Westwood sees new Amtrak stop

Many Bruins demanded a faster connection to surrounding Amtrak stations in California, and now they have it.

A new Amtrak connector bus stop was built at Gayley Avenue and Strathmore Place.

Coach America Los Angeles, a charter bus service, partnered with Amtrak to provide a thruway bus system.

This provides faster inter-city travel routes for longer distances for Los Angeles and Westwood residents, said Elaine Meister, an Amtrak customer relations spokesperson.

“It is a relatively new service operated by Coach America,” said Meister. “It is a motor coach that drives passengers to Amtrak stations.”

Effective Oct. 27, the motor coach runs four buses Monday through Friday at different times from Torrance to Bakersfield, according to an Amtrak passenger service notice provided by Vernae Graham, a spokeswoman for Amtrak Corporate Communications in the Western region.

The bus runs through the San Joaquin Valley, hitting major stops like Van Nuys, which connects to the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner that goes from San Luis Obispo to San Diego, and to the Burbank airport, Graham said.

The service makes it easier for UCLA students to get to Amtrak stations.

A large number of California residents and UCLA students use the available public transportation, making it ideal for Coach America to negotiate with Amtrak to provide seating and more localized bus stops for Amtrak connectors.

They create “bus combos,” or direct and easy bus plans, for California commuters, Meister said.

“The motor coach would definitely be good for long trips,” said Monica Jung, a first-year history student.

“It’s pretty annoying going to the stations far away, especially for us. If we don’t want to park there then you have to ask somebody to drop you off,” Jung said. “Doing that to someone all the time can get really, really annoying. I don’t like that.”

The Westwood-UCLA motor coach stop is an unmanned, curbside stop only, which is different from the traditional shelter Amtrak station.

As a result, students do not receive student discounts from the UCLA Central Ticket Office for Amtrak services, said CTO spokeswoman Ellen McVaray.

Tickets for the Amtrak train can be purchased by calling 1-800-USA-RAIL, ordering them online at

tickets.amtrak.com or purchasing them at the train station.

Students also have the option of paying the conductor in person while boarding a bus or train, according to the Amtrak California Web site.

Frequent riders can also purchase a California Rail Pass of 21 days for $159 and ride Amtrak trains and connecting motor coaches.

Individual ticket prices for the Coach America motor coach can be viewed online at CoachAmerica.com by submitting a quota from departure to destination, according to the Coach America Web site.

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