Metro Rapid Lines 720 & 920

Quite possibly the worst bus line in the entire universe. Why the fuck are the busses not spaced out? Everyone literally waits 30 – 40 minutes for the bus only to have three of them arriving back to back to back. What the fuck is wrong with this bus line!!!

La CIENEGA and Wilshire stop heading to downtown Los Angeles is being bypass due to the underground system. But where the map tells you to go the bus does not STOP AT ALL THEY WILL LOOK AT YOU AND TURN THEIR HEAD. 720Wilshire bus at about 1:09. Does not stop a Stanly Dr. and Wilshire they pass you by and then stop at the THEATER 3 to 4 BLOCKS WAY.

At 10:00 AM, Tuesday, 12÷1÷15, driver of bus driver #9308 hassled me at the corner of Vermont and Santa Monica, wanting me to drive faster as we were approaching a red traffic light at Vermont. Furthermore, he stopped right next to me and said something while looking at me with a mean look.

Apparently timing bus arrivals is rocket science. Except it’s not, because the Big Blue Bus manages to do it just fine.
Going West, I rarely see just one of these buses. I usually see 2 or 3 trailing each other. That means that the timing’s off. So what happens is, the bus that’s driving in front will be packed because it’s late, and everyone will shove each other to get on it, while the one behind it will be empty.
I can also recall an incident where the bus was 50 minutes late. By the time I had called a taxi, I saw not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE 720 BUSES pull up.
I’m really looking forward to the Purple Line extension!

I’ve rode many Metro Local and Metro Rapid buses throughout Los Angeles and this is the busiest route (720)
PROS :
— Buses run frequently (10 – 15) midday and every 2 – 5 during rush hour. If you miss one bus, there’s 3 or 4 behind another
— Makes less stops
Takes you to many landmarks such as LACMA and The Peterson Automotive Musuem
CONS
During all times of the day, the buses can be.
very CROWDED. And when I say crowded, these buses are at capacity level
The only part of the route that doesn’t get that way is when it’s going east through downtown into East LA onto Whittier Blvd
— You will run into some interesting characters on this route. You never know who you will encounter.
Overall I give it four stars for it’s frequency. Minus one for the overcrowding.

Somehow the 20, although local, always gets me to Beverly Hills from downtown faster, plus it’s door to door service for me. What’s not to love?
To get to the 720, I have to take the DASH E, which adds enough to my travel time that any gains from making express stops are negligible. In addition, the 720 is a clown car, and the bus line is aware of this. They have people in orange vests performing crowd control — making sure everyone scans their pass to bumrush the back doors, making sure the already late bus isn’t further delayed by passengers running to board it when another bus is right behind it, reminding the cyclist more concerned with his own health and carbon footprint than everyone else taking the bus getting to their destination on time to put his bicycle on said next bus right behind this one, yelling at the crazy bag lady to exit from the rear. What the 720 really needs is those transit workers like they have in Tokyo who harpoon riders onto packed cars, because the biggest reason the bus is always late is people crowding around the doors instead of moving all the way to the back.
The term «rapid» is misleading. There’s nothing magic here. The bus obeys the same laws of physics and traffic. It just makes fewer stops. If you aren’t going far, take the local. But so few people do, I take the local to go farther, and I get there faster than the 720.

This bus line is a rapid bus which means it makes very limited stops and should come frequently. This bus line runs fron Santa Monica to Whittier while mainly on Wilshire Blvd. Be sure to read the sign to makes sure if the bus goes all the way to Santa Monica. Some only stop at Westwood. This bus can get extremely packed especially during rush hour in the moring and evening. It can get so packed that you feel like sardines in can!!! Be prepared to be pushed, shoved, and stepped on trying to get on the bu sometimes!

Stay off this bus for the next 5 years between Vermont and Fairfax! Very poor planning for Wilshire bus riders during purple line construction. Took over an hour to travel from Vermont to Fairfax. Why can’t management double up on alternative routes. Very frustrating for drivers and riders. Buses are full –bursting out the doors. Wheelchairs strollers kids going to school. Volatile situation. Traffic nightmare. Metro is not covering all the bases. No warnings no suggestions no explanations. Where are the bikes? What about Olympic or third street? why aren’t these alternatives being promoted?

Lots of 720s… I’ve never waited more than 5 minutes or so. Also, there’s always been a seat to sit down. I’ve only taken it as far East as La Cienaga but it’s been safe and fast every time. My only critique is that sometimes the drivers are a little crazy. It’s a biggg bus and a lot of people in it… Drive a little more slowly.

This is one of my favorite and most dependable bus routes in all of Los Angeles.
The only negative side is that often the buses would be late, and overcrowded. Also, the monitors that display the wait time for the next bus is always inaccurate. This is something the MTA needs to address, because it has been going on for too long.

I’ve been taking the 720 on and off for years. Here are some good and bad points, some of which has to do more with the MTA and public transit in general than with the 720. Good points: It can be really fast. You can go all the way from West LA to Boyle Heights, spanning all of LA.
Bad points: why are there so many potholes in LA?! I bump up a million feet in the air sometimes. Sexual harassment on the bus is rampant. It’s definitely a strategy to figure out where to sit, whether to sit or stand, whether to glare, yell or what. My friend told a story about how a guy came up to her on the bus and started to say that she reminded him of his ex-​wife. The bus driver (bless their heart) immediately yelled, Stop talking to her, sir. She is NOT your ex-​wife.
Another bad thing is that there are no free transfers. You can’t buy a day pass anymore unless you already have the tap card, which they don’t sell directly on the bus. (As far I know)
Overall, this is one of the lines I ride most often and I am really grateful for such an efficient bus that goes through one of the main arteries of LA. I’ve taken it as a bicyclist and as a regular bus rider. Sometimes there will be no bus for 30 minutes, then three come all at once. I think the biggest jam I ever saw was five or six buses within a three minute period. All the bus riders were commiserating after waiting so long at the stop.
I would have given this 3 or 4 stars until I lived in Guangzhou and was astonished by the amazing, efficient system over there. LA can do better. Until then, the 720 is a-​okay.

I had a free day of nothing to do. Dodgers are out of town, its boring at home, and you kinda wish you want to go back to work. Well, I planned out my Saturday to head out to Santa Monica and use little of my truck. All I used my truck to do was take me to North Hollywood Station. Most of the ride was going on the Metro Red/​Purple and then taking the 720 to Santa Monica.
For $ 5, you can go anywhere in Los Angeles. I had originally planned to go to Long Beach. Instead, I wanted to go to Santa Monica. I got on from the Wilshire/​Normandie Station because of being here a lot as a little kid. The 720 Rapid Stop is right across the McDonald’s at the church. 720 is a popular bus on Wilshire and there were two when they arrived.
The ride can either be quick or fast. My trip took about 1 hour 15 min. When I took the rapid many years ago, I was stuck around the Federal Building because of the freeway. I remember getting a good rest. My final stop would be Ocean/​Colorado.
720 is a popular bus and can be very crowded. So, I don’t blame Metro trying to go through all the EIRs for the Subway to the Sea. I am going to make it a routine to go to Santa Monica the long way. Its much more fun and I got a good workout with a burned face and legs. It would probably have cost me $ 20 with gas, parking, and more importantly getting stuck on the 405. Go Metro when you have a free day, you’ll probably like riding more.
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Love the 720. I feel like the 920 is kind of a pointless route, I guess because it never goes to the stops that I need it to go to, and ridership on it seems low (when those drivers and busses could be used for other more high traffic routes).
But regardless of that the 720 magically transports me from the connection with the ³¹²⁄₂₁₂ on La Brea and Wilshire to my doctors office in about ten/​fifteen minutes. It goes as far as the beach, and seems a lot less chaotic than the beach-​tripping 704.

Buses are fast and the base fare is a good value but the buses are often overcrowded. Additionally, operators on this bus will not allow you to purchase a transfer by tap card, so be prepared to foot the extra cost if you need to transfer to another bus.

Sitting in cafés on Wilshire Boulevard, I often take a moment to watch the long, bendy, red 720 Metro Rapid buses go by. Sometimes I even ride them! If you need to travel west of Koreatown, don’t have a bike, and don’t want to pay the extra dollar to ride one of Santa Monica’s buses, they provide the present moment’s only viable option. They tend to show up less than ten minutes apart, they hold a lot of people, they only stop each mile or so, and they use some sort of technology from the future to extend their green lights (within Los Angeles city limits, that is). As the low, low standards of buses go, they have some neato aspects.
And yet, as with most branches of L.A. public transit, you have to know exactly what you’re doing to use these properly. If you accidentally overshoot your stop, you really overshoot it; often, you just have to stand around waiting for the next Rapid going the other way, which can eat up your day if you get in the habit. Despite numbers that sometimes make them look like a stream of fish migrating along Wilshire, they still take on third world-​density crowds at rush hour and at night. And if you’re going to Santa Monica, prepare to spend 45 minutes, an hour, or maybe more doing so. Slick as these Rapid buses may look, buses they remain.
The word «Rapid» comes perilously close to false advertising here, evoking as it does the concept of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems like Metrobús in Mexico City or RIT in Curitiba. While those systems use dedicated lanes, covered stations, and pre-​boarding payment technology, L.A. Metro Rapid lines stubbornly cling to most of the qualities that make buses the least appealing form of public transportation: they share the road with cars, their stops usually amount to little more than sticks in the sidewalk, and they expect you to fumble through the standard pay-​as-​you-​board process. (I’ve heard pleasing noises about dedicating a lane to Rapid buses during rush hour, but I can’t even imagine how that’ll work.)
But if they did run in dedicated lanes, into covered stations, carried only pre-​paid passengers, etc., would they thus impede the progress of the underground Purple Line? Whenever I board a Rapid 720, it seems to scream, «This is what the subway should be doing by now!» (Or maybe I scream that; if so, I’d blend in with the unmedicated schizophrenics you often see on the buses here.) Until the Purple Line can carry us under Wilshire all the way to Santa Monica, though, you could do worse for a neither-​here-​nor-​there stopgap solution than ride the Rapid. Unless, as I said, you’re on your bike. You’ll at least have more fun pedaling all the way there — and you might well arrive sooner.

Interesting concept for a Bus Rapid transit service. This bus gets really packed and we are really really really due for the purple line extension. There are times during rush hour having to wait until 2 – 3 bus passes until you can get on one.
At this point I just gave up taking the 720 and just bike down taking adjacent streets. Especially during rush hour Wilshire doesn’t move so going around cars and beating Metro 720 feels pretty nice.
At least the bus runs several minutes which is nice but since it goes down Wiltshire it can literally take more than hour to go from Downtown to Santa Monica. You can also take the Big Blue Bus 10 Express, but it’s really the same thing since it goes on the 10 freeway and that gets pretty packed. It’s just faster to bike.
Hurry up and extend the purple line!!!

This bay area resident always thought «ech… LA. Where things are a billion miles apart and the transit sucks». Now I find myself dating a girl at UCLA, so I’ve put my preconceived notions to the test. While it ain’t BART, the 720 line is pretty damn good. It runs often (every five minutes at times!), it’s cheap, and it’s a hell of a lot better than parking. The 720 only stops every mile or so which means you go a LOT faster than the local buses, which I’ve managed to beat on a bike, at least in traffic.
Oh, and you meet actual people, as in strangers — even some from different walks of life! Sometimes you even have conversations. It’s quite nice, and helps fight the isolation caused by an auto-​centric culture.

Love the 720 rapid. Woo hoo!!! Takes me all the way from the Miracle Mile to Santa Monica fast. No driving. No parking. No parking fees. No headaches. Sure, it can be crowded, but who cares? And I love giving my seat up to the old folks. Let’s me do something nice that day.
You can go to Westwood on this bus, too. Or, going the other way, hook up with the Purple or Red Lines. Yep. One night I came home on it from downtown at midnight. You might see some crazy characters, but a good sense of humor will get you by. Like the guy sitting across from me started telling me about the voices in his head. «Well, at least you’re never lonely,» I said. He liked that one, LOL. Whew.
This bus flies through my neighborhood every 5 to 9 minutes so it’s super convenient. I wish every bus was so efficient and on time — hint, hint, you nasty 212!!! Northbound I can NEVER find that bus and I have a schedule. But that’s a different story. *Sigh.
But back to the 720. Love it. Try it. Even if you have a car like I do. Honestly, it’s a great way to get around town.

I would never take the 720 during rush hour if I had to. Tried it three or four times and hated it! I get on at Westwood-​Wilshire and by the time it comes from Santa Monica, the bus is already full. Now, I just let the 720 pass by and wait for the next 920 to come. Let me tell you why the 720 sucks.
First, its packed. If you ride it anytime from 330PM to 6PM, you won’t get to sit until it passes Wilshire-​Western. Like everyone has mentioned, the ride is very bumpy especially when the driver steps on the brakes unexpectedly. And when you’re in traffic, the driver is bound to stop very often.
Second, some of the riders on the 720 have absolutely no manners at all. They want to be the first to get on the bus and first to get off. Lots of shoving and yelling involved, they won’t even say «Excuse me» before bumping into you. They won’t hurt you, but they are just rude.
Third, too many stops compared to the 920. I get off at Western-​Wilshire (for the Purple Line) and the 720 takes me 45 minutes as compared to 35 – 40 minutes on the 920 during rush hour. Sometimes people request for a stop and then say they pulled to cord by accident.
Fourth, I agree there seems to be an unofficial rule where «if you’re the same ethnicity as the driver, you don’t need to pay the fare». Jeez … not only do they get on the bus for free but they hold a conversation with the driver which slows down the bus too. Now we’re all going to be late … thanks!
The only thing I like about the 720 is that it comes frequently, sometimes one right after another. They run late too, until around 11PM. The 920 comes about every 8 – 15 minutes, depending on the time. Actually there’s another good thing … you’re saving on gas money. $ 1.25 can take you from Santa Monica to as far as Downtown LA /​East LA and I think that’s a big bargain.
A subway station extension to the Westside would be much more convenient for commuters, but too bad the earliest it will be built is in Year 2036. Maybe by then humans would be able to fly and don’t need to take the subway.

Southbay Unilocalers this is your connection to museums and more downtown. Are you contemplating a date with your significant other but you don’t want to drive, pay parking etc? Do you work downtown but are tired of driving to LA everyday?
The 720 rapid connects wilshire/​western all the way to Santa Monica. It runs about every 5 minutes most of the day-​sometimes the buses come so frequently that there is literally one right behind the other. It makes fewer stops than most buses so it travels faster, and it comes more often (Most buses stop every couple hundred yards. This one stops i believe about every ½ mile)
You almost never wait for a 720 rapid bus. After around 7:00PM on the weekends they come about every 15 minutes or so. But through most of the day about every 5 minutes, if that.
So let’s say you want to go to LACMA or the La Brea Tar Pits on a sunday afternoon and you live in Manhattan Beach. You hop the green line at Douglas station, hop the blue line, to the red line. Then you get off at Wilshire/​Western. Walk up the stairs, wait five minutes hop on an east bound 720 rapid and you are there in front of LACMA about 10 minutes later. All for a $ 5 round trip Metro Day Pass.
You can throw a bike on the front of the bus if you want. If you have a fold up bike i believe you can take it with you on the bus too.
Now, this bus does get crowded, although I’m told there are more larger ‘acordian’ style buses out now. You will likely stand in it, given that it get’s crowded but considering you are on it for all of 10 minutes it’s not a big deal for most.
Crazy people on the bus-​yes, you will encounter them. Are most of them dangerous? No. I’ve ridden many trains and buses in LA and from my experience violence on the bus just doesn’t happen very often. Another benefit is that you are actually safer on this bus than driving in a car down the miracle mile.
Another benefit to taking this bus to the museums. If you end up staying a little later than you expected-let’s say after 7:00PM on a Sunday, and you don’t want to wait 15 minutes for a 720 rapid, you can also take 20 bus back to the Wildshire/​Western red line station. So have two choices to get around.
Can you drive from the Southbay to LACMA faster than the metro system? Depending on traffic conditions yes. But how long is it going to take you to find parking once you get there? How much will you pay? You spend all week working do you really want to drive anywhere on the weekends if you don’t have to?
The 720 Rapid bus is an awesome alternative to driving. I wish we had more of these rapid buses in the southbay.