AntSol Travel

Welcome aboard this new series, Car Free Orange County (Car Free OC). This series is about getting to places from Anaheim to destinations around Southern California without a car. This is to educate my coworkers about navigation and destinations so that they and our guests, can know how to get to destinations without a car from the Anaheim Resort area where we work.

Since the mid-20th century, cars and the highway system have taken over Southern California, from sleepy farms and ranch towns to the now spread out and highly car-dependent suburbs with okay bus and commuter rail services.

Many of the out-of-the-SoCal-region Anaheim Resort guests who stay with us for Disneyland, conferences, sports, and events usually fly in to Los Angeles International (LAX), 40 miles away or John Wayne Santa Ana Airport (SNA), about 15 miles away. However, there isn’t any direct transit connection from either airport. They would have to take a ride share, taxi, hire a shuttle service, or even rent a car to get here. The Anaheim Resort area has over a hundred hotels ranging of modest motor lodges to high end resorts, with an estimated over 24,000 rooms, which can sell out with huge conferences and events, along with Disney guests, that Orange County would have a rail or at least an Orange County bus link from John Wayne to Anaheim, however, nothing is happening that close after the closure of 2020.

This series will showcase the ways of getting around the area with the current transportation infrastructure via Orange County Bus, Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, Metrolink Commuter Rail, transit in the surrounding counties, bicycle, and by foot. The blog posts are full versions of the posts, while my Instagram posts are quick summaries of that posts, embedded below.

For this car-free excursion, I will be going from Anaheim, where I reside, to the beach city of Dana Point. I will take Metrolink to Laguna Niguel via the Orange County line, then take the Orange County bus line 91 to Dana Point. Typically I could stop at San Juan Capistrano or San Clemente by Metrolink, however, due to single tracking after Laguna Niguel, soil creeps from the hill & the coastal erosion of San Clemente State Beach, which is having major train track work. Before the closure, according to LAist.com, there use to be a lot of sand at the state beach and natural erosion of the hillside to the opposite according to Metrolink. However, now there isn’t any beach and only a rock barrier separates the trains and the waves, which can crash upon the train, and the hillside could spontaneously have a mudslide during a heavy rain storm, rendering the tracks inoperable. The rock wall is being built to prevent more crashing waves and mudslides until sometime in 2023.

On Monday, December 5, 2022, I took the Metrolink Orange County 600 at 8:40 am from Los Angeles to Laguna Niguel, which arrived in Anaheim at 8:44 am. I walked a mile from my apartment to Anaheim train station, owned by the city of Anaheim, called the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC). It was redesigned in 2017 with a fluorine plastic-based roof to glow at night with the Los Angeles Angeles (red) or Anaheim Ducks (Orange) playing, or a full-color spectrum when neither team is playing with was then. Parking is free as a park-and-ride for Amtrak & Metrolink but costs money if you park for events as the station is flanked by Angel Stadium and Honda Center. Many local cycles park there and use it as a staging area to bike on the Santa Ana River bike trail. The station is three miles away from Disneyland, accessible via Anaheim Resort Transportation (ART) bus and Orange County Bus (OC Bus). Metrolink has free transfers to local transit systems including ART and OC Bus. 

• From the Anaheim Resort area take a bus with:
• Orange County Bus (OC Bus)
  • Fare:
    • One Way: $2.00
    • Day Pass: $4.50
  • To get to the ARTIC
    • Harbor Blvd. & Katella Ave., take the eastbound line 50 OC Bus to the ARTIC.
      • Use the OCBus app to buy passes online and scan the QR code when boarding the bus.
      • Track your bus with Google Maps or Transit App.
  • If you have a bike, you can use the bike rack on the front of the bus.
• Anaheim Resort Transportation (ART)
  • Fare
    • One Way: $4.00 per adult, $1.50 per child between 3 to 9 years, and free under two years.
    • Day Pass: $6.00 per adult, $2.5 per child between 3 to 9 years, and free under two years.
    • Buy passes on the A Way We Go app, create an account, and buy tickets on the Passes button.
  • To get to the ARTIC
    • Take ART’s ARTIC Express Line 15 from Disneyland or use the A Way We Go app to hail a bus on the app for point-to-point service from your location.
      • Click Routes for regularly scheduled ART bus lines.
      • For Point-to-Point service: use the trip planner to plan your trip to the ARTIC from your location.
  • There isn’t are bike racks or storage on the ART buses.

From Anaheim to Laguna Niguel is about 33 minutes with a fare of $8 each way, or $16 round trip, about 24 miles away. Metrolink and Amtrak fares are based on distance since both are commuter train services. Does getting there by car with gas prices for an SUV of 20 ish MPG, beat Metrolink’s $16 round-trip fare? Round trip is about 50 miles, about 2.5 gallons, probably more if there is traffic on the way back, which there usually is in Irvine. Not having to deal with traffic and adding unnecessary pollution to the air is worth it for me.

• About Metrolink Fares
  • Fares are based on distance, download the Metrolink app and create an account for fare rates. Check on your web browser here.
    • Select trains terminate farthest south at either Irvine, Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo, or Oceanside (before the trackwork was taking place). The OC Bus 91 is still needed to get to San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point, and San Clemente from Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo.
  • Free connections to most transit agencies are included, such as OC Bus and ART.
    • Scan your ticket QR Code while boarding the OC Bus
    • Show your ticket to the bus operator while boarding the ART Bus
    • For other agencies such as LA Metro and more, check out the link here
  • Amenities: usually one conductor, restrooms, tap water dispenser, and outlets at some table sets of four. About half the price if running along the same tracks as the Pacific Surfliner due to fewer amenities.
• Amtrak Pacific Surfliner
  • Fares are based on distance, download the Amtrak app or go to Amtrak.com for ticketing and scheduling.
    • Boarding passes can be printed, scan on your Amtrak app, or smartphone wallet if loaded.
    • Transit pass transfers are not included.
    • Fares are usually double if you go to the same stations via Metrolink. Compare rates, schedules, and amenities before booking.
    • Select trains terminate farthest south at either Irvine or San Juan Capistrano. The OC Bus 91 is still needed to get to Dana Point and San Clemente from San Juan Capistrano.
    • Amenities: Two to three conductors, restrooms, tap water dispenser, power outlets at seat row, some table sets have tables for four, curtains, reclining seats, and a cafe car. For all of these amenities, you would pay around twice the cost of Metrolink.

You can bring your bike on Metrolink in the bike storage areas in the train car. Original Bombardier bi-level cars from when Metrolink started in 1990, have a designated car with a lower level to store your bike by hose ties and surfboard storage in a mesh enclosure. The newer 2011 Hyundai bi-level car has bike storage under the staircase, secured by a plastic clip and belt to secure the front wheel and around the post of the bike seat, there isn’t any real way of storing your surfboard on these cars. 

The tracks that the Orange County line in Los Angeles County to Fullerton is owned by Burington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), a freight railroad company. From Fullerton to the north San Diego County border is owned by Metrolink’s governance board, Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA). North County Transit District (NCTD), the transportation commission for Northern San Diego owns all the train tracks along the San Diego County coast, Metrolink runs to Oceanside, and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner runs all the way to San Diego. Passenger service along the segment was owned by the predecessor Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF), with the San Diegan, before Amtrak took over passenger service in 1971, which rebranded to Pacific Surfliner in 1999. Metrolink started in 1990 with the Orange County line running from Los Angeles to San Juan Capistrano, and then later expanded to Oceanside, and then added stations through the years.

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