How to take public transit to see Beyoncé at SoFi Stadium
Traffic to big events in Los Angeles can break anybody's soul. So if you want to keep yours intact en route to see Beyoncé at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, consider your mass-transit options.
There are a couple of problems, though: The limited hours of train service could force you to leave the show a little early. And getting to and from the closest stations could require you to cover a lot of ground under your own power.
For Taylor Swift's six sold-out shows in August, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority extended service hours and provided free shuttles between SoFi and the two nearest stations — the Downtown Inglewood station on the K line, which is 1.7 miles from the stadium entrance, and the Hawthorne/Lennox station on the C line, which is 2.3 miles away. The enhancements helped attract 150,000 extra riders to the rail system, a 25% boost, Metro said.
But Metro won't extend service hours or provide shuttles for Beyoncé's three shows, saying it doesn't have the resources to do so for every major performer.
"We know Beyoncé fans will be disappointed — we are disappointed too," the agency said in a statement. "The resources we need at SoFi to run special service won’t be available — specifically access to a parking lot to stage buses, extra security and traffic control, and additional people power. The availability of these resources is determined by crowd size — and because of a different stage setup, SoFi stadium will not accommodate as many fans as it did for the Swift shows."
Nevertheless, there are still ways to get closer to SoFi's gates without driving there. Here's a few options.
Read more: Everything you need to prepare for Beyoncé's arrival at SoFi Stadium
How to get to SoFi via L.A. Metro
At $1.75 per ride and with free transfers along the way, Metro's prices are hard to beat. The trade-off, though, is that you'll either have to hoof it from the nearest train station or transfer to a bus line that will take you closer. And, like Cinderella, you'll have to make sure to leave the festivities before your carriage goes out of service for the evening.
A good place to start plotting your route is with Metro's trip planner. Look up your return trip first, being careful to set the right date and time. Beyoncé's Renaissance shows have run about 2½ hours, ending around 11 p.m. in other cities. So you'll need to make sure the bus or train line(s) you are counting on will still be running when you leave, unless you are willing to try to grab a taxi or a ride-hailing service for the trip home.
Other useful trip-planning tools include Google Maps, Apple Maps and the Transit or Moovit apps. Any of these tools, along with Metro.net, can also tell you when the next bus or train is due to arrive at your stop or station.
The last available train depends on which direction you're heading and where you're ending up. If you need to transfer to the A or E lines to travel north or east, the timing is tight — the last northbound A train at the transfer point is scheduled at 11:34 p.m., and the last eastbound E train at the transfer point is scheduled for 11:42.
Selected bus routes run into the wee hours, but be forewarned that many will be out of service by the time Beyoncé leaves the stage. And even if the route is in service, there may be a long wait for the next bus to arrive.
You can also use a ride-hailing service to get to the train or the bus, or you could drive and park. Many Metro train stations have parking, and some don't charge for it; Metro has a helpful web page devoted to parking near its stations.
Make sure to have a TAP card with enough stored value to cover the trip; the card helps ensure that you get free transfers for up to two hours in one direction. And if you plan to pay cash, don't ask a bus driver to make change for you — that's not an option.
Read more: How to find parking for the Beyoncé Renaissance concerts at SoFi Stadium
Other ways to leave your car at home
You can hire a car service, taxi or a ride-hailing driver to drop you off and pick you up near SoFi; Kareem Court near the stadium is reserved for concert drop-offs and pickups.
If you're trying to avoid cars but a public train or bus line doesn't work for you, another option is Rally, a "bus rideshare" start-up that's offering rides to and from SoFi on chartered buses. The service listed 64 tentative pickup and drop-off points on Monday, mainly in and around Los Angeles County but also in San Diego County and the Bay Area.
The rides cost considerably more than a Metro bus trip — it's $70 for a round-trip booking from many points in and around Los Angeles, although the fee is higher in some spots. But the buses take you into the stadium's parking lot, where they wait for you until the show's over.
More important, the company says the rides are not guaranteed until 25 riders buy tickets for that pickup point. The site will tell you before you make a reservation whether the route you're interested in has been confirmed.
In a recent interview, Rally Chief Executive Numaan Akram said the company's service relies on crowd-sharing, counting on riders to spread the word about the service and recruit more passengers. If a pickup point hasn't drawn enough riders by three days before the event, he said, Rally will cancel the route.
Rally is carving out a niche serving big events, including NASCAR races, NFL games and Swift's Eras tour, Akram said.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
