cordial if not friendly, and quick! The average wait on a weekday is 20 minutes if you JUST missed the last bus.
All that said, the Beeline isn’t without its flaws. The lines all stop running at a very disappointing average of 7:30pm on weekdays, earlier on weekends. And on weekends, several routes are severely shortened: rather than carrying me from more or less my front doorstep to the front doorstep of my former workplace, I’d have to get off two miles away on a weekend and walk the rest of the way.
Still, for the price, ease of ride and convenience (Beeline’s system will print transfers to other lines, or to the Metro), Beeline can’t be beat by anything I’ve seen in LA.
Go go little Beeline.