A Dollar Taxi in the South Bay!?
BCT 109 Goes Through Beach Cities For a Buck
The 109 BCT bus goes from El Segundo to Riviera Village for a dollar.
With the price of cabs – going from the Manhattan Beach Pier to the Hermosa Beach Pier, a distance of a mere mile and half – costs about $10 with tip – it's nice to have a cheap transportation alternative.
Ten dollars to go a mile and a half!?
How about $1? How about going all the way from El Segundo to Riviera Village for a buck?
It's the Beach Cities Transit (or BCT) buses, those white vehicles smaller than a Greyhound but bigger than a rental car shuttle that go north and south from El Segundo to Redondo Beach.
Primarily using Highland, Manhattan Ave., Hermosa Ave., and Catalina Ave., they go on the main beach streets that put passengers right at the beaches and the bars, restaurants and shops of the piers and Riviera Village. They are also ideal for going to events such Concerts in the Park, where parking is impossible.
The buses even have a bike rack, which makes for a comfortable ride home on cold evenings after a day biking on the Strand.
Buses are clean and so empty SurfsideSam.com calls them the "Dollar Taxi."
The staff and drivers are very, very friendly and will even stop and wait if they see you sprinting to a stop. Just drop a dollar in the slot when boarding and you're on your way.
The buses are clean and they are also mostly empty. In fact, hardly anybody is ever on them and as a result, don't make the frequent stops that can be a bit annoying when taking public transportation elsewhere. At most, there's maybe one person getting on or off every mile or so and sometimes you've got the bus all to yourself.
For that reason, Surfside Sam refers to BCT as the "Dollar Taxi."
BCT buses runs about every 40 minutes on weekdays and each hour on weekends.
The BCT is a great alternate service for people who want to get up and down the beach. Surfside Sam uses it frequently, the only complaint being that it stops running too early. The last run is approximately 9:30 p.m., southbound during the week from downtown Manhattan Beach (9 on weekends) and about 8:15 northbound from 11th and Hermosa Ave (HB Pier).
However, the city of Redondo Beach, which operates BCT, is considering extending service to at least 11 p.m. So call the number below and let them know you support such a move!
The BCT has several stopping points in all the Beach Cities. Here are the primary ones (north to south direction; south to north stops are across the street. Look for concrete bench with a white sign and BCT colored logo):
• Plaza El Segundo.
ª Douglas Street Metro (just down from Fleming's, so you can hit the Happy Hours on Rosecrans without having to drive!).
• Manhattan Beach 33rd and Highland (in front of Beach Pizza a for El Porto) and at Marine Street.
• Manhattan Beach Pier & downtown: 14th and Highland and 8th and Manhattan Ave.
• Hermosa Beach Pier: 11th Street.
• Redondo Beach Pier: (Harbor Drive & Beryl (at the side of the Crowne Plaza) and Catalina and Torrance.
• Riviera Village.
In 2011, BCT changed the rout from Vista del Mar to downtown El Segundo and now heads east-west on Rosecrans to the Douglas Metro station and the El Segundo Plaza. It sill goes to downtown El Segundo but it takes an extra half-hour.
This also means it now takes about an hour to go from downtown Manhattan Beach to the LAX connection, a second bus that goes to the airport terminals. Taxi fare from the Manhattan Beach Pier to LAX is about $25 without tip and takes about 15 minutes.
That's one trip where the taxis have the advantage.
Beach Cities Transit Phone: (310) 937-6660.
Link: Beach Cities Transit Website.
Related: Redondo Beach Pier Suggestions
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