Bus Route Opens to Ventura County

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation is operating a new bus route for commuters traveling from central Los Angeles and the Valley to Ventura County, officials said.

The new route, Commuter Express 422, will ferry morning commuters northward from its origin near USC through downtown, Hollywood and the Valley to its terminus in Thousand Oaks. The buses will then make the opposite trip in the afternoon.

LADOT transportation planner Phil Aker said the new weekday-only route is the first to offer express service for Los Angeles residents who travel in the opposite direction from the majority of commuters.

“We identified a need for reverse commute service four years ago, but this is the first one,” said Aker, who estimated that the service would save bus commuters an hour or more compared to existing routes.

“It’s taken off like a shot since we introduced it last week.”

The new service will remain free of charge until March 13.

After that, fares will range from $1.10 to $1.90, depending on the distance traveled, Aker said.

LADOT currently operates about a dozen commuter express routes in conjunction with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. About half of those routes include service in the Valley, officials said.

Service on Commuter Express 422 is scheduled to run every 20 minutes, with northbound buses operating from 4:40 to 11:15 a.m. and southbound buses from 2:20 to 8:45 p.m.

For more information about the new route, or other commuter express routes, call LADOT at 808-2273 (no area code is required).